WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein takes on the Blue Streaks of John Carroll, 1:30 p.m., Saturday in Memorial Stadium. It will be Hall of Fame Day on the Westerville campus.
Otterbein, 2-1 overall, and John Carroll, 1-2 overall, sit in a four-way tie for fourth place, each 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
The Cardinals head into the game off a 35-34 win at Heidelberg last Saturday in Tiffin. Otterbein needed two late scores—an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from junior defensive back Dominic Jones in the third quarter, and a 2-yard touchdown run from senior running back Colton Coy with 4:53 to play in the game.
“We know we have to continue to get better,” said Otterbein head coach Joe Loth, who is in his eighth season at his alma mater. “I think we need to build off our win last week, learn from film to correct our mistakes, and move forward. We’re looking forward to playing John Carroll this week.”
John Carroll, under 12th-year head coach Regis Scafe, took a 24-6 lead into the fourth quarter and then held off a late Marietta charge to win, 24-18, at home last Saturday in University Heights.
Sophomore quarterback Mike Locke threw for 209 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns of three and eight yards in the win. Senior tailback Mark Elsaesser rushed for 89 yards and caught four passes for 75 yards. Senior wide receiver Frank Ross caught eight balls for 81 yards.
“John Carroll’s strength is the number of upperclassmen they have in their two deep,” Loth said “They have a very talented quarterback who can run the option well, throw on the run. The best player on offense is Frank Ross and we need to do a good job of containing him.
“Defensively,” Loth continued, “Chukabueze Iheama is a dominate defensive end. They have a very good secondary and their linebackers really run to the ball.”
Entering the week, Coy, who rushed for 119 yards at Heidelberg, continues to lead the OAC in rushing, averaging 124 yards a game. He ranks 19th in NCAA Division III. Jones, who is averaging 31.3 yards per kickoff return, ranks second in the OAC and 10th in the nation.
Last season in Westerville, in the final game of the year, the Otterbein defense played big late, making two fourth-quarter interceptions and breaking up a John Carroll two-point conversion attempt with 42 seconds to play to hold onto a 24-22 victory. Coy turned in his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season to finish with 1,013 yards in 2009.
Following John Carroll, the Cardinals travel to Baldwin-Wallace Oct. 9.
