BEXLEY, Ohio – Anything less than a wild and wacky showdown on the football field between cross-town rivals Otterbein and Capital would be an outlier. That lived up to the billing once again Saturday afternoon inside Bernlohr Stadium, as the visiting Cardinals rallied to score two touchdowns in the final four minutes and escape 38-33.

Otterbein gets into the win column as a result of its come-from-behind effort, topping Capital for the third-straight time and eight of the past 10 contests. The Comets, formerly known as the Crusaders, now stand 2-6 this fall.

In addition, the Cardinals gain possession of the resurrected rivalry Oar… now presented to the winning team in this series after the tradition was recently brought back. READ MORE ABOUT THAT HERE

The first half of this Roush Auto Rivalry Showdown featured momentum changes on both sides. Otterbein fell behind initially, but then took a 14-6 lead after nice touchdown catches from freshmen Cayden Dougherty and Marcellus Vanderkodde. Dougherty hauled in a 63-yard catch-and-run while Vanderkodde's was a 16-yard toe-touching grab in the corner of the end zone…

However, Capital responded with two TD's of its own. Tanner Pope then buried a field goal as the first-half clock expired, getting the Cards to within 20-17 at intermission.

The second half encountered all kinds of chaos. Capital opened a 26-17 advantage despite missing its third extra-point of the day. Otterbein then drove back down the field and had 2nd-and-Goal at the 1, but came up empty three times in a row.

The fourth quarter began with Otterbein needing to make a move, and did just that when another freshman (Ahjay Cody) scampered 17 yards for a score to get his team back within two points… 26-24. Unfortunately, that momentum was short lived as the Comets returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

The Cardinals then missed a 4th-and-3 in no man's land of Capital territory, leaving the score a nine-point margin with 9:14 on the game clock. The Comets then drove all the way into Otterbein's red zone before the visiting defense admirably held.

Down but not out, the Cards finally kicked into gear and delivered a comeback that will not soon be forgotten. Quarterback Bryce Hall led the offense 85 yards in 86 seconds, including two huge passes to Dougherty over the middle, before Siraj Muhammad busted a rushing score. That left Otterbein down 33-31 with 3:37 to play.

The defense came up with an important stand, punctuated on a third-down sack from Ethan Tackett and Caleb Rice before Capital shanked a punt just 19 yards. Otterbein took over near midfield with 2:03 on the board…

Hall completed four passes (to three different receivers) over the next minute, culminating with a 26-yard strike to freshman Jakobi Alvin for what proved to be the game-winning score. Capital kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the very end, hitting a few passes and also benefiting from a pass-interference penalty that moved them down to the 24-yard line…

The final hail-mary pass sailed toward the back-left pylon, but freshman corner Vincent Fisher was there to provide just enough coverage that Capital target Mike Smith couldn't quite haul it in.

Hall set a new Otterbein single-game record with 428 passing yards, narrowly eclipsing the longstanding previous mark of 427 by Norm Lukey… set all the way back in 1969. Hall was 31 of 42 for three touchdowns and no picks.

Otterbein racked up 563 offensive yards as a team, with Muhammad toting 17 times for 126 on the ground. Vanderkodde had nine catches for 148 yards, Dougherty had another 136, and Alvin finished with six grabs for 76.

Tackett and fellow linebacker Greg Nolder combined for 22 stops defensively, as the Cardinal unit manufactured nine tackles for loss.

Otterbein finished 5 of 12 on third down and did all of its damage rather quickly, holding just a 25:23 time of possession. The Cardinals will stay on the road next weekend in traveling to Marietta.