Box Score
WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein scored first, but Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) leader Mount Union won it in the end, 28-10, Saturday on Senior Day in Memorial Stadium.
With the loss, Otterbein dropped to 4-4 and 3-4 in the OAC while Mount Union improved to 8-0 and 7-0 in the OAC. The win was Mount Union’s 51st-consecutive regular-season victory.
Mount Union muffed a punt after the Cardinal’s went three-and-out on their opening drive, allowing Otterbein senior cornerback Elliott Glass to recover the fumble at the Mount Union 24-yard line.
Otterbein then took its first and only lead of the game when senior place-kicker David Brewer connected on a 29-yard field goal with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals led 3-0 for the first 21 minutes of the game, but the second quarter belonged to the Purple Raiders as they put up 21 points. Sophomore running back Jeremy Murray had two of those scores on runs of 2 and 5 yards.
Trailing 14-3 in the second quarter, the Cardinals put together their only touchdown drive of the day. Junior quarterback Austin Schlosser capped a 38-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 14-10 with 2:58 left in the half.
The Purple Raiders answered in their next series though with a drive that took only 1:59 after returning the ensuing kickoff to the Otterbein 40-yard line. Murray scored his second touchdown of the day to give Mount Union a 21-10 lead heading into the locker room.
Otterbein had a couple of scoring opportunities in the second half. Junior cornerback Matt Ross intercepted a pass at the Mount Union 39-yard line in the third quarter. Brewer missed right on a 35-yard field-goal attempt with 10:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Then on the first play of the fourth quarter from the Otterbein 25-yard line, senior running back Colton Coy, on a halfback option pass, just missed connecting with junior wide receiver Trey Fairchild, who was running down the left sideline uncovered for an easy score that would have made it 21-17.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Murray rushed for his third touchdown of the day, a 38-yard run early in the fourth to cap off the scoring. He finished the day with 174 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries.
Mount Union tallied 361 yards of total offense in the win. The Cardinals generated 138 yards.
Schlosser connected on 10 of 23 passing attempts for 78 yards and was intercepted twice. Senior wide receiver Steve Kuzyk led the Cardinals with four receptions for 46 yards.
Coy rushed for 45 yards on 24 carries.
Otterbein senior outside linebacker Wil Longsdorf led both teams defensively with 12 tackles. Junior middle linebacker Shane Centers made 10 stops, including five tackles for a loss of 8 yards. Sophomore free safety Shea Brintlinger finished with 11 tackles.
Otterbein will travel to Marietta next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
