The Malone University football team brought its 2009 campaign to a close in thrilling fashion on Saturday afternoon at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois as the squad racked up 669 yards of offense in a 57-35 Mid-States Football Association Mideast League victory. The Pioneers trailed 16-13 at the end of the first quarter but then tallied four second-quarter TD's to take a 41-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. A field goal and touchdown pass allowed Malone's advantage to swell to 50-28 midway through the third stanza before the Tigers cut into the deficit, trimming the Pioneer lead to 50-35 on a TD pass with just under a minute remaining in the period. Olivet was unable to get any closer in the fourth quarter, however, as Malone running back Joe Peters (Sr., Oakland, CA) cemented the win with a 26-yard touchdown run with just 1:49 remaining on the clock. With the victory, the Pioneers concluded their season with a record of 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the MSFA Mideast while the Tigers dropped to 2-9 overall and 1-6 in league play.

In addition to the 92 points scored, the two squads also combined for 59 first downs (28 for Malone, 31 for ONU) and 1130 yards of total offense. The Pioneers posted 266 rushing yards and 403 passing yards to account for its total output of 669 yards, marking the third-highest yardage total in the program's history. Olivet Nazarene countered with 53 yards on the ground and 408 yards through the air for 461 total yards. Malone was penalized 15 times for 154 yards in the contest but also forced a season-high five turnovers.

The Pioneers set the tone early on in Saturday's contest as, on the second play from scrimmage, redshirt freshman quarterback Steve Brohl (Almont, MI) hit freshman wide receiver Derrick McLean (Laurel Hill, NC) with a 73-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers answered back on their ensuing possession, marching 73 yards on a seven-play TD drive to knot the score at 7-7.

Peters made it 13-7 minutes later after scoring the first of his three rushing touchdowns on the day, this one from six yards out. Olivet took some luster off the score, though, as the hosts blocked the extra point and returned it all the way to the end zone for two points, cutting the Pioneer lead to 13-9.

The Tigers then pulled ahead 16-13 at the 2:39 mark of the first quarter on a nine-yard TD pass from quarterback Nick Darland to wide receiver Aaron Swart. Malone took the lead back on its opening drive of the second quarter when Brohl connected with junior wide receiver Jeff Perri (Alameda, CA) on a four-yard pass, making the score 20-16.

The Pioneer lead then grew to 27-16 when junior running back Courtney Greer (Midland, TX) dashed across the goal line on a 22-yard rush with 11:05 remaining in the first half. A nine-yard Darland TD pass to running back Marshall Fraley trimmed the Malone advantage to 27-22 (two-point conversion failed) before Peters found the end zone on a five-yard run, making the score 34-22.

The back-and-forth affair then continued as each team scored touchdowns on their next possessions. Darland made it 34-28 with his fourth TD pass of the half, this one a 39-yard strike to wide out Andrew Butler (extra point blocked). Brohl answered right back for the Pioneers, wrapping up the high-scoring first half with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Perri.

A 31-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jake Hardy (Ortonville, MI) and a 47-yard TD pass from Brohl to Perri gave Malone a substantial 50-28 advantage with four minutes to play in the third quarter. ONU pulled to within 50-35 with 58 seconds remaining in the third stanza on Darland's fifth TD pass of the game, a 15-yard toss to Butler. However, the Tigers were unable to get any closer before Peters put the game away with his late touchdown run.

Brohl completed 23 of 37 pass attempts on the afternoon for a career-high 403 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. McLean posted eight catches for 186 yards and one touchdown to go with three kickoff returns for 114 yards and one rush for 43 yards. His 346 all-purpose yards in the contest (that included a three-yard loss on a punt return) marked a new Malone single-game record. The impressive total also made a mark on the MSFA record book as it ranks as the second-highest total for all-purpose yards in MSFA history (The only player to post more yards in a single game was Terry Taylor, who piled up 400 all-purpose yards for Iowa Wesleyan University in 1999). Perri also put together a stellar afternoon as he tallied seven catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

Peters gained 122 rushing yards on 14 carries (8.7 average) with three touchdowns while also pulling in four catches for 13 yards, returning two kickoffs for 60 yards and running back two punts for 17 yards. With this strong afternoon, Peters moved his 2009 rushing total to 1048 yards, becoming just the fifth Pioneer to rush for 1000 yards in a single season (Bernard Payton rushed for 1637 yards in '07, Joel Peterson gained 1165 yards in '01, Eric Smith posted 1012 yards in '04 and Dan DeGeorge gained 1003 yards in '94). Greer also turned in a solid performance, gaining 105 rushing yards on 23 carries (4.6 average) with one TD to go with three pass receptions for 39 yards.

Defensive back Jon Latimer (Sr., Dallas, TX) notched a team-high seven tackles to go with a pair of interceptions. With the two picks, Latimer moved his 2009 total to six, breaking the Pioneer single-season record for interceptions (previous record of five was accomplished eight different times). Linebacker K.P. Fonseca (Jr., Aiea, HI), linebacker Montana Russo (Jr. Monterey, CA) and defensive back Patrick O'Malley (Jr., Padua Franciscan H.S.) each followed with six stops apiece. In addition to their tackle totals, Fonseca also notched one fumble recovery while Russo picked up a sack and forced a fumble.

Senior punter Mike Skvor (Long Beach, CA) averaged 37.7 yards on three punts with two of those kicks downed inside the 20. Skvor ended an excellent senior year with an average of 42.0 yards per punt and 18 kicks downed inside the 20, both new Malone single-season records.

For Olivet Nazarene, Darland completed 36 of 66 pass attempts for 408 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Tight End David Scherer posted eight catches for 124 yards and one TD. Fraley gained 49 rushing yards on seven carries while also pulling in eight catches for 83 yards and one score. Linebacker Travis Powers paced the defense with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

Malone Notes: The Pioneers and Tigers combined for 811 passing yards on Saturday which marked the highest combined single-game passing yardage total in Malone history…McLean's 186 receiving yards marked the third-highest single-game total in school history (Josh Settlemire tallied 198 receiving yards against Urbana University in 2005 and Derek Deardorff posted 187 against Northwestern College in the 2008 Victory Bowl).