The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis football team hosted the Pumas of Saint Joseph’s College for UIndy’s homecoming on Oct. 6. The Greyhounds defeated the Pumas 56-0, and extended their win streak to four.

The victory also made the Greyhounds the only team left in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with an undefeated conference record.

In the first quarter of the game, the Greyhounds on their first play from scrimmage, scored on a 62-yard pass from  junior quarterback Chris Mills to junior running back Klay Fiechter.

The Greyhounds scored two more times in the quarter, with one thrown by Mills to redshirt senior wide receiver Brenden Williams for 29 yards and a 45-yard rushing touchdown by Fiechter.

In the second quarter, the Greyhounds scored on four occasions. The first touchdown was a six yard pass from Mills to senior wide receiver Mar’quone Edmonds to put the Greyhounds up 28-0 over the Pumas.

Redshirt sophomore Greg Johnson added to the Greyhound’s lead by scoring on a 34-yard run, and redshirt sophomore running back Matt Ripp followed Johnson’s score with a rushing touchdown of his own from 52 yards.

Edmonds added to the Greyhounds’ lead to end the first half with his second touchdown of the quarter from Mills on an eight yard pass. At halftime, the Greyhounds led 49-0.

The Greyhounds’ only other score of the game in the second half came on a run by Ripp, extending the Greyhound’s lead 56-0.

The Greyhounds had 601 total yards on offense, with 377 of those yards coming on the ground.

Fiechter led the Greyhounds in rushing, gaining 167 total yards and one rushing touchdown.

Fiechter also had a receiving touchdown.

Ripp also had over 100 yards rushing, rushing for 126 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

In the passing game, Mills led the Greyhounds with 218 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. Mills finished the game with 17 of 19 passes completed.

In receiving, the Greyhounds totaled 224 yards with 19 completions and four touchdowns.

Second to Fiechter’s 62 receiving yards,  redshirt senior wide receiver Brenden Williams had a total of 51 receiving yards on four catches. Edmonds led the receivers in touchdowns with two in the victory over the Pumas.

On defense, the Greyhounds held the Pumas scorless for the entire game.

Redshirt senior linebacker Tyler Peterman led the Greyhounds in total tackle with six in the game. Senior linebacker Max Davis and redshirt sophomore Mark Strong split in sacks with 0.5 each. Junior Todd Hacker had a forced fumble in the game, while redshirt junior defensive back Jerrett Ban and Davis each had an interception against the Pumas.

On Sept. 29, UIndy traveled to Missouri S&T and defeated the Miners 54-35.

The loss was the Miners’ first of the season, and gave the Greyhounds possession of first place in the GLVC.

The Greyhounds fell behind early  in the game, 14-7, but came back scoring 26 points in the second quarter.

Defensively in the second quarter, Peterman and Davis each had an interception, helping the Greyhounds gain momentum in the game.

In the second half, Fiechter added to the Greyhounds score early with a 44-yard kickoff return, which was finished off with a 34-yard touchdown run by Fiechter. The touchdown helped increase the Greyhound’s advantage, 40-14.

On the Greyhound’s next possession, Fiechter scored his fourth touchdown of the game. The Miners’ offense improved  late in the game, scoring three more touchdowns, but it was not enough to catch up to the Greyhound’s lead.

On offense, Mills was 18-for-22 passing and had a season-high 270 passing yards along with two touchdowns. Mills also had his highest passing percentage of the season completing 81.8 percent of his passes and rushed for 22 yards on three attempts.

Johnson caught the first touchdown of his collegiate career, an 11-yard reception in the second. Johnson had 95 total receiving yards in the game with six catches.

Defensively, the Greyhounds had three total interceptions that all led to touchdowns. Peterman had 13 tackles for the Greyhounds, a season high for him. Junior defensive lineman Vince Maida came up with two sacks on the night, leading the Greyhound’s defensive line.

Davis  had 10 tackles in the game, bringing his streak of double-digit tackles to eight games.

Both Head Football Coach Bob Bartolomeo and Edmonds described the Missouri S&T victory as a step towards Conference.

Edmonds said the players are always preparing for the next game and the next team they will face, whether that means watching films or working on new plays.

“The main thing is to play our game,” Edmonds said.

Bartolomeo recognized that the Greyhound’s performance against the Miners would say a lot about where they stood in the GLVC, but made no predictions until the game was played.

“We’ll see after Saturday,” he said.

UIndy will be at home this Saturday on Oct. 13 against Central State University. Kickoff at Key Stadium is set for 6 p.m.