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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It became a tough final result on Homecoming for the Otterbein football team Saturday afternoon, losing ground to Wilmington in the second half and watching the Quakers depart town with a 47-21 decision.

The Cardinals led 7-6 midway through the second quarter, in what marked another low-scoring start at Memorial Stadium this fall, before Wilmington found a groove before halftime and then built upon that cushion following intermission.

KEY STRETCHES:

• Freshman QB Lorenzen Horace, making his first college start, was strip-sacked on the third play of the game and Wilmington took over in prime position. Otterbein's defense, however, forced a quick stop and the Quakers missed a field goal.
   
• Wilmington scored later in the first quarter, but the Cards answered right back after Carlos Alamo set up the offense nicely with a punt return down near the red zone. Horace ended up finding Sil Kent across the middle (on fourth down) for a 17-yard TD.
   
• The Quakers regained a lead by virtue of a 77-yard drive spanning nine plays, but missed another two-point try and settled for a 12-7 margin.
   
• Otterbein marched back into plus territory but stalled near the red zone, coming up short on downs after originally having 1st and 10 inside the 30. Wilmington capitalized by driving 72 yards in just over 90 seconds, ultimately carrying a 19-7 lead into the break.
   
• Wilmington parlayed that momentum into a big third quarter, scoring twice more to open a 33-7 advantage and never look back.
   
• Otterbein kept battling and never rested until the final horn, with Horace delivering two more touchdown passes to Declan Jewitt and Gavin Edwards in the final 15+ minutes.

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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Wilmington racked up 27 first downs and finished with a 495-246 edge in total offense, including 230-97 on the ground. The Quakers had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Nehemiah Jenkins and Ben Hobbs.
   
• Bobby Buckler made a career-high 16 tackles for Otterbein, while Zach Hymer and Tayon Howard both secured 10 each. Howard also picked off his second pass of the season.
   
• Jake Sheriff led the Quaker defense with 12 stops and a fumble recovery on the opening possession.
   
• Ahjay Cody racked up 105 offensive yards from the backfield, rushing 24 times for 91 and catching a pair of passes.
   
• Both quarterbacks tossed three touchdowns, but also combined to hit just 34 of 80 (.425) passes through the air.
   
• Otterbein was just 2 of 18 on third down, but ended up converting 6 of 9 fourth-down chances.

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UP NEXT:

The Cardinals will play their first road game of the season next Saturday, traveling down to Marietta for kickoff at 1:30 p.m.