Peru State College Athletic Media Release
For Immediate Release Contact:
Dave Walker
Sports Information Director
402.872.2344 or
dwalker@oakmail.peru.edu
Bobcats Celebrate
Homecoming with 30-7 Win over Iowa Wesleyan
(PERU, NE) The Bobcats used a punishing ground
attack to methodically roll over Iowa Wesleyan
College 30-7 at the Oak Bowl last Saturday to
culminate a successful Homecoming weekend. The 'Cats
rushed for 347 yards with both senior backs Mike
Mertens (Hastings) and Lynn Meyer (Johnson)
eclipsing the 100 yard mark for the day.
Bryan
Miller (Nebraska City) booted a 23 yard field goal
to break the ice and give Peru State a 3-0 lead at
9:30 of the second period. A 13 play- 74 yard drive
only minutes later ended in a Derek Falor (Sioux
Falls, SD) sneak from one yard out and a 10-0 lead
after Miller's PAT.
Falor
passed 20 yards to senior WR Jared Gerdes (Auburn)
midway through the third quarter for a 16-0
advantage before IWC got on the board via a 75 yard
punt return against the Bobcats. The PAT was good
and the lead stood at 16-7 before the 'Cats started
to grind out huge chunks of real estate behind the
offensive line. An 8 play-58 yard drive ended in a
26 yard pass from Falor to Gerdes that was set up
after several shots into the line by the 'Cat
backfield. Mike Mertens added the final score with
2:29 left on the clock with a five yard scamper
after a 12 play-64 yard drive. Miller added both
PAT's for the final 30-7 margin that sent a large
overflow crowd at the Oak Bowl happily on its way.
"We
executed on both sides of the ball and we are now
playing like I new we were capable," said Coach
Terry Clark. "The backs ran hard and our offensive
line in particular did an outstanding job of opening
holes allowing us to control the ball. The defense
bent some but never broke. I'm pleased with our
performance."
Mertens led
the ground game finishing with 133 yards on 30
carries while Meyer added 113 on 21 attempts as the
'Cats rushed 72 times in the game. Falor completed 6
of 124 passes for 100 yards with Gerdes on the
receiving end of four passes for 91 yards and two
scores.
The defense
had 23 players involved with tackles led by Derek
Derr (Maitland, MO) and Fred Whitted, Jr. (Ballwin,
MO) with eight each. DB Jack Critchfield had a busy
afternoon as well with six tackles and three pass
breakups. IWC rushed for 102 yards and passed
for 147 more.
The Bobcats
conclude a three week home stay at the Oak Bowl when
Bacone College comes to Peru on Saturday for a 1:00
p.m. kickoff.
PSC's
"Campus of a Thousand Oaks," an arboretum campus, is
nestled in historic southeast Nebraska. The state's
first and fastest-growing college, Peru State offers
a unique mix of innovative online and traditional
classroom undergraduate and graduate programs,
including online graduate degrees in education and
organizational management. PSC is a member
institution of the Nebraska State College System.
For more information, visit
www.peru.edu or call
1-800-742-4412.
