WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein scored on its first five possessions, building a 31-0 lead midway through the second quarter, on its way to a 56-28 victory over John Carroll Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium.
With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 3-1 overall and remained within one game of Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) leaders Baldwin-Wallace and Mount Union, each 4-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. Otterbein, 2-1 in the OAC, sits in a four-way tie for second place with Capital, Muskingum and Ohio Northern. The Cardinals travel to Baldwin-Wallace next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Five different Otterbein players scored during the Cardinals 31-point opening barrage. Senior place-kicker David Brewer got the scoring going with a 33-yard field goal on Otterbein's opening drive. Junior quarterback Austin Schlosser hit junior wide receiver Trey Fairchild for an 8-yard touchdown pass in the next series, and then scored on a 32-yard run on Otterbein's third possession to give the Cardinals a 17-0 lead with 13:44 to go in the first half.
Senior running back Colton Coy kept the ball rolling, scoring on a 2-yard run on Otterbein's next possession. Senior wide receiver Steve Kuzyk capped it off with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Schlosser in the fifth series and the rout was on. Otterbein led 31-0 with 8:52 to play in the second period, and 38-7 at the half.
Schlosser accounted for five touchdowns on the day, finishing with 200 yards and four touchdowns on 12-of-19 passing. He threw one interception. The quarterback ran for 44 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.
All-OAC running back Coy tallied his third 100-yard rushing game of the year, finishing with 108 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. He caught two passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.
Kuzyk led the Cardinals with five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
Brewer made all of his kicks in the game. The senior hit field goals of 19 and 22 yards in the second half to go 3 for 3 on the day. Brewer hit all five of his extra-point attempts.
Junior John Carroll back-up quarterback Devin O'Brien completed 19 of 33 pass attempts for 170 yards and two touchdowns of two and 49 yards to senior wide receiver Frank Ross, who finished with 12 catches for 108 yards. O'Brien also led the Blue Streaks in rushing with 57 yards on 14 carries.
Senior outside linebacker Wil Longsdorf led the Cardinals with seven tackles. Junior outside linebacker Chad Pepper, six tackles, including two for a loss of 15 yards, and junior rover back Dominic Jones, five tackles, including two for a loss of seven yards, paced the Cardinals defense. Senior cornerback Anthony Korpieski and free safety Shea Brintlinger had one pick each in the win.