The Anderson University football team defeated Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Bluffton University on Saturday at Salzman Stadium in Bluffton, Ohio.

All four Raven touchdowns were scored by defensive players and the visitors held the Beavers to 105 total yards of offense and a field goal. AU tallied 307 total yards, including a season-high 194 on the ground.

The three points allowed were the fewest by an AU defense since they defeated DePauw 35-3 in 1993.

Starting middle linebacker Ryan Hildenbrand scored on three 1-yard TD runs in the second half - all from the AU offense’s “heavy” formation on the goalline. The final score came on a 14-yard fumble return by defensive end Jathan Wilsey (pictured at left). Hildenbrand finished with six yards on five carries on offense and added eight tackles on defense, including four for a loss.

John Sims led the ground game with a career-high 103 yards on 28 carries. Quarterback Jacob Walker added 35 yards on seven carries, including a key 35-yard run on the first possession of the second half to set up the first score of the game for either team.

Walker finished 7-of-15 for 113 yards in the game, including completing his final six pass attempts.

Free safety Nic Jackson was the leading receiver with three catches for 71 yards, including a key 57-yard reception to set up the Ravens second touchdown. Jackson also returned a punt and kickoff and added a tackle on special teams.

The Ravens also converted 9-of-15 third downs in the game compared to just 1-of-15 for the Beavers.

Luke Hurst led the defense with 11 tackles, including two tackles-for-loss as the Ravens recorded a season-high 15 behind the line of scrimmage. Leonard Wells finished with seven tackles, a blocked punt and a sack and Charlie Holcomb and Todd Taylor added six stops each from their linebacker positions.

AU (1-7, 1-4 HCAC) hosts Rose-Hulman on Saturday at Macholtz Stadium for Senior Day. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Defiance College 20-7 on Saturday night at Macholtz Stadium.

Joe Davidson led the Ravens with four catches for 45 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown reception from Nick Sharp. The sophomore finished 4-of-11 for 42 yards and freshman Jacob Walker was 8-of-21 for 97 yards as the two split time at quarterback.

John Sims led the ground game with 46 yards on 15 carries and added three receptions for 17 yards. Nic Jackson caught two passes for 49 yards and had five kickoff returns for 70 yards.

Ryan Hildenbrand led the defense with 14 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Luke Hurst had 13 tackles and Leonard Wells added 11 stops. Linebackers Kaleb Donahue and Todd Taylor added nine tackles each.

Defiance finished with a 215-188 advantage in total offense, but AU had the edge in passing yards 139-97.

AU (0-7, 0-4 HCAC) travels to Bluffton (0-7, 0-4 HCAC) on Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference co-leader Franklin College on Saturday at Red Faught Stadium in Franklin.

The Ravens led 17-10 late in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies tied the game with 11 seconds left in the first half. However, the second half was all Franklin as they pulled away for the victory.

Jacob Walker led the Ravens with a pair of touchdown passes, completing 7-of-15 passes for 86 yards. Anthony Mann tossed a 56-yard halfback pass to Joe Davidson for another score and Nick Sharp completed 10-of-17 passes for 88 yards.

Davidson led the receiving corps with four catches for 85 yards and Tyler Akers finished with four receptions for 49 yards. Brock Bender had a 29 yard TD reception and Michael Joyce added an 18-yard scoring catch.

Tristan Cork accounted for the other AU points with a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter to tie the game at 10-10.

Mitch Tuttle led the defense with 13 tackles and an interception, including 10 solo stops. Ryan Hildenbrand had 11 tackles and an interception and Kaleb Donahue had 11 tackles. Carlton Summe had 10 tackles and Luke Hurst added nine stops and a pass breakup. Jared Millikan had eight tackles, three pass breakups and Leonard Wells added another sack to his HCAC-leading nine this season.

AU (0-6, 0-3 HCAC) hosts Defiance on Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast from Macholtz Stadium at 6 p.m.

The Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference leader Mt. St. Joseph College 61-28 on Saturdayat Macholtz Stadium for Homecoming.

Mitch Grider led the Ravens with 179 passing yards and two touchdowns, completing 16-of-27 passes. Nick Sharp completed 5-of-11 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown in relief as Grider was injured in the second half.

Michael Joyce led the receiving corps with seven catches for 50 yards, including a 12-TD catch in the fourth quarter. Tyler Akers had four receptions for 45 yards, including a touchdown, and Joe Davidson caught the other score on a 16-yard pass. Freshman Brock Bender added four catches for 48 yards.

Darryl Stott led the ground game with 67 yards on 13 carries and John Sims added 59 yards on 16 carries and Luke Hurst added a 59-yard touchdown run on a fake punt.

Luke Hurst led the defense with 13 tackles and Ryan Hildenbrand added 12 tackles. Chance Benbow and Todd Taylor added eight tackles each and Jared Millikin had an interception.

AU (0-5, 0-2 HCAC) travels to Franklin on Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University football team lost its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Saturday, falling to Hanover College 51-13 at L.S. Ayres Stadium in Hanover.

Darryl Stott led the Ravens with 127 total yards of offense, including eight receptions for 89 yards. He also rushed the ball 18 times for 38 yards.

Mitch Grider completed 28-of-42 passes for 224 yards and backup Jacob Walker finished 14-of-21 for 139 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Brock Bender. The two combined for 42 completions in the game, tying a single game record set by the 2001 team against Taylor.

Tyler Akers was the top receiver, making 12 catches for 88 yards. Shane Peacock had five receptions for 21 yards and Bender finished with four catches for 69 yards. Chris Russell (4 catches), Joe Davidson (3), Jordan Carlson (3) and John Sims (2) all had multiple receptions.

Hanover finished with just a 394-332 advantage in total offense and the Ravens had the edge in passing yards (363-299), but eight turnovers were the difference in the game, including five interceptions.

