GREENWOOD, Ind. – All three Great Midwest Athletic Conference-affiliated institutions with the emerging sport of football came away victorious over the weekend.
Dalton Oliver shattered multiple school records through the air as Kentucky Wesleyan shredded Lindenwood-Belleville at home.
The ground attack during homecoming weekend from Alderson Broaddus helped the Battlers rout Warner and Central State celebrated homecoming in Wilberforce with a win against Concordia (Ala.)
Alderson Broaddus 45, Warner 21
Alderson Broaddus running back Brandon Jones rushed for over 200 yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground as the Battlers (5-2) imposed their will against the Royals from Florida.
Jones surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season with 1,067. He has also scored 14 touchdowns.
Quarterback Wilson Vaughn finished with 133 yards passing and two scores. Braxton Johnson paced the Battler receiving unit with four catches for 53 yards as Alderson Broaddus celebrated homecoming weekend.
After outscoring Warner 17-7 in the opening period, the Royals got within 24-14 after Leslie Young notched a one-yard touchdown run with 5:33 left in the first half.
AB countered right back when Vaughn connected with Cooper Schroeder for a 38-yard strike giving the Battlers a 31-14 lead at the intermission. The Battlers then finished off a nine play, 60-yard drive coming back on to the field with a six-yard scoring dash by Jones for the only points in the third quarter.
Jones plunged for his fourth score in the red zone in the opening minute of the fourth quarter which put AB further in the driver’s set leading 45-14. Jones’ longest run on the day was a distance of 52 yards as he amassed 33 carries.
Kentucky Wesleyan 55, Lindenwood-Belleville 28
Kentucky Wesleyan (4-3) racked up its fourth win of the year and reeled off 27 unanswered points to post what eventually became a lopsided score in Owensboro against Lindenwood-Belleville.
The Panthers erupted for 27 points to close out regulation following a 28-28 tie with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Oliver helped Kentucky Wesleyan set a single-game scoring record and he set a new school benchmark with 526 yards and six touchdowns through the air. He connected on 27-of-39 passes and was in sync with his receiving corps, which shredded the L-B defense all afternoon.
Oliver’s six scoring tosses are the second-best total in school history as he overwhelmed the opponent’s secondary.
Xavier Mitchell caught 11 passes for 225 yards and touchdowns while three of Keelan Cole’s five catches on the day resulted in touchdowns. Cole accumulated 154 yards from his five receptions.
KWC battled back from a 14-7 first-quarter deficit and outscored Lindenwood-Belleville, 21-0, in the next period. L-B scored 14 more points in the third quarter to knot the score at 28 before the Panthers’ offense came to life.
Central State 31, Concordia (Ala.) 6
The Marauders (2-5) halted a five-game slide and clamped down defensively against the Hornets of Concordia (Ala.) for a homecoming weekend triumph.
Central State won its season opener back on Sept. 6 against Clark Atlanta, but ran into a rough patch against Texas Southern, Morehouse College, nationally-ranked Delta State and Kentucky State.
CSU quarterback Michael Wilson ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to account for a large piece of the offensive production and Moses Vine chipped in a 19-yard scoring run.
The Marauders’ defense didn’t allow the Hornets to get on the scoreboard until just under four minutes remaining in the final quarter.
Wilson engineered and sustained long drives of 77 and 70 yards in the first two quarters and marched Central State down the field for an 11 play, 80-yard scoring sequence capped off with a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Central State picked off Concordia signal callers Haratio Keller and Andre Millet twice and combined those returns for 84 yards. CSU outgained CU in total offense by nearly 150 yards on the day.