PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A disappointing second half led to Otterbein dropping its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener Saturday afternoon, as a 7-3 deficit turned into a tough 41-10 defeat to Baldwin Wallace.

The first quarter didn't feature much offense, as Baldwin Wallace missed a 35-yard field goal and the game remained scoreless. Otterbein looked to have something going early in the second, getting to the BW 40-yard line before opting to punt on 4th and 3.

Otterbein's defense got a fourth-down stop in the red zone shortly thereafter, but the Yellow Jackets came up with a strip sack and fumble recovery on the next play to regain momentum. BW then connected on a 17-yard score on third down to hit the board.

The Cards finally scored to end the opening half. Bryce Hall connected with Jeb Jones on a five-yard touchdown, but offsetting penalties forced the down to be replayed. After a few timeouts and incomplete passes, Otterbein settled for a short field goal from Caleb Meade.

The 7-3 margin remained the same until midway through the third quarter, when Otterbein bobbled the snap on a punt attempt and was tackled just outside of its end zone. Jon Murray Jr. punched in the first of his three touchdowns on the next play.

Baldwin Wallace linebacker Mason Levasseur had a 30-yard pick six on the next series, and the floodgates opened up down the stretch. Murray Jr. took over the rest of the way, ultimately finishing with 26 carries for 175 yards.

Otterbein converted a late touchdown when Hall ripped a third-down strike to Jalan Minney over the middle for 22 yards. Aside from that, the Cardinals went just 2 of 14 on third down.
BW finished with a 354-190 edge in total offense, with 259 of that coming on the ground. The Yellow Jackets had the ball for 36 minutes of game time.

Otterbein's defense actually played much better than the visitors' point total reflects. Linebackers Colton Doup and Ethan Tackett tied for a game-high 10 tackles, with Doup making three of his for a loss. Greg Nolder added nine.

Siraj Muhammad had 13 carries for 50 yards while Minney caught five balls for 63. The Cardinals, now 0-2, will look to regroup quickly at John Carroll comes to town next weekend for Homecoming.