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MARIETTA, Ohio – Senior linebacker Drew Ervin came up with the difference-making play Saturday evening at Marietta College, returning his fourth-quarter interception 43 yards for a touchdown to help give Otterbein a 31-21 victory in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener for both schools.

The Cardinals, beginning OAC play on a winning note for the fourth-straight season, improve to 1-1 and will be back in action next Saturday with a 2 p.m. home game, against Wilmington College, as part of Homecoming.

"This is a tough place to play and it ends up being a dog-fight every time we come down here," Otterbein head coach Tim Doup said. "I told our guys all week that it doesn't matter what happened last year or the year before. When we come down to Marietta, we have to be ready for a slugfest. That's exactly what it was again tonight."

Otterbein, very eager for redemption after its week-one loss, opened the game strong by going 60 yards on 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The sequence was capped by a 1-yard rushing touchdown from senior wide receiver Cole Benner out of the wildcat formation.

The Cardinals quickly doubled the margin to 14-0 near the end of the first quarter, beginning when senior Jalen Liggins recovered a Marietta fumble as the Pioneers were driving. Otterbein then went on a quick 61-yard drive in just 2:07, finishing with a 20-yard touchdown strike from Kevan Green to Julian Lowe.

Otterbein then had possession up 14-0, but the Marietta defense forced a fumble on a sack of Green to halt the Cardinal momentum. Marietta scored two plays later with a 10-yard touchdown run from Roger Bush, and drew even with 1:51 to play before halftime after Nick O'Neal rumbled 12 yards into paydirt.

 

The Cardinals responded to close the half in their two-minute drill, moving the ball 66 yards on seven plays to ultimately get another 1-yard rushing score from Benner. The drive was highlighted by a pair of nice aerial connections from Green to Lowe, one for 33 yards and another for 18.

The Pioneers evened the score yet again near the end of the third period, getting a four-yard touchdown scamper from Bush to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive that lasted over six minutes.

Otterbein opened the final quarter with the ball near midfield, embarking on a methodical offensive possession that ended up lasting nearly nine minutes. Green hit Lowe to convert a key fourth down midway through the stretch before the Cards found themselves with a first-and-goal from the half-yard line.

A few mistakes unfortunately forced Otterbein to settle for a go-ahead, 25-yard field goal from Brandon Bellman before Ervin created the biggest play of the night on the ensuing Marietta possession. The linebacker, playing in just his second collegiate game as a defensive player after switching from running back, jumped a Pioneer seam route to take an interception 43 yards for a score.

"We worked on those seam routes all week and figured they would go to it at some point," Doup said. "We kept telling our linebackers to get to the hash, and Drew did a perfect job doing exactly what he was coached to do. It was a great play by him."

The play would all but seal the win for Otterbein, which was slightly outgained, 367-310, in the contest but was able to force three turnovers on defense. The Cards battled all night to stop Pioneer running backs Nick O'Neal and Roger Bush, who combined to run 32 times for 155 yards and all three touchdowns.

"Both of those guys are good runners," Doup said. "They are big, strong and work behind a nice offensive line. You may not always be able to stop their running game completely, but your defense needs to come up with a few big plays in order to beat them. I thought our defense did."

Ervin tallied a team-high 11 stops for Otterbein, followed by eight from fellow linebacker Will Brett and seven from both Jordan Bonifas and Dalton Jarvis. The unit had five tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Lowe finished with an impressive night of seven catches for 136 yards and a score, doing almost all of his damage in the first half. No other Cardinal hauled in more than one pass.

Senior running back John Pyles, handling the majority of carries for a limited Speedy Hammond (injury), had 79 yards on 21 attempts. Benner, Green and true freshman Christian Johnson also contributed to the ground game.

Green enjoyed a better day than his first start against Buffalo State, going 12 for 23 with 171 yards and the touchdown toss to Lowe.