With the win, Otterbein improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the OAC and shares the conference lead with Mount Union, a 28-21 winner at Capital today. The Yellow Jackets fell to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the OAC.

Junior running back Colton Coy’s 9-yard run to give Otterbein a 21-17 lead with 2:28 remaining in the first half proved to be the game-winner as neither team scored in the second half.

Baldwin-Wallace scored the game’s first 10 points, a 24-yard field goal from junior place-kicker John McGraw and a 1-yard run from junior running back John McGraw to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-0 lead with 6:26 to play in the first quarter.

Otterbein responded with a pair of touchdown throws of 14 and five yards from sophomore quarterback Austin Schlosser to senior wide receiver Ryan Rowley to take a 14-10 lead with 8:53 to play in the second quarter.

The Yellow Jackets countered on their next possession, mounting a nine play, 56-yard drive, capped off by a 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Anthony Gardner to junior running back Kyrell Cook to retake the lead, 17-14, with 4:20 to play in the half.

Not to be undone, the Cardinals, on their next series, went 63 yards on six plays which ended with Coy’s touchdown run. Otterbein led 21-17 at intermission.

The Cardinal defense and special teams took over in the second half, limiting B-W to just 86 yards of offense. The Yellow Jackets never crossed the 50-yard line as Otterbein junior punter and place-kicker David Brewer placed all four of his second-half punts inside the B-W 20-yard line, with two of them downed on the five- and seven-yard lines.

Schlosser, making just his third varsity start at quarterback, completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Rowley caught six balls for 43 yards and two touchdowns while senior wide receiver Dan Gendron made three receptions for 86 yards, including a long of 35 yards at the beginning of Otterbein’s second touchdown drive.

Senior running back Eric Yates led the Otterbein ground attack, rushing for 95 yards on 11 carries. Coy, who entered the game leading the OAC with a rushing average of 120 yards a game, finished with 64 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Senior linebacker Donnie Reinhart made 11 tackles to lead Otterbein in the win. Senior defensive back Terrell White added nine stops while senior free safety Danny Lynch and junior defensive end Nick Stelzer chipped in eight each. Senior cornerback Chad Woodfork tallied four tackles, including a pass sack for a loss of nine yards on Baldwin-Wallace’s last possession of the game.

The Cardinals remain on the road, traveling to Wilmington Oct. 17 for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.