WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit and had a chance in the closing minute, but fell just short in the Battle for the Oar, dropping a 35-30 decision to Capital University on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals came out strong, taking a 10-0 first quarter lead behind a 26-yard field goal from
Braylon Balandra and a 10-yard touchdown pass from
Duke Corley to
Kace Kinnamon. Otterbein's defense held firm early, but Capital responded with 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to claim a 14-10 halftime advantage.
Capital extended its lead in the third quarter when Tyler Love connected with Trent Renz for a 12-yard touchdown, and the Comets pushed the margin to 28-10 early in the fourth following a one-yard scoring run by Love.
Otterbein refused to go away. After a 65-yard kickoff return by
Daniel Shaffer set up a short field, Corley punched in a five-yard touchdown run to make it 28-17 with 10:44 remaining. Later, the Cardinals marched 70 yards on 12 plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run from
Matt Griffin, trimming the deficit to 28-23 with 3:52 left.
The Comets answered with a 20-yard touchdown run from Xavier Rodriguez to stretch the lead back to 12 points, but Otterbein mounted one final charge. Corley completed passes of 38 yards to
Donovan Delph and 40 yards to
Christian Pataky, setting up Griffin's third touchdown run of the day from three yards out with 53 seconds remaining. The Cardinals were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick, allowing Capital to kneel out the victory.
Corley finished 20 for 33 passing for 236 yards and a touchdown while adding 26 rushing yards and a score. Griffin powered the ground game with 79 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Kinnamon hauled in eight receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, while
Christian Pataky added five catches for 72 yards.
Despite outscoring Capital 20-14 in the fourth quarter, Otterbein fell to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play, while the Comets improved to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the OAC.
Next up, the Cardinals will take on Muskingum University on Saturday, November 7 at Sherman Field with kick off slated for 1:30 p.m.
