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 Posted October 22, 2005 By Sam McCarthy, Assistant Sports Information Director Crusaders Stifle Yellow Jackets Capital 34, Baldwin-Wallace 0 [Box Score] (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Capital University's football team pitched its third shutout of the year and the offense held up its end of the bargain as the Crusaders defeated the Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets by a score of 34-0 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup at Bernlohr Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. With the victory, the Crusaders have now won three games in a row and improve their record to 5-2, 3-2 in the OAC, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 3-4, 2-4 in the OAC. Capital came into the contest ranked ninth in the country in total defense and didn't disappoint this afternoon, limiting the Baldwin-Wallace offense to 26 total yards on 44 plays, notching four sacks and picking off two different Baldwin-Wallace signal-callers three times. After a scoreless first frame, the Crusaders lit up the scoreboard in the second, with two touchdown passes from junior quarterback Rocky Pentello (Westerville/Westerville South) and a 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Matt Spitz (Xenia/Xenia) to take a 17-0 lead in the locker room. Pentello's first touchdown pass was a strike over the middle and into the endzone to senior wide receiver Kive Kraft (Amanda/Amanda Clearcreek) from 19-yards out and was followed on the next drive by a Spitz field goal after a 12-play 44-yard drive to give Capital a 10-0 advantage. Both teams traded punts and Capital ended up with the football at their own 28-yard line with 1:10 to play. Putting more points on the board looked improbable with the field position the Crusaders had, but Pentello led an aggressive offensive drive, moving 72 yards in 10 plays and ended with senior wide receiver Lewis Howes (Delaware/Principia Prep) pulling in a 22-yard lob from Pentello in the back of the end zone to put a dagger into the Yellow Jackets only five seconds before the end of the half and giving Capital a 17-0 lead. After a Baldwin-Wallace lost a fumble on their own 29-yard line on their opening possession of the second half, Capital's offense picked up right where they left off in the first, with Pentello again finding Howes from six-yards out on a third and goal to put Capital ahead 24-0. Interceptions were thrown by both Pentello and Yellow Jacket quarterback Mickey Mental on back-to-back possessions, however senior defensive back Tony Miller (Lancaster/Fisher Catholic) ran back Mental's pass 35 yards for a Crusader touchdown and a 31-0 lead. Spitz tacked on another field goal, this one from 25 yards, to end the scoring in the contest. Senior running back Colin O'Reilly (Bexley/Bexley) carried much of the load in the running game for the Crusaders, running a career-high 28 times for 106 yards, while junior running back Jeremy Mulkey (Dublin/Dublin Coffman) toted the ball 11 times for 40 yards. O'Reilly has now run for 100-plus yards in three straight games and four times this season. Pentello had a solid day, going 23-41 for 224 yards and tossing three touchdowns; while Howes led the receiving corps with 13 catches for 113 yards and two scores. Kraft and senior wide receiver Kyle Rankin (Kipling/Meadowbrook) each grabbed five balls for 54 and 57 yards respectively. Senior linebacker Sam Abdullah (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) led the stout Capital defense with seven tackles, while junior defensive lineman Nick Bucci (Hudson/Hudson) had two of the Crusaders four sacks. Defensive backs James Starks (Toledo/St. Francis-Desales) and Marcus McDonough (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) each had a pick as well. Capital will go on the road for the final time in 2005 as they travel to Ada, Ohio next Saturday to take on Ohio Northern at 1:30 p.m. |
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