Game Notes
WESTERVILLE, OHIO—The Otterbein University Cardinals close out the 2011 season with the Wilmington College Quakers, 1:30 p.m., Saturday in Memorial Stadium. It will be Senior Day.
Twenty-one senior players and their families along with senior members of the band, athletic training and equipment manager staffs, and cheerleading squad will be recognized before the start of the game.
“I’m very proud of this senior class—with the high expectations that we had and how they handled the adversity, they’ve done a tremendous job this year,” said Otterbein head coach Joe Loth.
The Cardinals have lost five Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) games—with two going into overtime—by six points or less this season.
“Whenever adversity hits is when true commitment shows,” Loth continued. “It’s easy to be committed when things are going well and you’re winning a lot of games. Obviously we didn’t win many games. We lost close game after close game—that’s when people decide how committed they are. I think our senior class really showed great commitment, dug in deeper and continued to work hard all year.”
Football seniors to be recognized Saturday include Michael Angle, Matt Ashworth, Will Brown, Kevin Castle, Shane Centers, Kenny Collmar, Fortin Faustin, Eric Heller, Nick Houk, Steve Kuzyk, Anthony Lovelace, Josh McCaskey, Nicholas McVay, Kevin Murphy, P.J. Peaks, Chad Pepper, Matt Ross, Austin Schlosser, Gabe Shively, Robert Stone, and Shane Willis.
The Cardinals (2-7, 1-7 OAC) head into the game off a 30-27 loss to Marietta College at home last Saturday.
Otterbein trailed Marietta 27-20 late in the fourth quarter before senior quarterback Austin Schlosser connected with freshman receiver Mike Ryan for a 6-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 1:22 remaining. Marietta, on its next possession, moved the ball 43 yards in eight plays and then converted a 38-yard field goal with 1.7 seconds remaining to win the game.
The Quakers (0-9, 0-8), under second-year head coach Ken Minor, fell hard to Ohio Northern, 51-15, at home last Saturday. Wilmington is seeking to snap a 25-game losing streak.
