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WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football team broke in the new turf field in fine fashion, defeating Marietta College, 20-0, on a warm, sunny Homecoming day in Westerville.
 
The meeting was the first official game played on the new Crossflex HP surface, part of a $2.1 million upgrade Memorial Stadium received over the summer.
 
Marietta had the game's first opportunity to score, recovering a fumble on the Otterbein 43-yard line four minutes into the game and moving it on a series of plays to the Cardinal 2 where they faced first-and-goal. The Otterbein defense stopped four straight running plays to get the ball back.
 
Otterbein finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Quarterback Brick Davis capped off a seven play, 58-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run of his own to become the first player to score on the new turf. Otterbein led, 7-0, with 10:27 to play in the first half.
 
From there on, it was pretty much all Otterbein.
 
Davis engineered a 10-play, 68-yard drive, ending in a 3-yard touchdown reception by tight end Chad McCray with 10:27 to play in the third quarter.
 
Place-kicker Alana Gaither added a pair of fourth-quarter field goals of 20 and 21 yards to cap off the scoring.
 
The Cardinals did, however, leave some points on the field. Otterbein scored just two field goals after four drives to the Marietta 2, 3, 4 and 6-yard lines.
 
Otterbein employed a balanced attack in the win over Marietta, generating 184 yards on the ground, and 177 passing.
 
Davis turned in a solid performance at quarterback, completing 19 of 27 pass attempts for 177 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. He rushed for 23 yards.
 
Ten different receivers caught at least one pass in the win. Wide receiver Travis Laird led the group with four catches for 41 yards.
 
Running backs Reid Hutchison, 54 yards on 12 carries, and John Pyles, 42 yards on 12 carries, led the Cardinal ground game.
 
The Cardinal defense forced two turnovers, both interceptions. Safety Jordan Bonifas almost returned one for touchdown after intercepting a Marietta pass on the Otterbein 3 and returning it 86 yards before Marietta's Masai McDaniel caught up with him on the Marietta 11-yard line. Safety Ryan Moore also had an interception in the game.
 
Inside linebacker Austin Jones led the Cardinals in tackles, with 10, including seven solo stops. Defensive end Kyle Blust made nine stops, including 2.5 for loss. All told, the Cardinals tallied seven quarterback sacks in the win. A week ago at eighth-ranked St. John Fisher, the Cardinal defense recorded five sacks.
 
With the win, Otterbein improved to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Wilmington College next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Wilmington.