Posted: Oct 11, 2008
BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets lost to Ohio Athletic Conference rival and No. 25-ranked (d3football.com) Otterbein College, 42-28, today (Saturday, October 11, 2008) at Memorial Stadium in Westerville.
B-W led 10-7 after one quarter and 17-14 at halftime. The Cardinals led 28-20 after three quarters.
With the loss, BW falls to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the OAC. Otterbein improves to a 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the OAC. The Cardinals broke a two-game losing streak to B-W, but the Yellow Jackets still hold a commanding 33-6-1 all-time series lead.
The Yellow Jackets wasted little time in getting on the board. Junior running back Kyrell Crook (Columbus/ St. Francis DeSales) got into the endzone from three yards out to cap a six-play, 69-yard drive that took just 1:29. Senior placekicker Cory Ramos (Macedonia/ Nordonia) point-after-touchdown try was good and B-W took an early 7-0 lead.
Otterbein answered right back with 8:21 to play in the first quarter on a Jack Rafferty to Dan Gendron touchdown pass from 21 yards out. B.J. Wanninger's PAT tied the score, 7-7. The drive covered 65 yards in eight plays and spanned 5:03, and was keyed by Rafferty's four completions in five attempts.
Ramos added three points to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-7 lead on its second drive. With 4:41 on the clock, Ramos connected on a 30-yard field goal to cap a nine-play, 50-yard drive which took 3:34.
After an Otterbein punt, B-W scored for the third time in as many possessions on a three-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Tim Miker (Parma/ Senior), his second rushing touchdown of the season. The score was set up by a razzle-dazzle play in which senior wide receiver Dan Damico (Marion/ Marion Catholic) took a pitch and fired the ball 21 yards downfield to junior wide receiver Matt Dash (Medina/ Buckeye). The 85-yard scoring drive was the longest for the Jackets since the first game of the season. It took 12 plays and spanned 3:39. Ramos' extra point gave B-W a 17-7 lead.
On the first play on the ensuing drive, Rafferty's pass was intercepted at his own 38-yard line by sophomore linebacker Ryan Kish (Amherst/ Marion Steele) to set up good field possession for the Jacket offense. The pick was Kish's second of the season and fourth of his career. Only a sophomore, he is the Yellow Jackets' active leader in career interceptions.
The Cardinals closed the gap to 17-14 with a marathon-like 15-play, 99-yard scoring drive which took 7:54. Eric Yates accounted for 39 of the 99 yards and capped the drive at the 1:50 mark of the second quarter with a nine-yard scoring run. Wanninger's extra point was good.
A Mike King interception deep in B-W territory gave Otterbein the opportunity to take its first lead of the game with 10:27 remaining in the third quarter when Rafferty connected with Ryan Rowley for a 28-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive. Wanninger's extra point was good and gave Otterbein a 21-17 lead.
After a B-W punt, Rafferty and Rowley hooked up again, this time for 18 yards, to give the Cardinals a 28-17 lead. Despite two penalties, Otterbein's drive lasted one play for eight total yards and :08 seconds. Wanninger converted the extra point.
The Jackets tightened things up thanks to another field goal by Cory Ramos, this one from30 yards, that made the score 28-20. Ramos' kick capped an 11-play, 50-yard drive that took 4:14 off the clock. Miker's 28 rushing yards on the drive helped pace the Jackets. The eight-point deficit would be the closest B-W would get to Otterbein as the Cardinals' offense added a few insurance touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The Brown and Gold did score a late touchdown with 3:57 play. A 10-play, 80-yard drive which spanned 2:07 was capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Anthony Gardner (Rocky River/ Lakewood St. Edward) to senior wide receiver Mike Glynn (Columbia Station/ Columbia). The two-point conversion, a Gardner pass to senior wide receiver Matt Lepley (Bellevue), made the score 42-28 in favor of Otterbein and would stand as the final.
The Jacket offense was led by Lepley who hauled in 10 catches for 95 yards. Through five games in 2008,Lepley has tallied 44 receptions, which puts him well in range of the B-W single season record of 64 set by Lance Yandell '94 in 1993. Yandell also holds B-W's career receptions record with 157, which Lepley, currently with 123, is just 34 catches shy of. Crook rushed the ball 17 times for 83 yards and a touchdown, his third of the season. Miker also added 53 yards on nine rushes and one score. Gardner completed 25 of his 38 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The offense piled up 412 total yards, including 123 on the ground and 289 through the air.
Defensively, senior free safety Karl Schreiber (Bay Village/ Bay) led the team with seven tackles, including one for a loss. Junior strong safety Ryan Clokey (Massillon/ Perry) and senior All-OAC inside linebackerPaul Burger (Mentor) recorded 6.5 tackles each, and Kish tallied six and added his second quarter interception.
Through five games the season, Gardner has led the way by completing 112-of-170 (65.8 %) for 1,365 yards and eight touchdowns against just three interceptions. On the ground, Crook has totaled 329 rushing yards on 75 carries for 4.4 yards per carry and 65.8 yards per game. Lepley's 44 catches, 424 yards, and three touchdowns leads the receiving corps. Junior outside linebacker Brad Koester (Sunbury/ Big Walnut) leads the defensive unit with 29 tackles and sophomore defensive end Keith Darbut (Miami, Fla./ Palmetto Senior)leads with four sacks.
Next Saturday, October 18, B-W travels to New Concord to play OAC foe Muskingum College at McConagha Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Fans can listen to the game locally on campus radio station WBW, 88.3 FM, or via the WBW Internet Web site at www.wBW.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Coach John Snell, please call 440-826-2069 or e-mail at jsnell@bw.edu. You can get all of the latest BW athletics information by visiting our Web site at www.bw.edu/athletics.