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INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy football team (3-1) bested a resilient Hillsdale College squad, 24-19, in front of a record crowd of 9,236 at Key Stadium Saturday night.  With just over a minute to go, the Greyhounds sealed it by stuffing the Chargers (2-2) on fourth down inside the red zone.
 
The Hounds led for the final 50 minutes of the game, but Hillsdale managed to remain in striking distance despite not scoring its first touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter.
 
The Chargers pulled within five with 8:41 left on an Alex Fogt TD reception and got the ball back just 1:24 later.
 
The Hillsdale offense methodically forced its way 66 yards to the UIndy 12-yard line before facing a 4th & 3.  With just 1:10 showing on the clock and a field goal of no use, the Chargers went for it on fourth down.  QB Mark LaPrairie faked the handoff right and rolled out to his left, but Rob Dury read it all the way.  Just after LaPrairie was forced to tuck and run, the sophomore linebacker met him head on, bringing him down five yards behind the line of scrimmage to all but clinch the win.
 
Not lost in the dramatic victory was Scott Miller's milestone achievement.  The senior place kicker/punter tallied six points on the night, upping his career total to 276 to tie the program's all-time mark.  The Indy native made good on a 26-yard field goal try while adding three extra points.

After a Hillsdale field goal on the game's initial drive, the Hounds responded with touchdowns on their first two drives to pull ahead.  Junior Reece Horn hauled in the first of his two TD catches in the first quarter, while senior Matt Ripp ran in a 14 yarder on the second play of the second quarter.
 
Horn's second touchdown came midway through the third on a back-shoulder throw from QB Connor Barthel.  Miller capped the UIndy scoring with his field goal early in the final period.
 
Barthel finished 20-29 passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 40 yards rushing.  Horn amassed 94 yards receiving, and Ripp was the leading rushing with 55 yards.
 
Dury topped all players with 14 tackles, followed by 10 from Jake Grossnickle.  Andre Smith and Josh Bass were each credited with two pass breakups.

The Greyhounds head back on the road next week when they travel to Quincy for a conference match-up with the Hawks Oct. 4.


Notes:  Freshman Tuwan Payton sparked the Hounds' first TD drive with a 62-yard kickoff return … Barthel started the game with 10 consecutive completions … both teams scored between three and seven points every quarter  … Pavel Polochanin had a season-long 63-yard punt in the second quarter … Hillsdale ran 83 plays on the night, compared to 56 snaps by UIndy ... the victory gave UIndy Head Coach Bob Bartolomeo career win No. 50.