Butler Earns First 3-0 Start Since 2002

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Shane Lux | September 6, 2025

Butler – For the first time in over two decades, the Butler Golden Tornado are 3-0.

It hasn’t been since 2002, and it hasn’t been without drama, but this 2025 edition of the Golden Tornado has accomplished something not seen in 23 years.

Butler won its season-opener against Shaler in four overtimes, 32-26, followed that up with a 48-24 victory over Brashear, and now slugged out a 48-34 win over the Meadville squad that wouldn’t go away easily.

“It feels great. I mean, it’s good; it’s a lot of hard work and dedication from these guys and the coaching staff, and they’re putting it together,” said Butler head coach Eric Christy. “Our games have been just crazy this year. Lots of craziness, and all three of them.”

One thing became apparent by the second quarter: that defense seemed more of an option than a requirement.

The Bulldogs and Golden Tornado combined for over 900 yards of total offense, with Butler holding a slight 478 to 435 advantage.

“I thought this could happen,” Christy said. “I didn’t want it to happen, but I had a feeling. It would’ve been nice to keep them off the board, but they were hitting some home runs. They had a couple of one-play touchdowns and broke away, so it would have been nice to slow them down and make them drive a bit more. They got some nice players and made some big plays.”

Although both teams punted on their opening drives, the offenses soon got in gear. Butler opened the scoring when Nico Baggetta capped a 7-play, 64-yard drive with a 1-yard run near the midway point of the opening quarter.

That was the beginning of a big night for Baggetta.

“Every year, we’d win our first game or two, then lose a game,” Baggetta said. Then the momentum would go down. This team’s been amazing. We’re going uphill. We’re getting better every day. In practice, we’re looking great. In games, we’re scoring on offense. I mean, it’s incredible. It feels fantastic to be a part of this.”

In the closing seconds, the Bulldogs pulled even when Tymir Phillips hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass on 4th down from Jacob Thompson.

The Golden Tornado then went back up. Baggetta broke loose for a 54-yard run touchdown, but not to be outdone, Jordan Lawrence ripped off a 54-yard gain, followed by a 4-yard run to again even the game at 14.

Late in the first half, Butler scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes to give them a two-score lead heading into the locker room.

First, Baggetta scored his third rushing touchdown of the first half, capping a 48-yard drive with a 6-yard run at the 3:07 mark.

Tyson Pino then intercepted Thompson, which led to Deacon Simko catching a 21-yard touchdown pass from Baggetta with 1:16 to play in the first half, following a quick 73-yard drive.

Butler led 28-14 at halftime.

That was the second of four interceptions thrown by Thompson. However, what Meadville lacked in the air, they made up for on the ground as the Bulldogs racked up 376 yards, including a quick start to the second half.

On the third stanza’s initial snap, Jordan Lawrence ran 56 yards for a touchdown. On their second snap, Tymir Phillips scored his second touchdown with an 80-yard sprint, making it three touchdowns in the first 2:27 of the second half.

Butler added a pair of third-quarter scores with Baggetta’s 11-yard sandwiched in between the two Meadville touchdowns, along with Pino hauling in a 17-yard touchdown from Baggetta on 4th down.

Nico Baggetta had a monster game for Butler, accounting for six touchdowns, rushing 15 times for 158 yards and four scores, while he completed 14 of 17 passes for 187 yards and a pair of scores.

“That feels amazing, it’s great knowing that you watch film and that stuff pays off,” Baggetta said. “You work hard in practice and the off-season, and then it pays off. There’s nothing better than seeing the whole team come together; it looks great. I can’t take honor of that on my own. I wasn’t the only one on my team. I’m just doing what I’m trying to do out here.”

Meadville answered in time when Lawrence capped a 15-play 64-yard drive with an 8-yard run with 9:31 to play, pulling the Bulldogs to within 41-34.

Jordan Lawrence also had a monster game, rushing for 221 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns. Tymir Phillips also went over the century mark with 130 yards on 12 carries, along with two receptions for 59 yards and two total touchdowns.

The Bulldogs gave themselves a chance to tie or possibly win when they came up with a 4th down stop at their 13-yard line with 4:21 to play.

But in a game that saw little defense, Butler came up with four key stops, including Marcus Vicari’s interception on 4th down that led to Mark Klemz’s 11-yard touchdown run with 1:21 to play, sealing the victory for Butler.

“It was great. I mean, that’s two weeks in a row we put up 48 points,” said Christy. “They’ve got an overtime win, and the team just is resilient, so they just learned from the senior leadership again, who are great with that. They’re really on the field, learning from their teammates, and they lead by example, saying, “Hey, this is what we’re doing.” They’re always confident they’re going to get it done, and I thought at one point they were going to wear out. Both teams seem to be at a standstill.”

Butler will aim to go 4-0 next week when they play host to Hollidaysburg. Meadville will look to bounce back against Oil City at Dr. Albert Bender Stadium. Both games are a 7 o’clock kickoff.

“We’ll prepare for Holidaysburg,” concluded Christy. “We’re going to plan on winning it. Plan on getting our game going from the start. Man, I don’t know when Butler was 4-0. I think I was on the team. I think it was that long ago.”

Butler 48  Meadville 34

Score by Quarters

Meadville – 7 7 13 7 – 34

Butler – 7 21 13 7 – 48

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

B – Nico Baggetta 1 yd run, (Alex Morris pat), 6:16 – 7-64

M – Tymir Phillips 38 yd pass from Jacoby Thompson, (Seamus Miller pat), 0:42 – 10-65

Second Quarter

B – Baggetta 54 yd run, (Morris pat), 7:44 – 4-89

M – Jordan Lawrence 4 yd run, (Miller pat), 5:33 – 5-68

B – Baggetta 6 yd run, (Morris pat), 3:07 – 6-48

B – Deacon Simko 21 yd pass from Baggetta, (Morris pat), 1:16 – 3-73

Third Quarter

M – Lawrence 56 yd run, (Miller pat), 11:44 – 1-56

B – Baggetta 11 yd run, (kick blocked), 9:49 – 4-58

M – Phillips 80 yd run, (kick blocked), 9:33 – 1-80

B – Tyson Pino 17 yd pass from Baggetta, (Morris pat), 6:02 – 9-70

Fourth Quarter

M – Lawrence 8 yd run, (Miller pat), 9:31 – 15-64

B – Mark Klemz 11 yd run, (Morris pat), 1:21 – 3-41

Individual Stats

Rushing: M – Lawrence 23-221, Phillips 12-130, Thompson 10-24, Jamel Mitchell 1-1. Totals: 46-376. B – Baggetta 15-158, Mark Klemz 10-84, Jordan Gaiser 1-0, Jacob Kollinger 2-31, Simko 2-18, Team 2-0. Totals: 32-291.

Receiving: M – Phillips 2-59. B – Simko 6-78, Nash Cuffman 1-15, Kollinger 1-11, Tyson Pino 4-77, Marcus Vicari 2-6.

Passing: M – Thompson 2-for-8, 59 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT. B – Baggetta 14-for-17, 187 yards, 2 TD.

Interceptions: B – Klemz, Pino, Cuffman, Vicari.

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