NEW CONCORD, OHIO—The 19th-ranked Otterbein Cardinals opened Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a 38-21 win over Muskingum Saturday in McConagha Stadium.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 2-0 on the season while Muskingum dropped to 0-2.

Otterbein broke the game wide open, scoring 21 points in the last four minutes of the first half to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room.

The Fighting Muskies enjoyed leads of 7-0 and 14-7 before Otterbein’s 21-point run, which began with a 10-yard touchdown pass from graduate quarterback Jack Rafferty to senior wide receiver Ryan Rowley to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:18 to play in the half.

Otterbein’s next possession resulted in a Rafferty 6-yard touchdown run to cap off a 4-play, 53-yard drive with 1:15 remaining. In that drive, senior tight end Mike Detwiler hauled in a 30-yard reception to put the ball on the Muskingum 23-yard line.

Otterbein’s final possession of the half started at its own 48-yard line following an interception by senior cornerback Chad Woodfork with 51 seconds remaining. Rafferty hooked up with senior wide receiver Tanner McCormick for a 43-yard touchdown bomb with 12 seconds remaining in the half.

The Cardinals put the game out of reach at the end of the third quarter, with an 11-play, 72-yard drive capped off by a Rafferty to McCormick 20-yard touchdown pass deep in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Junior place-kicker David Brewer closed out the Otterbein scoring with a 21-yard field goal with 2:42 to play. The Cardinals used up 8:24 on the 14-play, 66-yard drive leading up to the field goal.

Rafferty turned in a good day passing, completing 16 of 27 pass attempts for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He also picked up 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

McCormick led the Otterbein receiving corps, catching four balls for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Detwiler finished with a career-high five catches for 74 yards. Rowley made five receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown.

The running back combo of senior Eric Yates and junior Colton Coy combined for 113 yards rushing. Yates carried the ball 10 times for 29 yards and a one-yard score. Coy rushed for 84 yards on 21 carries.

The Cardinal defense picked off Muskingum junior quarterback Jake Burns three times in the game. In addition to Woodfork, senior free safety Danny Lynch and senior strong safety David Ebright each made a pick.

For the second game in a row, senior rover back Terrell White led the defense with 13 tackles, ten of them unassisted. Junior linebacker Cole Edwards and Lynch each made  seven stops in the game.

Brewer, who also handles the punting for Otterbein, made all five of his extra-point attempts along with the 21-yard field goal. He also averaged 44.5 yards on two punts. Senior wide receiver Dan Gendron returned three kickoffs for 75 yards.

Otterbein returns to Westerville for its home opener next Saturday. The Cardinals are scheduled to face 7th-ranked Ohio Northern, who fell today, 30-10, to defending national champion Mount Union. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.