Box Score

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Otterbein football team endured a disappointing finish Saturday afternoon in its season opener, allowing a late touchdown to unfortunately absorb a 29-26 loss at SUNY Buffalo State in a rematch from last year's week-one matchup.

The Cardinals, dropping their opening game for a fourth-consecutive season, will regroup with a bye week before opening Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at Wilmington College on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

Otterbein weathered through a few unfortunate penalties early in the first quarter, initially having a long pass completion erased and then seeing Buffalo State take an early 7-0 lead. The Bengals converted three third-downs on their first drive, and then benefited from a Cardinal pass interference call in the end zone, to ultimately punch in a six-yard score from running back Dale Stewart.

The Cardinal offense responded immediately, embarking on an 11-play, 83-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard rushing touchdown from junior quarterback Logan Stepp, who was making his first college start at the position since moving from wide receiver in the offseason.

Junior defense end Kyle Blust delivered a timely sack to end the first quarter, which led to Otterbein coming up with a big play on special teams a few plays later by swarming the Buffalo State punter in the end zone and securing a safety. The Cards then took advantage of an ensuing short field, adding a 22-yard field goal from sophomore Joe Sanfillipo and running the margin to 12-7.

The Bengals threatened to regain the lead near the end of the first half, converting a fourth-and-one inside the red zone before the Otterbein defense held strong on another fourth-and-short inside the five-yard line. The Cards went into halftime holding a 134-72 edge in total yards.

The second half opened with a handful of momentum swings, beginning with Otterbein senior Jalen Liggins forcing a fumble, recovered by classmate Dalton Jarvis, which led to a scoring opportunity. The Bengals escaped by blocking an Otterbein field-goal attempt, but junior Melvin Medina handed the ball right back to the Cardinals with a timely interception on the next series.

Otterbein took a shot to open the possession, with Stepp finding wide receiver Hunter Joseph on a 50-yard touchdown connection that pushed the gap to 19-7, following Sanfillipo's PAT.

Buffalo State responded immediately, stringing together a quick three-play, 54-yard drive made possible by a long pass that led to a short touchdown run from Stewart, making the contest 19-14. The score remained the same entering the fourth quarter, when Stepp busted off a 64-yard run into the red zone that quickly led to his 11-yard TD scamper on the very next play.

Otterbein held that 26-14 lead until midway through the final quarter, but the hosts ignited a rally that began with a nine-play, 73-yard drive that was once again capped by a short rushing touchdown from Stewart. The Cardinals were later forced to punt, giving the ball back to Buffalo State with 3:33 remaining and setting up the winning drive.

The Bengals converted a fourth-and-five at their own 40-yard line to extend the sequence, which later saw a third-and-six conversion before Stewart punched in his fourth TD with 34 seconds left. Otterbein would come up empty on its final possession.

Stepp accounted for 298 yards of total offense and three touchdowns on the day, completing 15 of 28 passes for 210 yards and also rushing 12 times for 88 yards. Joseph finished with seven catches for 145 yards and a score in his Tan and Cardinal debut while slot receiver Julian Lowe had five grabs for 40 yards. Running back Christian Johnson carried 18 times for 57 yards from the backfield.

Stewart churned out 141 yards for Buffalo State, which also saw wideout Madison Weselowski come up with 10 catches for 118 yards. The Bengals narrowly outgained Otterbein 370-355 on the day and converted three fourth-down plays.

Safety Steven Carpenter tied for a game-high nine tackles with Buffalo State's Bart Mazzara. Cardinal linebacker Nick Toledo had seven stops while Blust had all five of his tackles and two sacks before halftime. The game featured 25 penalties.