NEW CONCORD — Sophomore running back Matt Griffin tallied a career-high 110 rushing yards to lead the Otterbein football team in a 24-7 loss at Muskingum on Saturday afternoon as both teams opened their 2024 Ohio Athletic Conference slates.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (0-2 overall, 0-1 OAC), Muskingum (2-0 overall, 1-0 OAC)
• Venue: Bullock Health and Wellness Complex - New Concord, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Griffin paced the Otterbein offense with 110 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
• Sophomore quarterback Cayden Lassiter threw for 130 yards and added 37 yards on the ground for 167 yards of total offense.
• Junior Owen Menge and freshman Cass Cole led the Cardinal receivers. Menge had four receptions for 43 yards, and Cole had 43 yards on three catches.
• Senior defensive back Vincent Fisher led the Otterbein defense, tallying six total tackles, including 1.5 for loss and one sack. Sophomore Jaden Irvin and redshirt senior Randy Cochran Jr. also posted six tackles, with the latter adding a forced fumble.

Game Summary

• Muskingum scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, capping its opening drive with an 18-yard passing score and adding a 1-yard rushing score for a 14-0 lead with 1:20 remaining.
• On the third play of the ensuing Otterbein possession, which spanned into the second quarter, Griffin had a 34-yard rush to the Muskingum 27-yard line. A fumble three plays later gave the ball back to Muskingum, which added another touchdown with 8:05 left before halftime.
• The Muskies took a 24-0 lead into halftime after adding a 40-yard field goal with 4:06 left.
• The Cardinals' best drive of the game started with 8:40 left in the third quarter. Highlighted by Lassiter pass completions of 10 and 11 yards to Menge and Cole, respectively, a 13-yard Lassiter rush, 15-yard completion from Lassiter to junior tight end Christian Pataky and 18-yard rush from Griffin, the Cardinals reached the Musky 8-yard line. Two plays later, Griffin found the end zone from 6 yards out, and sophomore kicker Braylon Balandra's PAT capped the game's scoring at 24-7.
• Otterbein held Muskingum scoreless in the second half, played a penalty-free game and finished with a 31:20-28:40 edge in time of possession.

Notables

• Saturday marked Griffin's second career 100-yard rushing game. He ran for 101 yards on 18 carries against Ohio Northern in 2023.
• Otterbein won 12 consecutive matchups with Muskingum from 2006 to 2017, but the Muskies are now 5-0 against the Cardinals since 2019.
• Senior Justin Bartlett's career totals include 189 tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He ranks fifth all-time at Otterbein in tackles for loss and is five sacks shy of moving into fifth all-time in that category.