Hanover 49, Anderson 24
The tour ended at Macholtz Stadium on a record note of sorts. That's because in its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game against Hanover College that day, AU wide receiver Jarrett Dickey set a school record for single-game reception yardage.
But in the end, it was Hanover and its bruising running game that prevailed on the day, 49-25.Dickey caught seven passes for 291 yards, including touchdowns of 88 and 86 yards on passes from Triston Anderson. Dickey's total reception yardage comfortably eclipsed the previous mark of 272 set in 1990 by Brad Lamb, who would later play with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
As it turned out, the long scoring strikes to Dickey were among few highlights of the game for the host Ravens, who had 373 yards in the air. But the stingy Hanover defense allowed Anderson only 11 yards on the ground.
On the upside, both Triston Anderson and Jarrett Dickey are freshmen, so optimistic Ravens fans could look forward to seeing that tandem connect for a few more teams. The two are featured in the photos leading off the post, shots taken on the same play in the second half that went for a nice gain.
Hanover running back Tee Hart also was a freshman in 2016, and he and teammates Justin Conners and Nate Hein led a Panthers rushing attack that amassed 244 yards and scored six touchdowns. Conners had three of those TDs. Panthers quarterback Adam Gutermuth threw 30 yards to Ricky Windell in the second quarter for the other touchdown.
The win was Hanover's first of the season and leveled its HCAC record to 1-1 (1-3 overall); Anderson dropped to 1-1 in the HCAC and was also 1-3 for the season.
Players and spectators were blessed with very comfortable temperatures, thanks to thick cloud cover throughout the morning and into the late afternoon. Sunshine finally appeared early in the third quarter.
Hanover jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on two running touchdowns, 4 yards by Conners and 18 yards by Hart. Dickey's 88-yard TD reception came with about a minute left in the quarter, bringing the Ravens to within 14-7. But the Panthers scored twice more in the second quarter, first on a 30-yard pass from Gutermuth to Ricky Windell and then on a 3-yard Gutermuth keeper, pushing Hanover's lead to 28-7.
Anderson closed the gap to 28-17 at halftime on Dickey's 86-yard pass reception TD and a Trey Boor 28-yard field goal.
Conners had TD runs of 29 yards -- the only score in the third quarter -- and 3 yards in the fourth quarter, making Hanover's lead 42-17.
The two teams each scored once more, the Ravens on a 5-yard Anderson pass to Travis Williams (followed by a successful two-point conversion), and the Panthers on a 40-yard run from scrimmage by Nate Hein, accounting for the final score of 49-25.
The game was AU's turn in the HCAC to participate in the annual Samaritan
Feet observance in which coaches go barefoot to draw attention to the fact that 300 million people in the world go without shoes. AU head coach John Sala did just that on Sept. 24.
It also was the day all coaches for schools that are members of the AmericanFootball Coaches Association wore Coach to Cure MD patches (right) on the sleeves of their shirts to raise awareness of Parent Project Muscular Distrophy, the largest charity devoted exclusively to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Anderson finished the season with a 1-9 record (1-7 in the HCAC). It would have the exact same record the following year, improve slightly (2-8, 2-6) in 2018, followed by seasons of 3-7 (1-6) in 2019, 1-4 in the COVID 2020 season, 1-9 (1-6) in 2021 and '22 and 0-10 (0-7) in 2023.
Hanover College finished this season 4-6 (4-4 in the HCAC), and would repeat those numbers in 2017. The Panthers improved to 7-4 (7-1) in 2018, 9-2 (7-0) in 2019, 4-0 (4-0) in the COVID 2020 season, 5-5 (4-3) in 2021, 5-5 (5-2) in 2022, and 7-3 (4-3) in 2023.
Hanover snagged the HCAC berth in the NCAA Division III postseason tournament in 2018 and '19, but the Panthers lost in the first round both seasons.
As always, to view a larger, sharper version of the photos in posts at this blog, click on the image. This is especially helpful if you access Photo Potpourri with a mobile device. To view a full gallery of shots from this game, follow the link in this sentence.
Above and next two below: Anderson quarterback Triston Anderson (19) and wide receiver Travis Williams (6) bobbled this first half exchange, and the loose ball in the backfield was pounced on by Hanover's Zach Dauer (34). In the fourth quarter, the same two Ravens would connect on a short pass for Anderson's final touchdown of the game.
Above and next two below: Late in the first quarter, Triston Anderson connected with Dickey on this 88-yard catch and run for the home team's first TD.
Above and below: Wide receiver Travis Williams closed the Ravens' scoring with a 5-yard run with a pass reception in the fourth quarter.
Above and next two below: Hanover's Tee Hart made Anderson University defenders work hard for their tackles, and when the 220-pound ball carrier was running at full steam and staring defenders square in the eye -- with a blocker in front of him -- or hurdling defenders on the turf, it was anything but easy.
Above: The Ravens' defense had its best success when it could gang tackle, like it did here, stopping Justin Conners (28) after a modest gain on a pass reception.
Above and next three below: Conners was successful a good number of times against Anderson, here breaking free from an Alec Monte tackle and running for a 29-yard third-quarter score. Conners would lose the ball in the end zone, but game officials ruled he had crossed the goal line while still in possession of the ball.
Above: Conners added a touchdown run from 3 yards out in the fourth quarter.
Above and below: After making this reception, Hanover's Ricky Windell (80) hit the ground hard and needed some attention from the trainer.
Above and below: The Ravens' defense had perhaps its best moment in the second half when the front line pressured Hanover quarterback Adam Gutermuth into making a bad throw that was intercepted by Shahid Hunt, who returned it 11 yards.
