BEREA, OHIO -- The 24th-ranked Baldwin-Wallace College football team (www.d3football.com) national Division III poll) defeated Ohio Athletic Conference and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University, 45-37, today (Saturday, November 12, 2011) in a key game on the Tressel Field at The George Finnie Stadium. The win gives hope to a Division III playoff berth, returns the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy to Berea and gives B-W the advantage in its all-time series with JCU.  

The game featured 67 points and 843 yards of total offense.

With its win, B-W improves to 8-2 overall and finishes second during the OAC regular season with a 7-2 record. More importantly, the win puts B-W, ranked sixth in this week's NCAA Division III North Region poll, in position for a possible berth in next week's NCAA Division III National Playoffs. The berth would be its first since 2003.

In addition, the victory returns the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy to B-W and Berea for the first time since 2008 and gives the Yellow Jackets a 24-23-4 all-time series lead and a 12-11 advantage in the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy series. JCU ends its season at 5-5 overall and 5-4 in the OAC.

B-W led 14-6 after one quarter, 24-15 at halftime and 31-22 after three periods.

B-W jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 14:41 mark of the first quarter. Following a 90-yard opening kickoff return by sophomore Kevin Johnson (Maple Heights/ Cleveland St. Ignatius), Yellow Jacket junior running back Tyler Lohr (Kent/ Roosevelt) scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 10-yard run and then sophomore placekicker Chris Mohler (Kent/ Roosevelt) tacked on the PAT.

Following a pair of changes of possession, JCU struck back with a 50-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Devin O'Brien to junior wide receiver Lane Robilotto at the 7:50 mark to cut the lead to 7-6. The ball was first juggled by a B-W defender and then grabbed out of the air by Robilotto who then sped the final 25 yards to the endzone. The JCU PAT kick was wide right.

B-W gained a 14-6 lead with 15 seconds left in the first period when freshman RB Nolan Sordyl (Gurnee, Ill./ Warren Township) bulled in from two yards out and then Mohler tacked on the PAT. The score capped a 15-play and 80-yard drive in 7:35.

JCU answered back and cut the lead to 14-9 at the 6:49 mark when freshman PK Kresimir Ivkovic booted a 21-yard field goal to cap a 13-play and 79-yard drive. 

Following a B-W turnover at the JCU 38-yard line, O'Brien sped 60 yards on the first play and then sophomore RB Anthony D'Aurizio scored from two yards out on the next play to give JCU a 15-14 lead with 4:33 left in the first half. The PAT kick was blocked.

B-W regained the lead at 21-14 with 1:07 left before halftime when sophomore flanker Josiah Holt (Elyria/ Grafton Midview) scored on a 5-yard run to cap a 6-play and 53-yard drive in 3:20. Mohler tacked on the PAT. 

Then, following senior cornerback Matt Bowen's (Tiffin/ Columbian) fourth interception of the season, B-W drove 38 yards in six plays and Mohler nailed a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the half for a 24-15 Yellow Jacket advantage.

JCU opened the third quarter by taking 9:34 off the clock and the Blue Streaks drove 87 yards in 15 plays to score and cut B-W's lead to 24-22 when O'Brien threw a 14-yard scoring pass to junior tight end Casey Rouch with 5:20 left in the quarter. Ivkovic's PAT kick was good. The big play in the drive was a personal foul on B-W after Yellow Jacket junior CB Brandon Russo (Olmsted Falls) had intercepted an O'Brien pass in the endzone. O'Brien's scoring toss to Rouch came three plays later.

B-W came right back to take a 31-22 lead when it drove 58 yards and scored when junior "wildcat" QB Andrew Dziak (Maple Heights/ Parma Padua Fransiscan) scored on a 5-yard run and Mohler added his fourth PAT kick of the afternoon. The drive covered four plays in 1:37.

Undaunted, the Blue Streaks came right back to score at the 13:32 mark of the fourth stanza when O'Brien snuck in from one yard away and Ivkovic tacked on the PAT to make the score 31-29. The drive was 9-plays and 80 yards and took 5:02 off the clock.

B-W regained its nine-point lead at 38-29 with 5:26 remaining when Sordyl scored his second TD of the afternoon and the third of the season when he ran one yard to paydirt to cap a 14-play and 82-yard drive in 7:57. Mohler added the PAT.

The Yellow Jackets then added what they thought to be insurance when Sordyl scored his third TD of the contest on a 7-yard jaunt with 2:56 left and Mohler tacked on the PAT.

But JCU had other ideas. Following Sordyl's TD, Robilotto took the ensuing back 78 yards to give the Blue Streaks first-and-goal at the B-W seven. Two plays later, O'Brien snuck in for his second TD with 2:18 left and then scored on the two-point conversion to make it 45-37. 

And JCU still wasn't done.

After it recovered an onside kick at the JCU 47, O'Brien drove the Blue Streaks to the B-W 12-yard line. With six seconds left, he dropped back and threw a pass to the middle of the endzone as time expired. 

B-W could finally breathe a sigh of relief. 

Offensively for B-W, Lohr, junior QB Ryan O'Rourke (Avon), Dziak and Sordyl were the leads. Lohr ran for 122 yards in 19 carries and a TD. O'Rourke ran 9 times for 67 yards. Dziak carried the ball 8 times for 44 yards and a TD. Sordyl had 3 carries for 10 yards and three TDs. O'Rourke completed 6-of-9 passes for 87 yards.  The defense was led by senior linebacker Brett Thompson (Shelby) with 10 tackles.

JCU was led on offense by O'Brien who ran for a game-high 173 yards in 19 attempts with two TDs and completed 14-for-23 passes for 233 yards and two TDs and one interception.  The top receiver was Robilotto with eight for 147 yards and a TD. On defense, senior linebacker C.J. Seitzinger had a game-high 11 stops.

Fans can listen to all B-W games live on B-W campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, or via the WBWC Internet web site at www.wbwc.com. 

FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter http://twitter.com/bwathletics.