DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University football team (1-1, 0-1 NCAC) hosted ninth-ranked John Carroll (2-0, 1-0 NCAC) on Saturday afternoon. It was Bishop Backers Community Day at Selby Stadium as Ohio Wesleyan welcomed the local Delaware community to campus for a free tailgate put on by the City of Delaware police and fire departments as well as the OWU public safety department. The Blue Streaks ended up putting a damper on the day as the Battling Bishops were outplayed 44-7.
The Red and Black fell back 14 points in the first quarter following touchdowns on the first two drives for John Carroll. OWU struggled to get going on offense, being forced to punt on their first three drives. JCU added two more touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter to make it a 31-0 score at the half.
The third quarter saw two more touchdowns for John Carroll as they built their lead to 37-0. A promising opportunity arose for the Bishops between the two JCU TDs as they drove the ball 67 yards deep into Blue Streak territory, but ended fruitless following a turnover on downs. The score soon became 44-0 after John Carroll opened the fourth quarter with another touchdown drive.
OWU avoided the shutout with their first possession of the fourth period, taking it 60 yards for a touchdown.
Reed Wehr led the charge with 31 of the 60 yards on the ground.
Giovanni Rufus finished off the scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown run up the middle. Ohio Wesleyan would get one more crack after forcing a JCU three-and-out, but suffered the same fate on their end and were forced to kick the ball back. The Blue Streaks then kneeled it out for a 44-7 final.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
The Battling Bishops tallied 226 yards of total offense, 121 on the ground and 105 through the air, recording 10 first downs and scoring one touchdown. Starting quarterback
C.J. Jackson was 6-of-15 passing for 65 yards with one interception.
Brady Morrell was 1-of-3 for 40 yards.
Giovanni Rufus led the rushing game with 59 yards and one touchdown on 11 attempts.
Reed Wehr recorded 43 yards on nine carries.
Mysaun Sanders finished with 21 yards on eight carries.
Receiving-wise, the Bishops were led by
Evan Thompson with 40 yards on one catch.
Jordan Bryant had 33 yards on two catches.
Braden Fitchko finished with 26 yards on two catches.
Drew Burdine was 1-of-1 on extra points.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
John Carroll recorded 481 yards of total offense, 355 passing and 126 rushing. The Blue Streaks scored six touchdowns and one field goal with a missed extra point.
Miles Theetge led the team with nine tackles, two solos and seven assists.
Jacob Slyh,
Braxton Ross, and
Connor Stephens all finished with seven tackles, each getting one solo and six assists. Ross recorded the game's only sack as well as a pass breakup.
Collin Wehner (two solos, four assists) and
Grant Johnson (six assists) were next with six apiece, followed by
Lucas Ward (one solo, four assists) with five and
Ya'Va Harris (one solo, three assists) with four. Wehner also recorded two pass breakups.
Harris,
Carter Kuhn, and
Connor Asbury all recorded one tackle for loss. Johnson and
Vicean Sample each had a half tackle for loss with Sample also breaking up a pass.
UP NEXT
The Red and Black travel to Greencastle, Indiana next week for their first road trip of the year and a meeting with No. 13 DePauw. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