Tristan Cork accounted for the other six Raven points, booting a pair of field goals from 39 and 27 yards, respectively.

Defensively, Luke Hurst led the Ravens with nine tackles, one pass breakup and an interception. Jathan Wilsey had five tackles, including a forced fumble and a pair of sacks and Ryan Hildenbrand also had five stops. Daniel Holifield had four tackles - all behind the line of scrimmage - and Leonard Wells added to his HCAC leading sack total with four more on Saturday. Eric Mardis and Babe Fahnbulleh also had fumble recoveries as AU forced three turnovers.

AU (0-4, 0-1 HCAC) hosts Mt. St. Joseph on Saturday for Homecoming. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast from Macholtz Stadium at 1:30 p.m.

Anderson University’s Mitch Grider has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week in football.

The junior completed 16-of-24 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns - all in the final 17 minutes against Earlham on Saturday night in the Ravens 37-34 loss.

The Ravens trailed the Quakers 27-7 with two minutes left in the third quarter when Grider entered the game. He directed the team on three touchdown drives in its final five possessions.

AU (0-3) travels to Hanover on Oct. 3. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University football team scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comback, falling to Earlham College 37-34 on Saturday night at Macholtz Stadium.

AU trailed 27-7 entering the fourth quarter, but Mitch Grider completed 16-of-24 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns in the final 17 minutes to bring the Ravens to within three points with six minutes left in the game.

AU got the ball back with just under a minute and a 35-yard pass to Shane Peacock with four seconds left set gave the Ravens a 51-yard field goal attempt to tie the score. Tristan Cork’s boot was wide left.

The Ravens finished with a 473-350 advantage in total offense, including 395-220 passing. Nick Sharp finished 9-of-19 with 112 yards and a TD before Grider relived him late in the third quarter.

Darryl Stott led the ground game with 65 yards on 15 carries, including a 3-yard TD run. He also caught seven passes for 84 yards, including a 59-yard score with 7:02 left in the game to cut the deficit to 37-27.

Tyler Akers finished with six receptions for 71 yards and Peacock had five catches for a team-high 120 yards. Brock Bender added three receptions for 48 yards, including a 26-yard TD catch to make it 34-21 with 10:37 left in the game. Joe Davidson also caught a 53-yard TD pass in the first quarter from Sharp to make it 7-0 Anderson.

Luke Hurst led the defense with 14 tackles and a pass breakup, including 10 solos. Todd Taylor had 13 tackles and Ryan Hildenbrand and Kaleb Donahue each added 12 stops.  Leonard Wells and Jathan Wilsey each had two sacks and Jared Millikan added an interception.

AU (0-3) travels to Hanover College on Oct. 3. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

The Anderson University football team lost to DePauw University 55-7 on Saturday night at Macholtz Stadium in just the second night game in school history.

Darryl Stott led the Ravens with 72 yards rushing on 16 carries and added a 33-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter for AU. He finished with two receptions for 37 yards.

Quarterbacks Nick Sharpe and Mitch Grider each played a half for the Ravens. Sharp finished 9-of-21 for 91 yards and a touchdown while Grider was 8-of-15 for 47 yards.

Chris Russell led the receiving corps with seven catches for 40 yards and Tyler Akers added four receptions for 28 yards.

DePauw finished with a 665-246 yard advantage in total offense, including 494-138 passing. The Tigers also had the advantage in total plays (84-61), time of possession (38-22) and first downs (29-14).

AU also averaged nearly 25 yards per kickoff return, finishing with 221 KO return yards, including 181 on six attempts for freshman Nic Jackson.

Ryan Hildenbrand led the defense with 15 tackles, including a pair for a loss. Safeties Jackson and Luke Hurst each had 11 tackles and linebackers Kaleb Donahue and Todd Taylor added 10 stops each. Leonard Wells added four tackles and a sack.

AU (0-2) hosts Earlham on Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast from Macholtz Stadium at 7 p.m.

The Anderson University football team fell to rival Taylor University 31-16 on Thursday night in the season opener at Wheeler Stadium in Upland. The victory give the Trojans possession of the Wagon Wheel for the second straight year.

The Ravens outgained the Trojans in the game 297-276, including 268-207 through the air, but the difference came on special teams. Pagel Williams set a school record with 189 yards on six punt returns, including a pair of touchdown returns from 54 and 72 yards.

Mitch Grider completed 18-of-38 passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Nick Sharp added 5-of-8 completions for 60 yards in relief. Shane Peacock was the top receiver with a career-high 131 yards receiving on 10 catches, including a 16-yard TD reception.

Joe Davidson had four catches for 31 yards and Michael Joyce added three for 31 yards, including a 10-yard TD reception in the first quarter to cut the Taylor lead to 7-6. Chris Payton led the ground game with 11 rushes for 28 yards and John Sims added 25 yards on just four carries. All-HCAC back Darryl Stott missed the game due to a suspension.

Tristan Cork finished the game with eight punts for 359 yards for an average of 44.9 per kick. His total of 359 yards was fourth most in school history. The All-HCAC kicker also added a 32-yard field goal.

Todd Taylor led the defense with nine tackles, including two for a loss. Leonard Wells had eight tackles, including a sack, and Jacob Wiebell and Kaleb Donahue each added seven stops.

AU (0-1) hosts DePauw next Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast from Macholtz Stadium at 7 p.m.

The Anderson University football team will open the season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Taylor University in the annual Wagon Wheel Game.

The game has been moved up two days and will be played at 7 p.m. at Wheeler Stadium in Upland. It will also be carried live on the AU internet broadcast.

AU and Taylor will be meeting for the 59th time in the series with the Ravens holding a 37-19-2 advantage.