ALBION – First game jitters? Never heard of her.
Explosive, dominant and ready from the start, the Albion College football team pummeled its way to a 52-0 win over Carthage College. A number of players made key contributions, with not a single sign of week one nerves hitting the Brits.
KEY PLAYERS
Back for a fifth year, Jack Bush was 18 of 27 for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Senior Mark Tocco was remarkable, hauling in seven catches for a career-best 120 yards.
Not only were the Britons a perfect 8 for 8 in red zone chances, senior Jackson Cooney was 7 for 7 in PATs.
Albion's defense was superb, holding Carthage to a 2-14 mark on third down opportunities.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After winning the toss and deferring, the Briton defense came ready to play, forcing a three and out. Albion turned the stop into a score, as fifth year running back Ryan Roberts cashed in for a 3-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Bush connected with Tocco over the middle for Albion's second touchdown of the season. The hosts would hold a 14-0 advantage after the opening quarter.
A 95 yard drive in the second quarter would later result in another Albion touchdown. During the drive, Bailey Edwards made a spectacular 48-yard catch near midfield, putting the Brits in great field position. The drive was capped by Donovan Wright's 1-yard run for a 21-0 lead.
On the second play of the next Carthage drive, Stephen Douglas picked off the Firebird quarterback to give the ball right back to the Brits. Three plays later, an 18-yard run from Phillip Jones-Price put the Britons in total control with a commanding 28-0 lead.
Moments before the half, Ian Goins pushed the lead to 35-0, running to the right side and converting a 20-yard run.
With the ball first in the second half, the Britons were in the red zone threatening once again. A pass hit the hands of the Albion receiver, but a late hit popped the ball loose. An alert Edwards caught the ball in midair – and in the end zone – for his first TD as a Brit.
On the ensuing Carthage drive, Ricky Pearson picked off a pass on the second play of the drive and returned it for 33 yards. No stranger to good field position, the Britons built their lead to 49-0, thanks to Colby Taylor-Browning's 9-yard touchdown.
Albion's final three points came in the fourth quarter – a 22-yard field goal from freshman Logan Grwinski.
EXTRA YARDAGE
The 52 points were the most since Nov. 9, 2019, when Albion defeated Finlandia by a 54-6 margin.
Albion is 4-0 in week one under the regime of Dustin Beurer.
The Britons converted 28 first down's compared to the 11 by the Firebirds.
15 different receivers caught at least one pass in Saturday's win. With five different running backs recording touchdowns, the Brits put up 464 yards of total offense.
With the first shutout of the year in the books, it's Albion's first since a 41-0 win at Kalamazoo last season.
Eddie Hines led Albion with a career-high six tackles.
BEURER KNOWS BEST
"It was good to get the first one [win] out, especially when we were playing a team we didn't know much about coming into this," said head coach, Dustin Beurer.
"It was important to get guys game experience.. All the guys were all ready … They stayed ready through the Blackout of Albion 2022," said Beurer, referring to the 36-hour power outage earlier in the week.
"We came out, we played fast and physical," said Beurer. "Now we have to check out missed assignments and see how we can clean things up and how we can get better."
"If we're gonna be real good this year it depends on how our depth plays out," added Beurer.