Butler Rolls To Big Win In Season-Opener
Butler quarterback Andrew Huck tied a
school-record with five touchdown passes and the Bulldogs held
visiting Albion without a touchdown for the second straight year,
while rolling to a 42-3 victory at the Butler Bowl on Saturday
(Sept. 5). The non-league game was the season-opener for both
teams.
Huck, making his first collegiate start, completed 18 of 25 passes
with one interception for 327 yards. He hit wide receiver
Eddie McHale with a 10-yard scoring pass, found
tailback Scott Gray with a 71-yard strike and then
threw three consecutive touchdown passes to wide receiver
Zach Watkins. The touchdown passes to
Watkins covered 48, 62 and 19 yards. Huck’s first four
touchdown passes all came in the second quarter, giving Butler a
28-0 halftime lead.
The sophomore from Bloomington also scored Butler’s final
touchdown on a three-yard run with 1:30 left in the third
quarter. He wound up leading the Bulldogs in rushing for the
game with eight carries for 68 yards.
“No question, we were pleased with Andrew’s
performance,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris
said after the game. “But I think he would be the first
to tell you that we had ten other guys out there who were playing
hard and doing their job.”
“Offensively, it was a very good day. Obviously, we
were pleased with our play,” added the Butler coach.
Huck’s five touchdown passes matched the school mark first
set by Ron Kiolbassa against Valparaiso in 1990 and then tied by
DeWayne Ewing against Quincy in 2001. The 327 passing yards
were the 11th best single game total in Butler football
history.
Watkins also turned in a big afternoon. He finished with
seven catches for 183 yards and three TDs. His first
touchdown catch with just under four minutes left in the first half
gave Butler a 21-0 advantage, and he added his second touchdown
catch with 1:03 left in the half. Watkins scored again late
in the third quarter to make it 35-3. His 183 receiving yards
were the fifth-highest single game total in Butler football
history!
The Bulldogs finished the game with 529 yards in total offense and
20 first downs.
Butler’s defense, sparked by the play of senior safety
Spencer Summerville, held Albion to 160 total
offense yards, 11 first downs and a single 29-yard field
goal. A year ago, the Bulldogs limited the Britons to two
field goals in a 20-6 victory. Summerville finished with five
tackles, one pass breakup and his first career pass interception,
which he returned for 22 yards.
Sophomores Jack McKenna and Andrew
Cottrell led the Bulldogs with six tackles
apiece.
“Our defense did a nice job on third down getting the ball
back to the offense,” stated Voris. “The defense
was solid all day.”
Eight different players wound up catching at least one pass for the
Bulldogs in the win, including senior wide receiver Dan Bohrer who
had two receptions. The two catches gave him 142 for his
career, matching the all-time Butler record set by Eric Voss,
1990-93.
The Bulldogs will play their first road contest next week when they
visit nearby Franklin on Saturday, Sept. 12.
