INDIANAPOLIS — Nick Howard passed for one touchdown and rushed for three more, Steven Stephany grabbed two four-quarter interceptions near the end zone and Butler beat St. Thomas-Minnesota 36-20 on Saturday.
Howard's rushing scores came from 2, 5 and 28 yards. Howard also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Brown.
St. Thomas quarterbacks Tak Tateoka and Michael Rostberg were each intercepted two times. Devaon Holman had one interception at the end of the first half and Jeremiah Jackson came up with his third of the year.
St. Thomas attempted an onside kick to begin the second half but the ball didn't travel far enough. Butler (9-2, 5-2 Pioneer Football League) capitalized on the short field when Howard ran it in from the 2-yard line after a 36-yard drive for a 20-7 lead.
Luke Wooten led Butler receivers with five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Hope Adebayo, one of the best running backs in the PFL, was limited to just 61 yards rushing for St. Thomas (5-6, 4-3). Forty of those yards came on one play.
Butler travels to face Presbyterian next weekend to conclude the regular season. St. Thomas tried to reach six wins against Dayton (6-4).
