NEW CONCORD, Ohio – Coming off its bye week, the Baldwin Wallace University football team defeated Muskingum University in an Ohio Athletic Conference game by a final score of 42-28 inside McConagha Stadium.
BW (5-1, 4-1 OAC) improved to 48-13-2 in the all-time series against Muskingum (2-4, 1-4 OAC), including winning the 13 of the last 15 meetings.
Offensively for the Yellow Jackets, freshman quarterback Keagan Armitage (Ashland) completed 15-of-31 passes for 273 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Sophomore All-OAC running back Jon Murray, Jr. (Cincinnati/Withrow) led the ground game as he rushed for 63 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Junior wide out Iyan Mitchell (Tampa, Fla./Robinson) led the aerial assault as he caught six passes for 138 yards with a career-high three touchdowns, including a career-long 70-yard touchdown. Defensively, senior Academic All-OAC linebacker Josh Liberati (Lisbon/David Anderson) tallied 11 tackles.
The Muskies were led by sophomore quarterback Jordan Garrett as he completed 6-of-13 passes for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception in relief of junior Academic All-OAC quarterback Brody Hahn, who left the game with an injury. Before leaving the game, Hahn completed 6-of-18 passes for 33 yards with one interception. Hahn led the ground game with 64 yards on eight carries with one touchdown. Senior Darrius Hayes-Carruth led the receiving corps as he caught three passes for 64 yards with a 51-yard touchdown. Defensively, senior All-OAC defensive lineman Tim Ousley recorded a game-high 14 tackles.
After the BW defense forced a turnover on downs, the Yellow Jacket offense opened the scoring when Armitage connected with Mitchell on a 5-yard pass play Freshman kicker Dean Sarris (Canton/GlenOak) added the extra point for the 7-0 lead at the 9:28 mark. BW pushed its lead to 10-0 when Sarris connected on a 39-yard field goal at 4:55. Muskingum cut the lead down to 10-7 when Hahn scored on a 41-yard run with 22 seconds remaining. Sophomore kicker Gavin Costello tacked on the point after.
It was all Yellow Jackets in the second quarter as they added 17 points and led 27-7 at the intermission. BW scored its first touchdown when freshman running back Shaun Perry (Clearwater, Fla.) scored on a 42-yard pass play from Armitage at the 12:30 mark. The Yellow Jackets then got a two-yard run from Murray, Jr. at 6:04. Sarris hit both extra points. BW closed out the first half scoring when Sarris hit his second field goal of the game on a 29-yard at the 1:55 mark.
The Yellow Jackets opened the third quarter scoring at 34-7 when Armitage and Mitchell hooked up for the second time when the duo scored on a 22-yard pass play at the 4:24. Sarris hit the extra point. After the Muskies blocked a BW field goal, they went 94 yards to score their second touchdown when freshman running back Jeffrey Curtis rushed 45-yards to paydirt. Costello made the score 34-14 with just one second left in the third stanza.
Muskingum opened the final quarter scoring when Garrett scored on a six-yard run. Costello added the point after to cut the lead down to 34-21 at the 10:07 mark. The Yellow Jackets got their final points of the contest when Mitchell caught his third touchdown a career-long 70-yard catch from Armitage. Senior wide receiver Deion Greer (Toledo/Toledo Central Catholic) scored the two-point conversion to make the score 42-21 at 9:11. The Muskies closed out the scoring when Hayes-Carruth caught a 51-yard pass from Garrett. Costello added the extra point to make score 42-28 at the 8:30 mark.
BW is back in action on Saturday, October 26 when it hosts an OAC and Hall of Fame game against Wilmington College on the Tressel Field inside the George Finnie Stadium at 1:30 p.m.
