The Braves lost their fourth straight game, falling to no. 14 Bethel College, 50-21, on Saturday night at Thresher Stadium. Ottawa finished the game with 120 yards through the air and 29 yards rushing for 149 total yards of offense. Bethel accumulated 483 yards of offense, 60 passing and 423 rushing.
OU is averaging 300.3 yards of offense per game, 138.3 rushing and 162 yards passing. The Brave offense is averaging 11 points per game. Opponents are averaging 189 yards rushing and 198.2 yards passing per game (387.3) and scoring 31.7 points per game.
Ottawa is ranked 42nd in the NAIA in rushing yards per game (138.3), 28th in yards per rush (4.4), 49th in first downs per game (18.3), 12th in fourth down conversions (7-13), 23rd in fourth down conversion percentage (.540), first in punt return average (35.5), 31st in field goals (4-7), and 49th in fumbles recovered (3).
The Braves had two long fumble returns for touchdowns in the first half against Bethel. Saamad Ali returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Keondre Polanco forced a fumble, picked up the ball and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 with 7:34 to go in the second quarter. Ali's fumble return is the longest in school history.
Ottawa is led in rushing by
Jared Daniels (261),
Noah Shoeman leads OU in passing yards (232),
Cory Jones is the team's leader in receptions (14),
AJ Hemphill leads Ottawa in tackles (41) and he has recovered two fumbles.
Saturday's game is the 44th meeting between the two teams. Ottawa leads the series, 31-12 and defeated Tabor 45-22 last year on Oct. 2 in Ottawa. OU is 3-7 in its last 10 meetings against Tabor and is 14-4 all-time against the Bluejays in Hillsboro. Ottawa has lost its last two meetings against Tabor on the road. The last time OU won in Hillsboro was on Nov. 15, 2014. Ottawa defeated no. 18 Tabor 17-15.
OU has lost four straight on the road, dating back to the 2021 season. Ottawa's last road win was on Oct. 8, 2021 against Saint Mary
Tabor College is 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the KCAC with its lone conference loss coming against Avila University, at home on Sept. 3, 41-7.
The Bluejays have won three straight games and enter Saturday's contest coming off a 21-20 road victory over Sterling College last Saturday. Tabor won the game with just three seconds left on the game clock on a touchdown run by Leamanaia Brown. TC was 10-for-18 in third down attempts in the game while Sterling was 2-for-12.
In the win, Tabor had 348 yards of offense, 134 yards rushing and 214 yards passing. Sterling finished the game with 67 yards rushing and 185 yards through the air for a total of 252 yards of offense.
Gustavo Villareal went 19-for-36 through the air for 189 yards and one touchdown. Jakob Fell led Tabor in rushing with 64 yards and one touchdown. Jarian Allen finished the game with seven receptions for 107 yards. Wyatt Leppke and Brooks Gardner led the Bluejays in tackles with seven apiece.
Tabor kicker Nathan Heilig was 0-for-2 in field goal attempts, missing attempts from 39 yards and 30 yards.
Gustavo Villareal leads Tabor in passing yards per game (136) and has thrown for 680 yards and five touchdowns. He also has two interceptions. Jordan Bolden is the Bluejays' leader in rushing, averaging 29.2 yards per game and 2.7 rushing yards per carry. Jarrod Favors is TC's leader in receptions with 15. He is averaging three receptions per game and has two touchdowns.
Brooks Gardner is TC's leader in tackles with 32. He has one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, one interception, and one pass break up. Cole Hernandez is second on the team in tackles with 31. He has 5.5 tackles for loss. Wyatt Leppke is right behind Hernandez with 30 tackles. He had one pass break up.
Tabor is averaging 243.4 yards per game on offense, 91 yards rushing and 152.4 yards passing. The Bluejays are averaging 16.6 points per game. Opponents are averaging 306.4 yards of offense, 115 yards rushing and 191.4 yards passing. Opponents are scoring 17.8 points per game against the Bluejays.
Tabor is ranked 14th in the NAIA in rushing attempts (180), 49th in rushing touchdowns (5), 48th in rushing first downs (31), 44th in passing first downs (37), 42nd in third down conversions (22-73), 24th in fourth down conversions (6-13), 34th in kick returns (No.-Yards) (8-38), 20th in fumbles lost (8-4), 17th in fumbles recovered (5), 19th in defensive INTs (6), and seventh in interception returns (No.-Yards) (6-143).
