The Butler football team dominated the Toreros 41-10 in front of an energetic Family Weekend crowd. With the win, the Dawgs move to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in Pioneer Football League (PFL) play, while San Diego slides to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the PFL.
Sophomore defensive back Madden Beriault set the tone early when he intercepted a tipped San Diego pass on the third play of the game to give Butler the ball. Although the Dawgs had to punt the drive away, the defense stifled the Toreros’ run game and forced them to punt as well.
Right after getting possession, first-year running back Sam Manna burst past San Diego’s defense with an explosive 73-yard run for a touchdown. It was the team’s longest run on the season, topping graduate running back Desmin Jackson’s 72-yard rush against Chicago State.
Although the run was not intended to go the full length of the field, Manna’s quick thinking led to the play being extended.
“That run wasn’t actually supposed to hit there,” Manna said. “I kind of hit [San Diego’s defense], and it was just jammed up. [Then] I took it outside, and I had to beat the guys with speed and get going from there. All I was thinking when I was running was, ‘Don’t get hawked, don’t get hawked.’”
Later, junior quarterback Gabe Passini showcased his arm, throwing a career-long 60-yard completion to junior wide receiver Jonny Manor to set junior kicker Beck Janki up for a 34-yard field goal.
After a series of incomplete and broken passes, the Toreros attempted to throw on fourth-down, but sophomore defensive lineman Okemdi Eze forced senior quarterback Dom Nankil to scramble before sacking him for a loss of 13 yards.
The Toreros’ next drive found them playing on fourth down again. Sophomore running back Omar Mbakwe attempted to rush into the end zone twice, but the Dawgs’ defense held strong and stopped him each time. On fourth down, Beriault made another big play to deny senior wide receiver Yosei Takahashi right at the one-yard line.
Following a successful Butler challenge that overturned a San Diego fumble, Passini’s incomplete throw for senior wide receiver Michael Nix drew loud boos from the crowd who wanted a pass interference penalty called on the defender who left Nix no personal space. The next play, Nix found himself in the same scenario, but managed to complete the 20-yard pass as the crowd roared to life in the Sellick Bowl.
The wide receiver’s level of play gave Passini more confidence in making those contested throws, as he knows Nix will come out with the ball.
“[Nix’s play] just helped me grow that confidence to trust him,” Passini said. “When I see him one-on-one over there, I know that I can trust him to go make a play for me. It’s awesome having him out there.”
In the third quarter, San Diego’s defense started finding its footing, forcing Butler to quickly punt the ball away. However, Passini quickly broke through the Toreros, setting a new career-high completion of 66 yards to a wide-open Nix before running in for his first rushing touchdown of the game.
Another interception by Beriault gave the Dawgs the ball back at San Diego’s 15-yard line, and Passini had nothing but space as he ran in for another touchdown.
Head coach Kevin Lynch praised Beriault’s decison-making and noted that interceptions like those are not uncommon for a player like Beriault.
“He’s probably the smartest player we have on the team,” Lynch said. “He led the state in interceptions here in Indiana coming out of high school. I was waiting for him to get one and now he’s got two. He’s a heck of a player [and I’m] glad he’s on our team.”
The teams then exchanged punts heading into the final quarter, where the Toreros finally got their first touchdown off a 30-yard pass to Mbakwe. Passini then scored one more rushing touchdown before junior quarterback Jarrin Alley played the remainder of the game for the Bulldogs.
Coming off a bye week with a convincing win gives Lynch and the team confidence heading into the remainder of the season.
“Historically, we have not been very good after byes here, dating back like the last 15 years,” Lynch said. “We did some studies on it, and we were really bad after the bye last year, so [it was a] big point of emphasis. I thought we started fast, and obviously we were able to control both sides of the line of scrimmage, and that was huge because that’s a really good team, and we were able to get after them pretty early and finish the game. I was really proud of our guys.”
The Bulldogs will host Dayton next week on Oct. 17 as they look to build on their four-game win streak.