Written Nov. 22, 2008 by Ed Syguda
WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein’s historic season came to an end Saturday at the hands of visiting Franklin, who erupted for 48 points in the second half on its way to a 62-45 win in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
The 18th-ranked Grizzlies, who improved to 10-1, advance to the second round of the NCAA playoffs and will play at North Central, a 44-23 winner today over Thomas More, next Saturday. Otterbein, ranked 10th by D3football.com, finishes the season at 9-2.
It was a tale of two halves. Both teams scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and the score stood at 14-14 at intermission.
In the second half, the offenses began to click. The two teams combined for 44 points while the lead changed hands five times in the third quarter.
Otterbein took its final lead of the game, 31-28, on a 22-yard scoring strike from junior-eligible quarterback Jack Rafferty to junior wide receiver Ray Welch with 2:50 to play in the third quarter.
Franklin, scoring on four of its next five possessions, regained the lead for good with a 23-yard pass from senor quarterback Chad Rupp to senior wingback Logan Deffner, making it 34-31 with 1:33 remaining in the third period. The Rupp to Logan combination was a familiar one on the day as the pair accounted for five Franklin touchdowns in the game.
It was still a three-point game early in the fourth quarter. Otterbein sophomore running back Colton Coy caught a 6-yard pass from Rafferty to narrow Franklin’s lead to 41-38 with 12:49 to go in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies, however, scored the next 21 points to put the game out of reach.
Rupp finished the day with 527 yards and seven touchdowns on 41-of-62 passing. He also rushed for 49 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run. Deffner and senior wide receiver Kevin Lynch, each made 10 receptions in the game. Deffner tallied 164 yards along with the five TD’s.
Otterbein’s Rafferty completed 20 of 42 pass attempts for 336 yards and five touchdowns—both season highs. The quarterback scored on a 10-yard run, finishing with 13 yards on nine carries.
Coy and junior wide receiver Tanner McCormick each caught a pair of touchdowns. Coy caught three balls for 20 yards, including TD’s of three and six yards. McCormick tallied five receptions for 96 yards, including touchdowns of 41 and 14 yards.
Junior running back Eric Yates ran for 49 yards on 14 carries for the Cardinals, who rushed for a season-low 71 yards.
Junior cornerback Chad Woodfork made seven solo tackles, leading Otterbein with nine stops. Senior middle linebacker Eric Burnsides collected eight tackles, six unassisted, including 1.5 pass sacks for a loss of 13 yards.
