PHOTO GALLERY

BEXLEY, Ohio – Another wildly absurd rivalry game between Otterbein and Capital was (once again) decided in the final minute Saturday afternoon. This time, unfortunately, it was the host Comets escaping thanks to a last-minute heave that set up a winning score at Bernlohr Stadium.

Otterbein had a chance to end the game with a first down late, but was bottled up on a 3rd-and-2 and forced to punt back with 1:52 on the clock...

Capital, down by three and eventually facing 4th-and-17, looked as if it might throw its fifth interception of the day as a hailmary was sailing into multiple defenders. Somehow, Mike Elmore came down with a 50/50 ball in traffic to prolong the sequence.

After a spike, the hosts connected on a fade route toward the back pylon that was the difference in a 35-31 outcome. Capital gains possession of "The Oar" after snapping a four-game losing skid in the local series.

HOW IT WENT DOWN:

• Otterbein struck first on a wild fourth-down play, as Eason Hardouin was forced to scramble to his left and regather himself to throw. The ball was tipped by an initial receiver in traffic before falling to the hands of Armani Burton, who sprinted the remaining 25 yards to cap a roundabout 43-yard touchdown.
   
• An array of turnovers and momentum changers took place to end the first quarter. Earlonte Cousins tipped and intercepted a pass for Otterbein, but the Capital defense forced a fumble and recovered just two plays later around midfield. The Cards got the ball back but had a punt blocked, to which the Comets recovered at the 1-yard line and punched in for a 7-7 tie.
   
• The energy shifted back to Otterbein early in the second after Randy Cochran Jr. intercepted a pass and returned it down well into plus territory. After getting pushed back, the Cards moved way forward on third-and-long when Hardouin scrambled again before finding Owen Menge inside the pylon for a 31-yard score. Unfortunately, Hardouin took a hard hit that knocked him out of the game..
   
• Capital drew even (14-14) once again with a methodical drive lasting nearly six minutes, hitting a slant pass on 4th-and-6 for an equalizer TD.
   
• Rotating interceptions then followed, with Tyreek Gunnell snagging his after a nice pass breakup from Rashaun Broomfield as the Cardinal defense were backed up inside the red zone. Otterbein then picked up two fourth downs before replacement QB Lorenzen Horace found a wide open Menge over the middle for a 21-14 lead.
   
• Otterbein's defense stood tall again, allowing the offense to double-up the lead before intermission. Horace found Menge on a lofty shot up the left sideline before darting in from a yard out via QB draw.
   
• Capital erupted out of the locker room and tied the game with gashing runs up the middle, scoring from 16 and 36 yards out and knotting the game (28-28) within six minutes. Otterbein went right back down the field and killed nearly half a quarter of time, but was stopped just short on 4th-and-1 at the Comets' 21.
   
• Otterbein strung together a nice drive to begin the fourth, marching all the way down until faced with 4th-and-Goal on the 2. Hayden Brooke buried a chip-shot field goal to give the Cards a 31-28 edge with just over 7:00 to play.
   
• The Cardinals bent but didn't break going the other way, forcing a missed FG and retaking possession needing one first down to clinch the game. However, a wide run was stuffed before Capital used its final timeout…
   
• A sack from Markie Anderson put Capital behind the chains with under a minute remaining, but remained alive on the fourth-down heave that was shockingly corralled as everyone fell to the turf. The Comets then scored and batted down a few last-second chucks from Otterbein.

BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Menge finished with a career-day of 172 yards on just six catches, averaging almost 30 yards per grab.
   
• The Cardinals had four interceptions in the first half and now 10 on the year, surpassing their entire total from last season. Cochran had a team-high 11 tackles to go along with his INT's.
   
• Both sides were a combined 7 of 32 on third down, but also 7 of 9 on fourth down. All six red-zone chances on the day featured scores by either side.
   
• Otterbein tallied 289 of 355 total yards through the air. Hardouin was 7 of 11 with two scores prior to exiting, while Horace finished 14 of 28.
   
• The game saw just six penalties (three by each team) overall.
   
• Otterbein had 11 tackles for loss as a defensive unit, including five sacks.
   
• Donovan Duncan finished 8 of 16 for 144 yards behind center for Capital, replacing starter Ben Everson late in the first half.
   
• Brooke made all four extra points and his first field goal of the year, remaining perfect kicking through five games.

UP NEXT:

The Cardinals will regroup over their bye week and ultimately get back to action on Saturday, October 14 when they travel to Heidelberg for kickoff at 5 p.m.