WESTERVILLE, Ohio—12th-ranked Heidelberg University retained the Rhine River Cup for another year, defeating Otterbein University, 35-17, Saturday evening in Westerville.

With the win, the Student Princes, 6-0 overall, maintained their share of first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with a 5-0 mark. The Cardinals, 3-3 overall, dropped to 3-2 in league play.

Otterbein and Heidelberg have been battling for possession of the Cup since 1992 when the two teams played the first-ever collegiate football game in Germany, which ended in a 7-7 tie. The Cardinals hold a 13-8-1 lead in the Rhine River series although the Berg has won the last three meetings.

The Cardinals, seeking to run their win streak to three games, gave Heidelberg all it could handle, but could not overcome the explosiveness of junior running back Cartel Brooks, who rushed for 337 yards and all five of Heidelberg’s touchdowns.

Otterbein scored on its first possession, driving 59 yards and consuming 8:23 before settling on a 27-yard field goal from junior place-kicker Alana Gaither.

The Berg answered on its opening possession, a six-play drive that ended on a 36-yard touchdown run from Brooks.

Otterbein briefly regained the lead when senior quarterback Ben Sizemore hit senior wide receiver Brice Frentzel with a short pass that Frentzel turned into a long run for a 74-yard score to put Otterbein up, 10-7, with 14:47 to play in the first half.

Brooks scored twice more on runs of 23 and three yards before the half ended to give Heidelberg a 21-10 lead heading into the locker room. Otterbein, out of timeouts, had a chance to score once more before the first half ended, driving all the way to the Heidelberg 10-yard line, but couldn’t quite get the field goal unit set as time expired.

The Cardinals fought their way back, forcing a three-and-out on Heidelberg’s opening possession of the second half. Following a Heidelberg punt, the Cardinals quickly worked their way down the field, covering 56 yards in four plays, capped off by a 22-yard scoring strike from Sizemore to freshman tight end Bryson Wray to make it 21-17 with 12:38 to play in the third quarter.

Brooks added two more TD’s in the third and fourth quarters on runs of two and 38 yards and Heidelberg led, 35-17, with 13:09 to play in the game.

The Cardinals still had chances, despite the 18-point deficit. Otterbein drove deep into Heidelberg territory twice more during the fourth quarter, to Heidelberg’s 14-yard line where they lost possession on downs with 7:04 to play, and to the 10-yard line, losing possession on a fumble with seven seconds to play.

Sizemore threw for a career-high 354 yards in the loss, completing 30 of 50 pass attempts. Receivers Steven Carpenter, a senior, and Cole Benner, a sophomore, accounted for 21 of the 30 receptions. Carpenter caught 11 balls for 105 yards while Lucas hauled in 10 receptions for 94 yards.

Sophomore running back Drew Ervin added 57 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Otterbein freshman inside linebacker Austin Jones led the team with 11 tackles, including eight solo and one for a loss of four yards.