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Rose-Hulman Football Headed Back to NCAA Playoffs After MSJ Win

More news about: Rose-Hulman

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology football team is headed to the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the second time in school history after a convincing 58-21 victory over Mount St. Joseph on Senior Day at Cook Stadium.

Rose-Hulman led 42-7 at the half and cruised to its seventh straight win to complete a perfect 7-0 season in conference play.  The Fightin' Engineers won their 13th conference championship in football program history and will return to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Rose-Hulman will learn its NCAA Division III Playoff destination in a selection show streamed live on ncaa.com on Sunday Nov. 14 at 5:30 pm.  The first round playoff game will kick off noon local time at the site of the game.

Andrew Dion finished 19-of-30 for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Rose-Hulman offense.  Shane Welshans rushed for 113 yards and 3 touchdowns on 34 carries to balance the attack.

Two receivers had huge days to help Rose-Hulman engineer a 541-yard offensive attack.  Daniel Huery gained 164 yards on 5 catches, highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown reception.  Noah Thomas became the career school record holder for touchdown receptions with 36 by hauling in eight catches for 123 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Rose-Hulman had three interceptions on the day as part of a solid performance.  Riley Roberts returned an interception 39 yards inside the 10-yard line to set up a late second quarter score.  Rashard Brown added a 15-yard interception return and Cameron Dorsey had three pass breakups to go along with an interception.

Kyzer BowenChaikou Sow and Michael Stevens had six tackles each to pace the Rose-Hulman defense.

Josh Taylor led the Mount St. Joseph offense with a 13-of-31 performance for 210 yards and three touchdowns.  Joey Newton had a team-high 120 receiving yards and two scores.

Rose-Hulman opened the scoring with a pair of 1-yard first quarter touchdowns by Welshans.  Rose-Hulman pushed its lead to 21-0 on a 17-yard touchdown catch wrestled away from a defender by Thomas.  The lead hit 28-0 on the career touchdown receiving record breaking score by Thomas, a 4-yard catch with 11:36 in the second quarter.

Mount St. Joseph closed within 28-7, before Roberts snagged his interception to set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Welshans.  Huery made a catch and two darting moves to score an 80-yard touchdown with 2:20 left in the first half to make the score 42-7 at the break.

Jonathan Oliger added a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to push the lead to 45-14.  Grant Ripperda later scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, and Alonzo Johnson capped the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Rose-Hulman also honored its 21 seniors prior to their final home game at Cook Stadium.  Seniors included Winston AmankwahJonathan AnstettCaleb BrownAndrew DionDesmond DunsonTristen FoisyCharlie HahmSam HedrickThomas HostetlerJohn HruskaJacob JaggerAlonzo JohnsonDaniel MorfordRiley RobertsMax SageJustin SandsConnor SchulteMichael StevensNoah Thomas (graduate student status), Brett Tuttle and Shane Welshans.

Rose-Hulman will head to the NCAA Division III Playoffs with an 8-2 overall record after a perfect 7-0 season in HCAC play.  The Fightin' Engineers crossed the 50-point mark for the fourth time in seven HCAC games this season in the win.

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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