Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 17, Case Reserve 14
Sophomore Miles MacKenzie (Denver, Colo./East) drilled a 46-yard field goal with :04 left in regulation time to give Ohio Wesleyan a non-conference win over Case Reserve in the Bishops' home opener on Saturday night at Selby Stadium.
Case Reserve had tied the score at 14 on Ricky Hanzlik's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:42 left in regulation time, capping an 80-yard, 17-play scoring march, and the Spartans appeared to be in good shape after forcing a 3-and-out on Ohio Wesleyan's ensuing possession. CWRU took over at midfield and picked up first downs on an 11-yard strike from Erik Olson to Sean Lapcevic and an Olson connection to Brian Rice for 5 yards to the 25-yard line.
The Bishop defense stiffened, however, and Won Kun Park came on for a 35-yard field goal attempt, which hooked right with 1:06 remaining.
With the ball at their own 20, the Bishops quickly got the crowd behind them with junior quarterback Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.) finding junior wide receiver Dave Mogilnicki (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) for 9 yards and sophomore running back Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) for 11 more. After a timeout, Espinosa hit sophomore wide receiver Scott Jenkins (Cuyahoga Falls) down the right sideline for 22 yards and a first down at the Spartan 38-yard line. A pair of completions to Mogilincki set up fourth-and-1 at the CWRU 29-yard line.
MacKenzie came on and crushed the 46-yard field goal attempt to give Ohio Wesleyan the lead.
Case was unable to score on the ensuing kickoff, sealing Ohio Wesleyan's first 3-0 start since 2001.
The Bishops had taken a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Jenkins, finishing off an 80-yard, 14-play drive. Key plays included Espinosa completions of 10 yards to senior wide receiver James DiBiasio (Westlake), 13 yards to sophomore tight end Calvin Cagney (Indialantic, Fla./Melbourne), 11 yards to Mogilnicki, and 16 yards to Jenkins that set up a first-and-goal at the CWRU 5.
CWRU answered with a lengthy drive of its own, with Olson finding Bryan Erb for 25 yards and Lapcevic for 15 more yards before a Manny Sicre 9-yard run gave the Spartans a first down at the Bishop 9-yard line.
On second down, however, senior defensive end Clint Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) sacked Olson, forcing a fumble, and recovered the ball on the Ohio Wesleyan 15 to turn aside the threat.
The Spartans would counter on their next possession, with Olson's 31-yard pass to Sicre moving the ball to the 16 and setting up an Olson-to-Sicre TD pass from 7 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
The Bishop defense turned aside the Spartans again, with junior cornerback Leonard Gleaves (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) picking off an Olson pass and returning it to the Bishop 47, and Ohio Wesleyan took advantage of the turnover, with Espinosa finding Cagney for 18 yards and Herman for 8 more. A crossing pass to Herman moved the ball to the CWRU 3-yard line, and on the next play, Cagney went over for a 14-7 Bishop lead with 6:30 left in the first half.
Once more, the Bishop defense preserved the lead, as the Spartans had moved to a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 4-yard line. Manny Surunis picked up 3 yards on first down, and on second down, Sicre tried to go over the top, but senior defensive end James Huddleston (Pontiac, Mich./Saint Marys Preparatory) forced a fumble and Gleaves recovered inside the 1-yard line with less than a minute to play in the half.
Junior linebacker Justin Segal (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) intercepted an Olson pass early in the third quarter, and both MacKenzie and Kun Park misfired on field goals during the period, MacKenzie from 25 yards and Kun Park from 27 yards. MacKenzie also was wide left from 36 yards early in the fourth quarter, leaving the score at 14-7 and setting up Case Reserve's game-tying drive.
Espinosa completed 28 of 42 passes for 235 yards. Herman caught 8 throws for 72 yards and led the Bishops with 30 yards on 7 rushes, while Jenkins had 7 catches for 61 yards.
Segal had a team-high 13 tackles and intercepted a pass. Gleaves finished with 11 stops, an interception and a fumble recovery, senior linebacker Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township) made 11 stops, and sophomore linebacker DaVaughn DuBose (Shaker Heights) added 11 tackles.
Olson completed 24 of 37 passes for 241 yards and a TD, with Lapcevic making 7 catches for 62 yards. Sicre finished with a game-high 123 yards on 32 carries. Ryan Ferguson led the Spartan defense with 9 tackles and a pass breakup.
Box Score
