BOX SCORE NEW CONCORD, Ohio - The #16 Capital Crusader football team tallied nearly 500 yards of total offense and recorded seven sacks in a 35-7 Ohio Athletic Conference victory at Muskingum on Saturday.
CU (6-2, 5-2 OAC) held a 494-194 advantage in total offense including a 258-17 lead in rushing on the day. Senior Dominic D'Andrea (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) tallied his third 100-yard rushing effort of the season with 151 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns. D'Andrea became the first Crusader to rush for 150 yards in a single game since Jason Bainum did so on the same field on Nov. 8, 2003 (198 yards). D'Andrea needs just 242 yards to become just the second 1,000-yard rusher in Capital history.
The Crusader defense was just as impressive on Saturday with seven sacks, two fumble recoveries, one interception and just 10 first downs allowed. Junior Sam Jacobs (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) had six solo tackles including two sacks to pace Capital. Senior Ronnie Smith (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) made an interception and broke up one other pass. In addition, Jake Nickle recovered a fumble and had two sacks while senior Clayton Griewe (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance HS) also recovered a fumble for CU.
After Nickle recovered a fumble at the Muskingum 24-yard line for Capital, the Crusaders handed the ball off to D'Andrea five straight times including a two-yard TD run for an early 7-0 lead just 2:34 into the contest.
Then in the second quarter, CU used the combination of D'Andrea on the ground and Marty Assmann (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) through the air to score another touchdown. Assman was 2-for-3 passing for 17 yards while D'Andrea had seven carries for 26 total yards including another two-yard TD run for a 14-0 Capital lead with 2:18 left before halftime.
The CU defense would force another MU three-and-out to give the ball back to Capital with 1:23 left in the first half at its own 14-yard line. After D'Andrea moved the ball up to 25 yard line on a pair of rushes, Assmann found Armando Ancona (Johnstown, Ohio/Johnstown-Monroe HS) for a 37 yard gain to put the Crusaders into Muskie territory at the 38-yard line. Following two incomplete passes and a CU timeout, D'Andrea picked up six more yards to setup a 4th-and-4 from the MU 32-yard line. Assmann hit Matt White (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) on a 17-yard pass to keep the drive alive and followed without a timeout to connect with Ancona on a 15-yard TD pass for a 21-7 Capital lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
After Muskingum got on the board with a 62-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, Capital would counter with a another Ancona TD reception from seven yards out just one minute into the fourth quarter to bring the score to 28-7.
CU closed out the game with a nine-play, 42-yard drive which consisted of three rushes for 20 yards by sophomore Garrett Bennington (Cambridge, Ohio/John Glenn HS) and six carried for 22 yards by freshman Dan Ridenour (Sheldon, Iowa/Sheldon HS) including a seven-yard TD run for a 35-7 Crusader victory.
Capital will return home for the final two regular season game beginning next Saturday. The Crusaders will play host to #19 Ohio Northern at 1:30 p.m. All fans can receive FREE admission with the donation of a new or gently used winter hat or pair of winter gloves at the door. The game can also be followed with FREE Live Stats, Video and Audio beginning with the Nationwide Children's Hospital Sports Medicine Pregame Show at 1:00 p.m.