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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal football team endured another disappointing outcome Saturday afternoon in its home opener, finishing on the wrong side of a 16-10 loss to Ohio Northern University in front of more than 2,400 fans at Memorial Stadium.

Otterbein University, falling to 1-2 overall and 1-1 within Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play, will need to quickly regroup as cross-town rival Capital University comes to Westerville next Saturday for Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Ohio Northern, entering the with an uncharacteristic 0-2 record after being ranked No. 18 in the preseason, narrowly held on to defeat the Cardinals for a fourth-straight season.

The Cards fumbled around midfield on the game's opening possession, allowing ONU to take an early 3-0 lead following a 22-yard field goal. The drive had initially been prolonged after a fake punt from the Cardinals, with sophomore Joe Sanfillipo sprinting around the edge for seven yards on 4th-and-5.

The Ohio Northern defense made the game 10-0 late in the first quarter, sacking Otterbein quarterback Logan Stepp near the goal line and watching defensive lineman Scott Rapps fall on the ball in the end zone.

The Polar Bears attempted a sneak onside kick moments later, but Otterbein's Lukas Ousley reacted well and hauled in the ball with his outstretched arms. The Tan and Cardinal used the good field position to get on the scoreboard as Sanfillipo drilled a 47-yard field goal four minutes later.

Northern added a 34-yard field goal before Otterbein tallied its only touchdown of the day, embarking on a 10-play, 63-yard drive that was finished when Stepp snuck inside the right pylon for a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The drive was made possible by a 35-yard reception from Tyler Sorg, just the third catch of his career, that moved the chains on 3rd-and-10.

ONU took the 13-10 lead into intermission before the second half settled into an old-fashioned defensive slugfest. The third period saw four-straight punts until the visitors tallied the only points of the second half, coming on a 21-yard chip shot from kicker Joe French.

Otterbein had the ball in Ohio Northern territory on all four offensive possessions in the fourth quarter, but would unfortunately come up empty each time.

The Cards were forced to punt and play the field-position battle on the initial two sequences, and then appeared to have tied the game with 3:22 remaining after wide receiver Hunter Joseph hauled in a 28-yard touchdown along the sideline. However, Joseph was whistled for pass interference and Otterbein ultimately had to pin the Polar Bears deep yet again.

Otterbein used its timeouts and got the ball back a final time, advancing to the ONU 44-yard line with just under 2:00 left before Rapps tallied one last decisive play for the opposition. The 6-6, 285-pound senior busted up the middle on a fumbled snap, eventually sacking Stepp and ripping the ball away on the way to the ground.

Rapps finished with nine tackles (five for loss), two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and 1.5 sacks for a defense that limited Otterbein to just 34 rushing yards. The game featured a combined 19 tackles for loss, 15 total punts and both teams going an identical 4 of 15 on third down.

Stepp completed 19 of 36 passes for 171 yards, with Joseph bringing in 10 of those completions for 89 yards. Otterbein's defense gave a valiant effort, getting a game-high 11 tackles from linebackers Jake Harper and Nick Toledo to routinely get off the field. Defensive end Kyle Blust had eight stops, including his fourth sack of the season, up front in the trenches.

ONU freshman running back Christiaan Williams proved to be the difference maker, rushing 24 times for 107 yards and also catching seven passes for another 64 yards. He has gone over the 100-yard mark in all three outings this year.

Otterbein will be looking for its fifth-straight win over Capital next weekend after downing the Crusaders, 49-34, last season in Bexley.