BLUFFTON, Ohio -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology relied on a 28-point first quarter to cruise to a 48-20 win in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football action on Saturday.

With the victory, Rose-Hulman continues to share the HCAC lead at 3-0 in conference play by winning its 12th consecutive league game dating back to spring 2021.

Miguel Robertson led the offense by completing 20-of-24 passes for 319 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Jailen Hobbs scored 3 touchdowns, with 8 catches for 137 yards and 2 scores along with a kickoff return touchdown.  Adam Tice-Saliu added 116 receiving yards on 4 catches and 2 touchdowns.

Jay Smith led the ground attack with 78 rushing yards, and Grant Ripperda added 54 rushing yards.  Daniel Huery contributed 8 catches for 70 yards to the offense.

The defense also played a key role in the Rose-Hulman victory.  In addition to Roberts interception for a touchdown, Tyce Miller snagged 2 interceptions and Adam Field added another as the Fightin' Engineers forced 4 turnovers on the day.

Ryan Schmidt and Chaikou Sow had a team-high 6 tackles, and TJ Mccray added 3 pass breakups to provide defensive depth.

Blake Rine led the Bluffton offense with 155 passing yards and Maalik Tucker rushed for 96 yards to lead the Beavers.

Rose-Hulman led 14-0 before running its first offensive play.  Hobbs opened the scoring with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown just 13 seconds into the game.

On Bluffton's first offensive play from scrimmage, Riley Roberts hauled in an interception and returned it 22 yards for a score to give Rose-Hulman a 14-0 lead with 14:38 in the first quarter to cap a span of two touchdowns in 22 seconds.

Rose-Hulman took a 21-0 lead at the 9:47 mark of the opening quarter after running its first four offensive plays.  Robertson connected with Hobbs on a 50-yard touchdown strike to give the Engineers a 3-score lead.

The lead reached 28-0 later in the first quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to Tice-Saliu.  The play capped a 7-play, 73-yard march.

Rose-Hulman pushed its advantage to 35-7 with 13:21 left in the second quarter.  Ripperda scored from 2 yards out to cap a 12-play, 60-yard scoring drive.

The Fightin' Engineers opened the second half scoring with 7:52 left in the third quarter on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to Tice-Saliu to help keep control of the contest.

Hobbs caught his second touchdown pass of the day on a 26-yard strike early in the fourth quarter as Rose-Hulman pushed its advantage to 48-14.

Rose-Hulman improved to 3-3 on the season and 3-0 in league play, while Bluffton dropped to 0-3 in conference games.  The Fightin' Engineers return home to face Franklin College next Saturday at 1:30 pm.