Otterbein picks off Capital
The first of many boyswill-be-boys moments in the annual Capital-Otterbein crosstown rivalry game that really is a feud occurred when the Crusaders gathered outside the end zone before kickoff on the north side of Bernlohr Stadium.
That’s when the entire Cardinals team began walking toward the Crusaders shouting many things people can’t say on television or radio. Officials ran to the scene and wound up penalizing both teams for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The standing-room crowd would see many more yellow flags, but it also saw another classic as Otterbein linebacker Austin Jones tipped a pass by Thomas Wibbeler and safety Fred Hardgove of Walnut Ridge intercepted at his 13-yard line with 1:31 remaining to preserve a 49-42 victory in an Ohio Athletic Conference game on Saturday afternoon.
Otterbein (4-1, 3-1) took a 49-42 lead with 7:42 remaining on a 22-yard touchdown catch by Julian Lowe of Gahanna on a slant over the middle from quarterback Logan Stepp of West Jefferson. Lowe, a senior, badly wanted a chance to make good after dropping a pass that could have been a first down early in the fourth quarter.
“It was just getting inside the defender after seeing the middle open up,” he said. “As a captain, I had a big drop on third down earlier and I had to make up for it in some way. I was glad they called my number again.”
Capital (1-3, 1-2) came right back behind their leader, Wibbeler. He completed 32 of 45 passes for 399 yards and six touchdowns. Before the interception, Wibbeler completed a 6-yard pass to the 25 on fourth-and-1.
Hardgrove couldn’t believe his good fortune on the pick. He had 16 tackles and returned the clinching interception 72 yards to the Capital 15.
“I was supposed to play over the top and the ball got tipped by Jonesy and I just made a play on it,” he said. “I got this glow in my eye to just take it.”
Stepp passed for 182 yards and three TDs and ran for 180 yards and two scores for Otterbein. OHIO 58, MASSACHUSETTS
50: Nathan Rourke threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 113 yards and two scores as visiting Ohio (4-1) fought off winless Massachusetts (0-6). A.J. Ouellette ran for 125 yards, and his 5-yard TD run early in the third quarter gave the Bobcats the lead for good. On Ohio's next drive, Rourke threw a 12-yard score to Ouellette to make it 41-27. The teams combined for 1,023 yards of offense.
NO. 22 NOTRE DAME 52, MIAMI 17: Brandon Wimbush threw for three touchdowns and ran for another and Notre Dame (4-1) rolled past visiting Miami (2-3) for the 900th victory in school history. Gus Ragland threw for 262 yards and two first-half touchdowns to James Gardner, who had five catches for 115 yards for the RedHawks. AKRON 34, BOWLING GREEN
23: Thomas Woodson passed for two touchdowns in the first quarter and ran for a score to lead Akron (2-3, 1-0) to a MidAmerican Conference victory over Bowling Green (0-5, 0-1). The Zips' Kyron Brown returned an interception 38 yards for a TD in the fourth quater for the final margin.
BUFFALO 27, KENT STATE 13: Emmanuel Reed ran for career bests of 144 yards and three touchdowns to lead Buffalo (3-2, 1-0) to a MAC victory at Kent State (1-4, 0-1). Dustin Crum connected with Kavious Price for a 75-yard score, the Golden Flashes' longest play this season.
WITTENBERG 28, DENISON 12: Jake Kennedy threw two TD passes to stake Wittenberg (4-0, 3-0) to a 21-3 halftime lead, and the Tigers rolled past Denison (3-1, 2-1) in a key North Coast Athletic Conference game. The Big Red managed only two field goals until scoring a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game. DEPAUW 31, OHIO WESLEYAN
28: Brian Berry passed for 376 and four TDs for Ohio Wesleyan (1-3, 1-2), but Demarco Henry scored the deciding touchdown on a 1-yard run with 6:52 to play to lift visiting DePauw (4-0, 3-0) in the NCAC. Hunter Baker had six catches for 171 yards and two TDs for OWU, including a 70-yard score.