Written Oct. 24, 2009 by Ed Syguda
WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein played to a miracle finish at Homecoming, coming from behind to defeat cross-town rival Capital, 35-34, in a key Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) matchup Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium.
With the win, the 10th-ranked Cardinals improved to 7-0 overall and remain in a first-place tie with Mount Union, a 56-0 winner over Wilmington today, each 6-0 in the OAC. The 14th-ranked Crusaders fell to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the OAC.
Otterbein, trailing by 11 points, 34-23, with 13:30 to play, mounted two fourth-quarter scoring drives, with the game-winning drive covering 97 yards on 11 plays and ending in a 34-yard touchdown throw from sophomore quarterback Austin Schlosser to senior wide receiver Dan Gendron with 38 seconds to play in the game.
The final drive, beginning at the Otterbein 3-yard line with 3:47 to play, featured three clutch conversions, the first coming with Otterbein facing a 3rd-and-8 on its own 5-yard line. Senior wide receiver Tanner
McCormick out-jumped the Capital defender for a 51-yard gain. Later in the drive, facing a 3 rd-and-20 on the Otterbein 46, Schlosser found senior wide receiver Ryan Rowley for a 20-yard gain to the Capital 34. Gendron’s game-winning catch came on what looked to be Otterbein’s last play of the game as the Cardinals found themselves in a 4th-and-10 situation. Otterbein’s 2-point conversion attempt to increase the lead to three failed.
Capital still had a one more chance, recovering the ensuing squib kick at the Otterbein 48-yard line with 38 seconds to play. Senior quarterback Marty Assmann threw four straight incompletions, and the Cardinals ran out the final eight seconds of the game.
The game featured plenty of offense, particularly in the first half when both teams simply exchanged scores. Otterbein scored on its first four possessions while Capital scored on its last four possessions of the first half.
Otterbein scored on its first play from the line of scrimmage, a 45-yard run by junior running back Colton Coy with 13:48 to play in the first quarter. Otterbein scored two more on the ground in the first half, a 31-yard run from senior running back Eric Yates, and a 1-yard run by Schlosser with 14:30 remaining in the second quarter. Junior place-kicker David Brewer hit a 36-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 23-20 lead with 6:17 to play in the half.
Capital led at the intermission, 27-23.
Otterbein did not score again until Schlosser capped off a nine-play, 68-yard drive with a leaping 1-yard touchdown plunge to narrow Capital’s lead to 34-29 with 8:52 to play in the fourth quarter.
On Capital’s next possession, the Crusaders advanced to the Otterbein 41-yard line, and on 4th-and-1, the Crusaders decided to punt, and downed the ball on the Otterbein 3-yard line, where Otterbein began its miracle game-winning drive.
Otterbein finished the game with 426 yards of total offense while Capital gained 427.
Schlosser completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 236 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 50 yards and two TD’s on 15 carries.
Rowley topped all Otterbein receivers, catching six balls for 90 yards. Gendron made four catches for 64 yards. Senior tight end Mike Detwiler caught three passes for 21 yards.
Coy, for only the second time this season, didn’t break the 100-yard rushing mark, finishing with 74 yards and one TD on nine carries. Yates added 51 yards and a TD on six carries.
Junior linebacker Cole Edwards led the Cardinal defense with nine tackles.
Otterbein, 16-2 overall in its last 18 regular-season games, travels to Marietta next Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in Don Drumm Stadium. The Pioneers, 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the OAC, dropped a 15-12 decision at Muskingum today in New Concord. The Cardinals are closing in on the school record for best start to a season, 8-0, set last year.
