BOX SCORE WILMINGTON, Ohio - The #25 Capital Crusaders used a big-strike offense and a stingy defense to secure a 37-21 Ohio Athletic Conference football victory at Wilmington on Saturday night. With the win, CU remained perfect on the season at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in OAC action.
Senior Marty Assmann (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) led the CU offense with a 15-for-27 day passing for 263 yards with three touchdowns and just one interception. Classmate Ryan Gunnarson (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS) was a big beneficiary with five catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow seniors Evan Blake (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm HS) and Armando Ancona (Johnstown, Ohio/Johnstown-Monroe HS) had three catches each on the night for Capital. Blake finished with 67 yards while Ancona had 62 yards receiving and one touchdown.
After going 23 games without a 100-yard rusher, Capital has now posted multiple 100-yard ball carriers in back-to-back games. Senior Dominic D'Andrea (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) rushed the ball 17 times for 142 yards and one touchdown with all but one yard coming before halftime. Junior Matt Merritt (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill HS) carried the load in the second half and finished with 20 carries for 101 yards.
Overall, the Crusaders tallied 495 yards of total offense including 232 on the ground. The Capital defense allowed 412 yards, but forced four Quaker turnovers. Junior Sam Jacobs (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) led CU with 10 tackles including a sack, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery.
Senior Ronnie Smith (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) and freshman Aaron Rittgers (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS) were each credited with a forced fumble while Zidan Abdullah (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington HS), Jake Nickle (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville HS) and Aaron Hoover (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley HS) each had one interception on the night.
Capital's offensive line held control of the action for most of the first half as the Crusaders posted 169 rushing yards including 141 by the legs of D'Andrea. Overall, CU racked up 259 yards of total offense in the first half while gaining 13 first downs on six offensive drives.
After being forced to punt on its first offensive possession, Capital got the ball back on its own 35-yard line with 11:11 left in the first quarter and began with a three-yard run by D'Andrea. After an incomplete pass, Assmann found Ancona on a 10-yard throw to convert on third down. Then two plays and a Quaker penalty later, D'Andrea busted through the line for a 37-yard touchdown run. The senior's third touchdown of the season ended a five-play, 65-yard drive that took 1:06 with a 7-0 Crusader lead.
Wilmington came back with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Billy Blackburn to Jeremy Stuckey to even the score at 7-7 with 7:24 remaining in the opening quarter. However, Capital would score on its final five possessions of the half continuing with a 24-yard field goal by Bennington with 4:15 left in the first quarter to make it 10-7 CU.
The Quakers got the ball back on their own 32-yard line and marched it down the field on a 12-play, 67-yard drive but the Crusader defense forced a fumble at 3rd-and-Goal from the 1-yard line that was recovered by Sam Jacobs (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) to keep WC out of the end zone.
Capital then took over at the 2-yard line and rode its momentum to post an 11-play, 98-yard drive that ended on a 32-yard touchdown pass by Assmann to Ancona on 4th-and-16 for a 17-7 CU advantage.
Bennington would add field goals of 21 and 25 yards before the intermission as Capital took a 23-7 lead into halftime.
After the Quakers scored on a seven-play, 41-yard drive, the Crusaders came back with another big play to set up a score of their own. Assmann hit Ancona on a 45 yard pass on third and nine to set up Gunnarson for his first score of the day , a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-14 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
Assmann and Gunnarson would strike again early in the fourth quarter as the tandem took the ball after a WC punt and connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass for a 37-14 Crusader lead.
Wilmington would get one score back with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass, but Capital would run out the clock from there for a 37-21 victory.
#25 Capital looks to begin the season at 4-0 for the fourth consecutive season as it heads to Marietta next Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. Fans can follow the action with FREE live audio at www.CapitalCrusaders.net.