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 Posted November 19, 2005 By Sam McCarthy, Assistant Sports Information Director Cardiac Crusaders Upset No. 1 seed Wabash: Move on to Quarterfinals No. 16 Capital 14, No. 15 Wabash 11 [Box Score] (CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind.)—For the second straight week, it took all 60 minutes to decide the outcome of a Capital University football playoff game and for the second straight week, Capital prevailed, this time over the previously undefeated and No. 1 seed in the region Wabash Little Giants by a score of 14-11 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Capital's win moves their record to 10-2 on the season and into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs, while Wabash's season is over with an 11-1 record. The Crusaders 10 wins are a new school record, breaking the previous mark of nine also set this year. A match-up of two teams ranked in the top 20 in the country in total defense ended in a fitting way as neither offense could manage more than 250 total yards on the afternoon with Wabash tallying 240 and Capital 239 and the two squads combined for 12 sacks, seven by the Crusaders and five by the Little Giants. Capital scored the only points of the first half as they drove 80 yards on nine plays in 3:32 and senior All-OAC running back Colin O'Reilly (Bexley/Bexley) plunged into the endzone from seven yards out to cap off the drive. Junior All-OAC quarterback Rocky Pentello (Columbus/Westerville South) went 4-5 passing for 56 yards on the march down the field that ended with two O'Reilly runs to get the Crusaders in the endzone. Both teams were fairly quiet on offense until Capital's third possession of the second half when junior running back Jeremy Mulkey (Dublin/Dublin Coffman) erupted for a 65-yard run on 2nd and 10 all the way down to the Wabash two yard-line before O'Reilly pounded the ball in the zone for another score to put Capital ahead 14-0 and looked as if the Crusaders had scored enough to seal the victory. However, Wabash responded on its next possession on a Chad Finley 29-yard field-goal to cut the Capital lead to 14-3. The Little Giants converted on three third downs to keep themselves in the contest. After each team stalled on its next two drives, Capital got the ball back with nine minutes to play looking to run the clock down and got one first down before Pentello was picked off on a third down pass, giving the Little Giants the ball at their own 38 yardline. Wabash scored a touchdown six plays later as Kyle Piazza ran in from 1-yard out to make the score 14-9 and the ensuing two-point conversion pass from Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh to Mike Russell was good to make it a one score game at 14-11. With one final shot to win or tie the game, Harbaugh was picked off by Capital sophomore defensive back Matt Coleman (Westerville/Westerville South) on a third-down pass deep in Capital territory. Coleman's interception was in the end zone bringing the ball to 20-yard line. After two unsuccessful runs and two Wabash timeouts, Pentello found junior wide receiver Mike Niedzwiecki (Norwalk/Norwalk St. Paul) for a 46-yard gain on 3rd and 12 to put the contest away and advance Capital as one of eight teams in the quarterfinals. Capital's No. 4 ranked defense held North Coast Athletic Conference Player-of-Year Ross Harbaugh to 197 yards passing, picked him off once while allowing no touchdown passes to the senior quarterback. The Little Giants running game was also stagnant, gaining only 43 yards on 27 carries. As always, the Crusader defense was led by a host of players, with junior linebacker Sam Abdullah (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) posting a team-high nine tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery and junior defensive back Marcus McDonough (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) recorded seven stops to go along with a fumble recovery and two pass breakups. All seven of the Crusaders sacks were made my different players. Mulkey led the Crusaders rushing attack with 99 yards on 16 carries while senior tight end Kive Kraft (Amanda/Amanda-Clearcreek) caught four balls for 35 to lead the pass-catchers. Pentello was 14-27 for 171 yards for the game. Next Saturday at 12 p.m., Capital will face a familiar foe in OAC and national powerhouse Mount Union as they travel to Alliance, Ohio for the second time in 2005. The Purple Raiders beat the Crusaers 42-24 in the regular season. |
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