GAME NOTES

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein football team stays at home again this Saturday as part of Homecoming weekend, preparing to host Wilmington College at 2 p.m. on the turf of Memorial Stadium.

The Cardinals, 2-0 on the young season, opened Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play last week with a 41-27 win over Muskingum. Otterbein held a sizeable 41-6 advantage midway through the fourth quarter before a few late touchdowns significantly shrunk the final margin.

"It was a weird feeling at the end of that game," head coach Tim Doup explained. "You are in complete control and then all of a sudden you look up at the scoreboard, it's 41-27 and they are onside kicking. We have to continue getting better on both sides of the ball, learn from mistakes and piece together a full 60 minutes."

Quarterback Logan Stepp tied a school record with six total touchdowns to accompany 428 yards of total offense against the Muskies. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 307 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for another 121 yards and a score.

Wide receiver Hunter Joseph enters fresh off OAC 'Offensive Player of the Week' honors, posting seven catches for 181 yards and three scores last week that included a 55-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage. He did almost all of his damage in the first half before getting some time off in the second.

Julian Lowe has 17 catches for 244 yards this year while fellow running mate Payton Vaderkooi has two touchdowns in as many games.

"Our athletes are making plays and need to just take what the defense gives them," Doup said. "Not every play will be a huge gain, but you definitely need those big moments at certain points. We have to become more consistent and learn how to run the football. Not with Logan, but running it with our running backs. That will be our emphasis in the coming weeks as we strive to be successful."

The defense managed to get off the field in multiple spots last week, recovering a fumble on the one-yard line and also watching freshman Brandon Paschal intercept a pass inside the five-yard line. Safety Fred Hardgrove garnered OAC 'Defensive Player of the Week' recognition after making a career-high 16 tackles.

"One sign of a good team is finding ways to get off the field," Doup said. "Fred is doing some really nice things in the backend and brings a strong element of athleticism. People commonly say bend but don't break, but I don't even want to bend. I want to play solid defensive football and not always have to worry about making a big play if our opponent enters the red zone."

Otterbein has a 10-game winning streak over Wilmington, most recently a 52-7 outcome last year behind 526 yards of offense. The Quakers are now being led by first-year head coach Bryan Moore, who took over the reins after spending three years as the offensive coordinator at Bluffton.

Moore helped Wilmington snap a 19-game losing streak in its opener, sprinting past Earlham College by a score of 49-20 and tying a school record with 381 rushing yards.

"They will be very well-coached," Doup said when asked about Wilmington. "Bryan and some of his assistants were at Heidelberg when they got that thing turned around. I'm sure we will see a new team that is different on both sides of the ball. They have a veteran quarterback and other athletes around him. We will need to take care of the little things and stay focused."

That veteran quarterback is third-year starter Luke Creditt, a dual-threat signal caller who threw for 167 yards and rushed for 116 in week one. His running back, senior Eric Flynn Jr., scampered 10 times for 120 yards and a pair of TD's.

Creditt has some very athletic options at the skill positions, most notably senior wide receiver P.J. Meyer. He had two touchdowns against Earlham, one coming from 80 yards and the other from 20.

Wilmington returned six starters on defense and three of its top-five tacklers from last season, including All-OAC linebacker C.J. Thompson in the middle.

Fans can follow Saturday's action through live video, live audio and live stats. Access the schedule page HERE for all links.