ALMA FOOTBALL VICTORIOUS IN SEASON OPENER AT BLUFFTON
The Alma Scots Football team hit the road on Saturday, to take on Bluffton University in the 2009 season opener on a beautiful Midwestern afternoon. The Scots took advantage of the day and returned to Mid-Michigan with a 28-16 victory, looking to host Illinois Wesleyan next weekend.
Bluffton scored first as RB J.G. Johnson scored on a two-yard run that was the result of an interception of Alma QB Mackenzie McGrady which gave the Beavers the ball at the Scots’ 34-yard-line. It took Bluffton six plays to take the 7-0 lead, and Alma looked to respond.
After stalled drives by both teams, McGrady hooked up with Jr. WR Andrew Schaar on a 72-yard touchdown pass on the first play of their next possession. Bluffton took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, but the Scots answered with a seven-play, 46-yard drive that saw Schaar grab an 11-yard TD strike from McGrady. Alma went into halftime with a 14-10 lead.
However, the Beavers were not going away. On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Bluffton broke out for a 69-yard touchdown run, and after a missed extra point, Alma was down 16-14.
The Scots defense held the rest of the contest and Alma’s offense did the work to come away with the victory. WR Austin Montgomery caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from McGrady at the 1:49 mark of the third quarter to give Alma a 21-16 advantage. The final piece of the puzzle came with 10:39 left in the game when Tyler Wise scored on a 40-yard srike by McGrady..
McGrady finished the day with 22 completions on 40 attempts with an interception and four touchdowns. Schaar was the leading receiver with seven catches for 124 yards and two scores. McGrady also led all rushers with 93 yards on 20 carries, while Tyler Periard had 39 yards on 11 rushes. Wise finished with 72 yards on five catches and a score and punter Mark Recker averaged 40.2 yards on six punts.
Defensively, Alma was led by Conrad Bovee who had 11.5 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and Brent Willis, who had 6.5 tackles. Jeremy Sauve and Brock Everts each had a sack for the Scots, while Willis had two passes broken up.
Conrad Bovee
Posted: Sat, September 5th, 2009 at 3:56PM
