UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Baldwin Wallace University football team opened its 2021 spring season as it fell to crosstown rival John Carroll University in an Ohio Athletic Conference and 32nd Battle for the Gold Bowl Trophy game by a final score of 28-17 on Wasmer Field inside Don Shula Stadium.
BW (0-1, 0-1 OAC East Division) is now 25-31-4 in the all-time series and 13-19 in the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl series against John Carroll (1-0, 1-0 OAC East Division).
Offensively, sophomore quarterback Keagan Armitage (Ashland) completed 17-of-27 passes for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Junior All-OAC running back Jon Murry, Jr. (Cincinnati/Withrow) rushed for 95 yards on 23 carries. Junior wideout Darius Stokes (Canton/GlenOak) caught a career-high nine passes for a career-best 140 yards with one touchdown. Defensively, junior Academic All-OAC linebacker Nick Pankow (Ashland) had a game-high 11 tackles.
The Blue Streaks were led by quarterback Jake Floriea as he completed 17-of-21 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown. Running backs Matthew Buser and Demerius Goodwin combined for 139 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns. Devin Limerick led the receiving unit with six catches for 79 yards. Defensively, Dominic Rosso had a team-best eight stops.
John Carroll scored the only points of the first quarter when Buser caught an 11-yard pass from Floriea at the 1:45 mark. Andy Han added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets cut into the lead and added the only points of the second quarter when sophomore kicker Dean Sarris (Canton/GlenOak) converted the 32-yard field goal at 9:22.
The third quarter featured a touchdown for each team. The Blue Streaks blocked a Sarris field goal and returned it for the touchdown by Josh McLean. Han tacked on the extra point giving John Carroll the 14-3 lead at 6:43. BW cut the lead down to 14-10 when Armitage rushed four-yards to paydirt. Sarris added the point after at the 1:17 mark.
Just 43 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Blue Streaks pushed their lead to 21-10 when Goodwin scored on a five-yard run. Han booted the extra point at the 14:17 mark. The Yellow Jackets scored their final points of the game when Stokes scored on a 48-yard pass play from Armitage. Sarris added the point after to make the score 21-17 at the 12:25 mark. John Carroll closed out the scoring when Buser scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run. Han tacked on his fourth extra point for the final score of 28-17.
BW is back in action on Friday, March 19 when it travels to Marietta for an OAC East Division game against Marietta College in Don Drumm Stadium at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets play their home opener on Friday, March 26 when they host Muskingum University in an OAC East Division game on the Tressel Field inside the George Finnie Stadium at 7 p.m.
