Derek Eitel set a second school record and tied another as Rose-Hulman defeated Bluffton 50-14.

BOX SCORE

BLUFFTON, OHIO -- Rose-Hulman scored on its first three possessions to jump out to an early  lead in the first quarter to help the Engineers defeat Bluffton University 50-14 on Saturday.

Senior Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) became the all-time leader in completions in Rose-Hulman football history and also tied the record for most touchdowns to highlight the Engineer day. 

Eitel finished 14-20 for 207 yards and three touchdowns and also scrambled for a touchdown to increase his career completion total to 528 to overtake 2002 graduate Jared Tharpe for the record.  His three touchdown passes ties 1989 graduate Jason Duff with 45 touchdown passes.

Junior Reed Eason (St. Louis, Mo./ Parkway North) hauled in six receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Graduate student Thomas Reives (Indianapolis, Ind./Arsenal Tech) had three receptions for 33  yards and also had a touchdown.  Junior Ben Hopf (Huntingburg/ Southridge) added two receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman Kyle Kovach (Andrean/ Munster) led the ground attack with 47 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, sophomore Brad D'Agnillo (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Colerain) led the effort with 7 tackles.  Senior Patrick Duncan (Terre Haute, Ind./ South Vigo) provided three sacks on the day. Senior Nick Murphy (Casey, Ill/ Casey-Westfield) had an interception for a touchdown in the effort.

Bluffton was led by Tevin Hale with 44 rushing yards.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter.  Nick Schneider (Naperville, Ill/ Neuqua Valley) kicked a 25 yard field set up by to passes from Eitel to Eason. 

The Engineer defense came up big on Bluffton's next possession as Murphy intercepted a John Hazen pass for 52 yards and a touchdown to make the score 10-0 after the extra point. 

After a quick punt by the Bluffton offense, Eitel needed just two passes to throw for his first touchdown of the day, connecting to Hopf for 28 yards and Reives for the18 yard touchdown to make the score 16-0. 

After another quick series by Bluffton, Eitel connected to Eason in the end zone to make the first quarter score 23-0.  Kovach ran for 20 yards on the drive to help set up the scoring pass.

Bluffton was finally able to get their offense going at the end of the quarter to set up their first touchdown early in the second quarter as they were able to go 60 yards on nine plays to make the score 23-7.

Rose-Hulman was able to score again before the half as Kovach ran for an 11 yard score to make the halftime score 30-7 after the extra point.  The drive took just 20 yards as junior Robby Alumbaugh (Mooresville, Ind) recovered a mishandled punt return by Bluffton's Ross Shoup.

The Engineer's came out of the intermission ready to score more points as they took their first possession of the half 60 yards on 11 plays for another touchdown as Eitel was able to scramble 15 yards for the touchdown. 

The Beavers answered back near the end of the quarter as Jeff Gehring ran for a touchdown to make the third quarter score 37-14.  A kick catch interference penalty was called on the Engineers to set up the short field to start the Bluffton drive.

The Engineer offense answered on their next possession as they took the ball 74 yards on just 6 plays to open the fourth quarter.  Eitel connected with sophomore Sutton Coleman (Lebanon, Va.) for a 61 yard bomb for Eitel's third touchdown of the day.  Schneider's extra point made the score 44-14.

Rose-Hulman scored its final points on their very next possession as they drove 61 yards on 14 plays that was capped off with a seven yard pass to Hopf from freshman quarterback Mitch Snyder (Casey, Ill/ Casey-Westfield) to make the final score 50-14.

Rose-Hulman improved to 4-4 on the year and is now 2-3 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.  They return home next Saturday to face Franklin College.