The first time Valparaiso and Butler played for the Hoosier Helmet, the Bulldogs emerged victorious, defeating the Crusaders 32-10 on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Bulldogs scored the game's first 17 points and Valpo was never able to recover as the Brown and Gold dropped its fifth straight.

Butler scored first with 2:23 to play in the opening quarter. With quarterback T.J. Brown under heavy pressure from the Valpo defense, he unloaded a pass to Nate Miller cutting across the field for a 40-yard touchdown. The score was the only one in the first 15 minutes of action.

On the Bulldogs' first possession of the second quarter, Miller caught his second touchdown pass of the game, hauling in a 76-yard pass from Derek North on a halfback toss to increase Butler's lead to 14-0. Following a Crusader fumble, Jordan Quiroz added a 39-yard field goal.

Valpo found the scoreboard just before halftime. A 13-play, 70-yard drive over 7:19 resulted in a 27-yard field goal by Mike Krieg (Romeo, Mich./Romeo H.S.). A 21-yard completion from Ryan Doerffler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia H.S.) to John Popper (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman H.S.) out of the back field on a third-and-four kept the drive alive, enabling the Crusaders to cut the deficit to 17-3.

Butler scored on its first possession of the second half, as Quiroz booted a 45-yard field goal. Miller added his third touchdown catch of the day, catching a 15-yard pass from Brown to increase the lead to 27-3with 6:38 to play in the third. Quiroz added his third three-pointer of the day at the end of the third quarter, this one from 27 yards out.

Warren Arnold (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein H.S.) helped Valpo find the end zone for the first time, heading in from five yards out with 12:51 to play in the game. The touchdown run capped a 13-play drive for the Crusaders to cut the Butler lead to 30-10.

The Bulldogs added a pair of points with 4:53 to play, sacking Arnold in the end zone for a safety.

Butler finished the game with 350 yards in total offense, including 240 through the air. Miller had seven catches for 169 yards while Brian Holthaus had 17 carries for 100 yards.

The Crusaders tallied 248 total yards for the game, with Popper catching four passes for 63 yards. Doerffler was 14-of-23 for 160 yards.

Valparaiso (2-6, 1-4 PFL) will return home for the first time in the month of October next Saturday afternoon as the Crusaders host Davidson. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Brown Field.