CHICAGO—The No. 13 Olivet Nazarene University football traveled to Deaton Field on Saturday afternoon for a showdown with No. 18 Saint Xavier. 

The Cougars got the first laugh as they struck for a touchdown on their opening drive.  The Cougars went 84 yards in 13 plays.  The Tigers then came back and deadlocked the game at seven on their opening drive.  Lucas Eckles put the Tigers on the SXU 49-yard line with a 41-yard kick return.  The Tigers used the running game and the passing game to move the ball on the drive.  David Hutton found one of his favorite targets Scotty Graziano for a pair of receptions on the drive.  The drive eventually ended when dual-threat quarterback Cameron Crouch found Graziano for a three-yard touchdown reception.

After the Cougars found the endzone again, the Tigers kept up the pace and marked another touchdown on their next drive.  With the ball on the ONU 38-yard line, Crouch hooked up with Jalen Dunnigan for a 62-yard touchdown strike.  After the extra point by Bryce Deguira, the Tigers and Cougars are tied at 14.  The Cougars then retook the lead in their next possession, 21-14.  After Evan Leake returned the kickoff 20-yards, Crouch and the Tigers offense was back to work.  Mattias Clark started the drive with a four-yard rush.  On the next play, Crouch found Dunnigan for a 66-yard touchdown reception making the score 21 all. 

After the next Saint Xavier drive stalled, the Tigers possessed the ball the rest of the first half.  The first six plays were on the ground as Clark, Aaje Grayson, and Crouch ran the football.  Then Crouch found Tyler Isaacson for 15 yards and Andrew Cloy for 20 yards putting the ball on the SXU 43.  With time expiring, the always reliable Deguira made a 44-yard field goal putting the Tigers up 24-21 at the half. Crouch passed for three touchdowns in the half.  Dunnigan had a pair of receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Safety Lance Walker led the Tigers with seven tackles in the first half. 

Halftime: No. 13 Olivet Nazarene 24, No. 18 Saint Xavier 21

The Tigers carried the momentum from the 44-yard field goal by Deguira into the second half.  On 3^rd and 9 on the ONU 36, Crouch found Cloy for a 21-yard reception to put the ball on the SXU 43-yard line.  A few plays later, Crouch hooked up with Brian Jenkins for a 31-yard reception.  Crouch then extended the Tiger lead to 10 on a two-yard rushing touchdown making the score, 31-21.  The Cougars then found the endzone on their first possession of the third quarter to make the score 31-28.  The Tigers use their quick strike ability to find the endzone again on their next drive.  Crouch threw his third 60+ yard touchdown reception to Dunnigan in the game as the Tigers led 38-28.  With that last catch, Dunnigan becomes the first Tiger in program history to receive for over 200-yards and broke the record for the most receiving yards in school history.

The Tigers took a 10-point lead at 38-28 into the fourth quarter of play. Crouch passed for 302 yards and four touchdowns and Walker continued to lead the Tigers with eight tackles.  Damien Savage and Mark Phelps followed Walker with seven and six tackles, respectively.    

The Cougars started the fourth quarter with a 24-yard field goal and they cut the Tiger lead to 38-31.  The Tigers came up big during the later part of the fourth quarter as the defense forced the Cougars to go three-and-out with about 5:30 minutes left in the game.  The Tigers then put the game out of hand on their next drive.  Crouch, on the second play on the drive, found Graziano for a 51-yard reception putting the ball on the SXU 27.  Then, Grayson carried the ball twice for 26 yards to put the ball on the one-yard line.  Crouch then punched it in for a one-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 45-31. 

The Cougars scored a late touchdown but it was too little too late as the Tigers won their second straight game against Saint Xavier, 45-38. 

GAME VITALS

Final: No. 13 Olivet Nazarene 45, No. 18 Saint Xavier 38

Records: No. 13 Olivet Nazarene: 4-1 (2-0 MSFA) | No. 18 Saint Xavier: 3-2 (1-1 MSFA)

Location: Deaton Field | Saint Xavier University | Chicago, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Crouch led the Tigers going 13-for-17 for 359 yards and four touchdowns.  Crouch added two touchdowns on the ground. 
• Dunnigan led the Tigers with four receptions for 203 yards which is a program record for the most receiving yards in a single game.  Dunnigan added three touchdowns of 60 or more yards.
• Graziano accounted for the other touchdown reception and added five receptions for 76 yards.
• Deguira nailed all six extra points and made a 44-yard field goal.
• Walker led the Tigers with 12 tackles, while Jason Freeman followed with 11 tackles.
• Savage followed Freeman with 10 tackles and Phelps amassed nine tackles, a sack, and two tackles-for-loss. 
• Patryk Ryczek had an interception for the Tigers.
• The Tigers held the football for 33-and-a-half-minutes. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The No. 13 Tigers welcome the Fighting Bees of Saint Ambrose University to Ward Field on Saturday, October 16 at 1 p.m.

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu