Anderson University’s Leonard Wells and Ryan Hildenbrand have been named to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference 1st Team in football for the 2009 season.

Hildenbrand was second on the Ravens in tackles this season with 96 and was fifth in the HCAC. He also had a team-high 15 tackles-for-loss to go with three sacks, an interception, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Wells led the HCAC in sacks with 11 and was fourth on the Ravens with 60 tackles.

Luke Hurst, Jathan Wilsey, Nic Jackson, Tristan Cork and Joe Zimmerman were all named to the 2nd Team and Kaleb Donahue and Mitch Tuttle were both Honorable Mention.

Hurst led the Ravens with 101 tackles and was fourth in the HCAC. He also had two tackles-for-loss, an interception and six pass breakups. Wilsey had 43 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and two forced fumbles.

Cork was second in the HCAC in punting average (38.9) and had five field goals, including a long of 48 yards. Cork holds the school record with a 51-yard field goal and has four of the five longest kicks in school history. He also ranks second on the career list with 20 field goals.

Jackson led the Ravens in all-purpose yards with 1,067 and was third in the HCAC. He had 678 kickoff return yards, 298 receiving yards, 81 rushing yards and 10 punt return yards. He also had 21 tackles on defense before being switched to offense halfway through the season.

Donahue had 57 tackles in just seven games and Tuttle finished with 45 tackles, two interceptions and six tackles for loss.

The Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester College 31-17 on Saturday at Burt Stadium in North Manchester in the Bronze Ball Game.

Nick Sharp led the Ravens with 299 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, completing 20-of-39 passes in relief. AU threw for 320 yards in the game.

Nick Jackson and Keith Thomas both cracked the 100-yard receiving mark and Zac Brunnemer led the Ravens with nine receptions for 89 yards. Jackson finished with three catches for 107 yards, including an 82-yard TD, and Thomas added four catches for 101 yards, including a 49-yard TD.

Luke Hurst had a 55-yard run on a fake punt and senior John Sims led the backs with 34 yards rushing.

AU outgained Manchester in the game 392-356, including 320-204 through the air. However, the Ravens lost the turnover battle 4-1, including three fumbles.

Tristan Cork booted a 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter in his final game. The kick was the second longest in school history and he has four of the five longest field goals in school history, including a school-record 51-yarder.

Hurst led the defense with 16 tackles and a pass breakup and finished the season with a team-high 101 stops. Todd Taylor had 12 tackles and Ryan Hildenbrand added 10 stops. Leonard Wells chipped in with eight tackles, including his team-high 11th sack of the season.

AU finishes the season 1-9 overall and 1-6 in the HCAC.

The Anderson University football team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Rose-Hulman 37-6 on Saturday at Macholtz Stadium for Senior Day.

Freshman Nic Jackson led the Ravens with 54 yards rushing on eight carries and caught four passes for 71 yards, including an 18-yard TD on the final play of the game. He added 98 more yards on four kickoff returns to finish with 223 all-purpose yards in the game.

Freshman quarterback Jacob Walker finished the game 13-of-32 for 147 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Michael Joyce caught four passes for 28 yards and freshman Zac Brunnemer added three catches for 26 yards. Freshman Keith Thomas added two receptions for 22 yards.

Freshman safety Mitch Tuttle led the defense with 14 tackles and two pass breakups. Junior Ryan Hildenbrand had nine tackles and sophomore Jared Millikin added eight tackles and an interception. Senior Chance Benbow added eight stops in his final home game.

AU drove 99 yards in 12 plays on its final possession, taking up the final 2:09 of the contest. The Ravens finished with 205 total yards, including 147 through the air.

AU (1-8, 1-5 HCAC) travels to Manchester next Saturday in the season finale for the Bronze Ball. The game will be carried live from North Manchester on the internet broadcast at 1:30 p.m.

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.