Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 47, Hiram 21
Junior quarterback Kaden Buza (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) fired a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another score as Ohio Wesleyan broke a 21-21 tie with 26 consecutive points and went on to a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Hiram on Saturday at Selby Stadium.
Hiram had scored a pair of touchdowns in a span of just over a minute to tie the game at 21 with 1:31 left in the second quarter.
On Ohio Wesleyan's ensuing possession, Buza came out firing, finding junior wide receiver Jakii Alston (Pickerington/North) for 10 yards before consecutive strikes to freshman wide receiver Josh Hurst (Port Clinton) for 20 and 5 yards moved the ball to the Hiram 30. One play later, Buza connected with Hurst for 18 yards and then found freshman wide receiver Tyler Webb (Port Clinton) for the final 12 yards and the score. Senior kicker Tyler Shuster (Sunbury/Big Walnut) had his conversion kick hit the right upright and the score remained 27-21.
Hiram looked to answer in the final :57 of the half, with Sean Tejada firing to Trystan Mollihan for 18 yards and to Raequan Davis-Hereford for 20 more for a first down at the Bishop 20, but sophomore linebacker Seth Anderson (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) intercepted a Tejada pass at the OWU 8-yard line to end the threat.
With the opening kickoff of the second half, the Bishops marched 76 yards in 12 plays, highlighted by a strike from Buza to senior wide receiver Caden Calhoun (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) for 22 yards and an 18-yard rumble by sophomore running back Jackson Gifford (Ross/Hamilton Ross). A 13-yard run from Gifford made it first-and-goal, and Buza went over from 1 yard out for the score. The Bishops went for 2, but Calhoun's run was stopped short of the end zone and it remained a 33-21 game.
After a short punt set up the Bishops at their own 46, the Ohio Wesleyan offense moved with a 15-yard run by Calhoun and a 24-yard pass from Buza to Webb for 24 yards before Gifford got the final 5 yards. Shuster's PAT increased the margin to 40-21. Buza wrapped up the scoring with an 8-yard pass to senior wide receiver Walker James (Hurricane, W.Va.), and senior kicker Nick Moyer (Cleveland/Avon) added the point-after for the 47-21 final.
Ohio Wesleyan took the lead on its first possession of the game, with Buza connecting with Webb for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Hiram evened the game on the first play of the second quarter when running back Malcolm Rogers ran left, then cut back right and broke loose on a 44-yard scoring run.
Alston returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the Hiram 40, and the Bishops covered that distance in 7 plays, with Buza finding Calhoun on an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Anderson picked off a Tejada pass on second down of the next Terrier series and returned it 31 yards to the Hiram 4, and on the next play, Gifford got into the end zone for Ohio Wesleyan's second touchdown in a span of 51 seconds.
The Terriers responded in similar fashion, with Tejada tossing a 17-yard scoring pass to Mollohan, and after Tonvanta Revis intercepted a Buza pass and returned it to the OWU 35, Tejada broke loose for 22 yards and threaded a pass to Moe Yarbrough for 12 more before Rogers got the final yard for Hiram's second touchdown in a span of 1:17. Chris Miller's PAT tied the game at 21 with 2:31 left in the half.
Buza completed 23 of 34 passes for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 4 touchdown passes increased his season total to 23, breaking the Ohio Wesleyan mark of 22 set by Brian Berry in 2017.
Hurst had 11 receptions for 92 yards, and Webb's 4 catches included 2 for touchdowns. Gifford led the Bishops with 102 yards on 27 rushes. Senior linebacker Trevar Meese (Wooster) and senior defensive end Riley Louck (North Lewisburg/Triad) had 7 tackles apiece, with Meese recording 2 for loss and Louck breaking up 2 passes.
Box Score
