Game Notes
WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football team opens Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play Saturday at Wilmington College. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Williams Field at Townsend Stadium.
“I think we are walking into a hornet’s nest,” said Otterbein head coach Tim Doup about Saturday’s game in Wilmington. “Historically, their first home game is at night, and they always play everyone really tough.”
The Cardinals head into the game off a 15-0 win over Gallaudet University Sept. 1 at home. The Otterbein defense held Gallaudet to 219 yards of offense and allowed just 3-of-11 third-down conversion attempts.
“As we watched tape of that game—what really stood out was how physical and how much we flew around on defense,” Doup said.
Defensive ends Pat Seesholtz and Zack Grieves, and inside linebacker Chad Pepper each made six tackles in the game. Seesholtz and Grieves combined for 4.5 tackles for a loss of 15 yards, including two sacks.
The Quakers, under third-year head coach Ken Minor, opened the 2012 season with a 37-14 loss at the College of Mount St. Joseph Sept. 1. The Quakers trailed, 23-0, midway through the second period as Mount St. Joseph used a strong running game, rushing for 324 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Wilmington scored on a pair of pass plays of six and 63 yards from quarterback Brandon Arehart to wide receivers Kyle Blakeman and Jeremy Duncan, respectively.
“We are going from one offensive extreme to another,” Doup said. “Wilmington installed a new offense, the run and shoot. Hopefully, our defense can adjust.”
In the season opener, Gallaudet rushed the ball 41 times as compared to just 12 pass attempts.
Coach Doup expects improvement on the offensive side of the ball at Wilmington. D3football.com All-American wide receiver Trey Fairchild, who missed the game against Gallaudet due to injury, is expected to play.
“We are healthier with Trey back,” Doup said. “Offensively, we’ll open up a little bit more. Hopefully, Aaron (starting quarterback Aaron Kingcade) has settled down a little bit and understands a little more about what we are trying to do on offense.”
Making his first start at quarterback, Kingcade completed 11-of-18 pass attempts for 118 yards, but threw two interceptions against Gallaudet.
Last season in Westerville, Otterbein defeated Wilmington, 40-14, in the final game of the 2011 season. The Cardinals generated 455 yards of offense in the win.
Following Wilmington, the Cardinals return home to host John Carroll University on Homecoming Sept. 22. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
