#4 Capital 17, #17Ohio Northern 10
(ADA, Ohio)—For the second week in a row it took a fourth quarter rally for the #4 Capital University football team to get a win as they scored a 17-10 Ohio Athletic Conference victory at #17 Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.
Also for the second week in a row, Capital got the big play on offense then let its defense seal the deal. Capital quarterback Rocky Pentello (Columbus/Westerville South) lmade the decisive play, with the game tied 10-10 and 9:11, he hit wide receiver Derrick Alexander (Grove City/Grove City) on a 69-yard touchdown for what turned out to be the game winner. Then the Crusader defense stopped the Polar Bears on two more possessions to seal the win.
The win keeps Capital undefeated (6-0, 5-0 OAC), matches the best start in school history and extends a winning streak of 12 consecutive regular season games, while Ohio Northern dropped its second game in a row and now is 4-2 overall and 3-2 OAC.
Ohio Northern sophomore runningback R.J. Meadows ran for a game-high 188 yards on 29 carries, but the Polar Bears were 2-for-4 in the red zone and fumbled twice. Linebacker Lenny Trusnik had a team-best nine tackles.
Capital had four fumbles, lost two and was held to a season-low 289 yards as Pentello completed 12-of-20 passes for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Alexander ended up with five catches for 110 yards for his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season, while senior tight end Dylan Kelly (Hilliard/Hilliard Darby) had four catches for 66 yards.
Capital junior defensive back James Starks (Toledo/Toledo St. Francis) had a game-high 11 stops to lead a defense that had four sacks.
Ohio Northern drove the game’s opening kick down to the field, but fumbled it away on the Capital eight-yard line. The Crusaders with a pair of penalties on its first drive forced a punt deep in its own territory and allowed the Polar Bears to start the ensuing drive on Capital’s 32-yard line. Ohio Northern managed just 18 yards on seven plays settling for a 31-yard field goal by Jake Heaphy leaving the score 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
A 33-yard Thom Hausler kickoff return set up Capital to answer the score and five plays later quarterback Rocky Pentello hit Mike Niedzwiecki with a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the Crusaders up 7-3 with 14:54 left in the second quarter. Defense was the story for the remainder of the quarter as both teams missed field goals making it 7-3 at the break.
Capital turned the ball over with fumbles on their only two possessions of the third quarter and Ohio Northern turned them into seven points and retook the lead with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Adam Quirk to Ben Wittwer to make it 10-7 with 4:44 left in the quarter.
The Crusaders tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal by junior Matt Spitz (Xenia/Xenia). Ohio Northern’s next drive stalled at midfield and punted to Capital to set up Pentello’s heroics.