COLUMBUS, Ohio—After 74 prior meetings on the gridiron one would think that there is little that has not been seen in a Capital-Otterbein football game. Think again.

Capital scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to come from behind for the first time this season and defeat their crosstown rival 12-9 on a rainy Saturday night.

A series of severe thunderstorms that rolled through central Ohio on Saturday caused a pair of delays, one that pushed back the start of the game to 7:40 p.m. and another just over five minutes into the game that lasted 48 minutes. Though the first-half torrential rain turned the field into a swamp, not even Mother Nature could put a damper on the Crusaders' best start since 1977.

Capital handed Otterbein its only touchdown, literally, as Rayshaun Gales fumbled right into the hands of Seth Watson, who rumbled 65 yards for the game's opening score. It would be the first time this season the Crusaders allowed an opponent to score in the first half.

The score would remain 7-0 until early in the third quarter when Capital wide receiver Chris Copeland would haul down a 20-yard pass from Danny Edghill to put the Crusaders on the board. Capital could not convert the extra point so Otterbein retained the lead at 7-6.

The Crusaders would then capitalize on an Otterbein turnover as Cardinal quarterback Aaron Powell could not handle the snap and coughed up the football on his own 1-yard line. Two plays later Gales found the end zone and a two-point conversion failed giving Capital a 12-7 lead heading into the final quarter.

Each team would exchange possessions twice with Otterbein pinning Capital deep in their own territory with just under seven minutes remaining. Capital then employed some strategy and instead of punting from its own end zone, elected to take a safety which made the score 12-9.

Otterbein would threaten again late in the game, but a Casey Cox interception in the Capital end zone would seal the game for the Crusaders.

Even with the extreme weather conditions, Capital's offense, averaging 39.5 points per game entering this contest scored a pair of touchdowns and was stopped four times inside Otterbein's 5-yard line. The Capital defense once again had a strong performance after holding Heidelberg last week to minus-13 yards rushing, responded this week by allowing only 91 yards of offense to Otterbein.

Edghill led the Crusader offense completing 18 of 37 passes for 255 yards, while Copland's touchdown catch was part of a seven-catch, 139-yard performance. Copland entered the contest needing only five catches to claim the school's all-time lead in pass receptions.

Capital had not won three games in an entire season since 1993.