WILMINGTON — The Otterbein football team recorded a season-best point total in a 31-21 loss at Wilmington in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon. A trio of interceptions from the defense, a punt return touchdown from junior Tyreek Gunnell and some career-high marks from junior receiver Zane Duning highlighted the Cardinals' play.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (0-6 overall, 0-5 OAC), Wilmington (1-5 overall, 1-4 OAC)
• Venue: Williams Stadium - Wilmington, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Duning highlighted the Otterbein offense, recording seven receptions for 71 yards. His previous career bests in those categories were five and 70, respectively. He also had a touchdown reception.
• At quarterback, sophomore Cayden Lassiter (140 yards) and freshman Brayden Bayles (85 yards) combined to throw for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
• Lassiter led Otterbein in rushing with 41 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Lucas Reed added 36 yards on 11 carries.
• Sophomore Vincent Berardi was the Cardinals' second-leading receiver on the day with 41 yards on four catches and a touchdown.
• Junior Thomas Cherry and senior Justin Bartlett led the Otterbein defense with six total tackles each.
• Gunnell, senior Vincent Fisher and sophomore Jaden Irvin each recorded an interception for the Cardinals. Gunnell added a special teams touchdown on a punt return.

Game Summary

• The Quakers got on the scoreboard first with a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 9:36 left in the first quarter.
• The Cardinals answered late in the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Lassiter to Berardi to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive with 26 seconds left before halftime. Otterbein took that 7-3 into the break.
• Wilmington retook the lead at 10-7 courtesy of a 50-yard interception return touchdown with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
• The Quakers returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown with 12:40 remaining in the game for a 17-7 edge.
• Otterbein cut into the deficit thanks to a 76-yard punt return touchdown from Gunnell with 8:28 remaining.
• Wilmington extended its lead to 24-14 on a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:05 left and added a 1-yard touchdown run for a 31-14 edge with 1:30 remaining.
• The Cardinals opened the ensuing drive with Bayles pass completions of 17 yards to Duning and 19 yards to redshirt senior Armani Burton. Seven plays later, Bayles connected with Duning for an 8-yard touchdown toss to cap the scoring with 26 seconds left.

Notables

• Otterbein is now 12-7 in the all-time series with Wilmington dating back to 2006. The Cardinals won 12 straight matchups with the Quakers from 2007 to 2018, but Wilmington has won the past six meetings.
• Otterbein's 21 points on Saturday marked a season best. The Cardinals' previous best was 14 points against Marietta.
• Senior Justin Bartlett's career totals include 213 tackles, 39 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. He is tied for fourth all-time at Otterbein in tackles for loss and is four sacks shy of moving into fifth all-time in that category.
• Fisher's interception was his second of the season and fifth of his career. Gunnell's interception was his second of the season and fourth of his career. Irvin's interception was the first of his career.