BEREA — The Otterbein football team fell 36-7 at Baldwin Wallace in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (0-5 overall, 0-4 OAC), Baldwin Wallace (4-1 overall, 3-1 OAC)
• Venue: George Finnie Stadium - Berea, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Sophomore Cayden Lassiter, redshirt senior Hayden Lehmann and freshman Brayden Bayles all took snaps at quarterback for Otterbein, combining to throw for 72 yards.
• Sophomore John Lard led the team in rushing with 52 yards on 10 carries. Bayles added 49 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
• Junior Tyreek Gunnell led the Cardinal defense with a career-high 13 total tackles (8 solo, 5 assisted). Redshirt senior Randy Cochran Jr., redshirt junior Bryce Walker, junior Thomas Cherry and sophomore Cullen Dent each added nine total tackles. Cochran Jr. had a tackle for loss.

Game Summary

• The Yellow Jackets took an early 7-0 lead after taking possession on an interception of Lassiter at their own 38-yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Charlie Bubonics scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown with 7:21 left in the first quarter.
• Baldwin Wallace recovered an Otterbein fumble at the Cardinal 23-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. But the Otterbein defense held firm, as the drive ended with a missed 35-yard field goal. The first quarter came to a close with the Yellow Jackets holding the 7-0 lead.
• The Yellow Jackets recorded a safety on a bad snap on an Otterbein punt to go up 9-0 with 12:11 left in the second quarter and added a 34-yard touchdown pass for a 16-0 edge with 9:47 remaining.
• Later in the quarter, Otterbein drove to the Baldwin Wallace 5-yard line in eight plays highlighted by a 29-yard pass from Lassiter to junior Owen Menge and runs of 18 and 15 yards from Lard. But the Cardinals were stopped on 4th-and-3 with 4:46 left. Otterbein later forced another missed field goal from Baldwin Wallace, this time from 31 yards out with 29 seconds remaining.
• Baldwin Wallace recovered an Otterbein fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive and completed a 24-yard touchdown pass two plays later for a 22-0 lead following the missed 2-point conversion with nine seconds left to cap the first-half scoring.
• After a scoreless third quarter, a Yellow Jacket 30-yard touchdown pass made the score 29-0 with 14:10 left in the fourth.
• The Cardinals answered with a scoring drive of their own. The 13-play, 66-yard drive included 49 rushing yards from Bayles, who capped it with a 4-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 29-7 following the PAT from sophomore kicker Braylon Balandra.
• Baldwin Wallace capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown pass with 3:33 remaining.
• The Yellow Jackets forced five Otterbein turnovers on the afternoon, recording three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Notables

• Otterbein entered Saturday seeking its first win over Baldwin Wallace since 2017. The Yellow Jackets have now won six straight meetings with the Cardinals.
• Senior Justin Bartlett's career totals include 207 tackles, 38.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. He ranks fifth all-time at Otterbein in tackles for loss and is four sacks shy of moving into fifth all-time in that category.