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Ohio Wesleyan 48, Oberlin 13 (11/3/2001)

The Battling Bishops struck quickly in the first quarter in building a 21-0 lead and went on to defeat Oberlin in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Oberlin.

Senior split end Joe Clinton (Farmington Hills, Mich./U. Detroit Jesuit) hauled in a pass from senior quarterback Mike Jonesco (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) and turned it into a 57-yard scoring play on Ohio Wesleyan's first play from scrimmage, giving the Battling Bishops a 7-0 lead just 39 seconds into the game.

Junior linebacker Chad Marlatt (Coshocton/Ridgewood) returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown later in the quarter, and on the first play of Ohio Wesleyan's first possession after that, junior halfback Jason Osborne (Oak Harbor) broke loose on a 66-yard touchdown run that hiked the lead to 21-0.

Clinton and Jonesco connected again, this time on an 80-yard play, for a 28-0 lead in the second quarter, and sophomore halfback Chad Smith (Prospect/Elgin) went over from 2 yards out in the third period for a 35-0 Ohio Wesleyan margin.

Oberlin got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a fumble by senior split end Brian Cromwell (Toledo/DeSales) at the Bishop 35-yard line and scoring 8 plays later on a 3-yard pass from Jim Cooper to Ricky Valenzuela.

But Ohio Wesleyan returned the favor when Osborne scored from 13 yards out on the first play from scrimmage after Oberlin fumbled at its own 13. Osborne scored his third TD of the game, a 3-yard burst, to wrap up the Bishop scoring.

Oberlin added a 1-yard scoring run by Chris Moffatt in the final seconds of play.

Senior tailback Matt Capone (Cleveland/Padua) carried 25 times for 160 yards, raising his season total to 1227 yards and breaking the Ohio Wesleyan record of 1179 set by Kevin Sims in 1990. Capone now has 2 of the 3 highest single-season rushing totals in Ohio Wesleyan history.

Osborne finished with 95 yards in 7 carries, including the 3 touchdown runs. Jonesco completed 6 of 11 passes for 237 yards and 2 TDs, while freshman quarterback Jeff Hanna (Wadsworth) added 4 completions in 6 attempts for 33 yards. Cromwell caught a team-high 4 passes for 46 yards and Clinton's 3 catches covered 146 yards, making him the first Bishop player since 1998 to top 100 yards receiving.

Oberlin was led by Travis Oman's 41 yards in 18 rushes. Cooper completed 9 of 18 passes for 85 yards, Ryan Squatrito was 4-for-9 for 36 yards and Moffatt was 2-for-4 for 49 yards.

Defensive standouts included junior cornerback Steve Siefert (Sylvania/Northview), who led the Bishops with 9 tackles, including a sack and another for loss; senior cornerback Jason Martin (Columbus/Westerville North), who made 7 stops, including 1 for loss; senior safety Matt Lavish (Bay Village/Bay), who had 6 tackles; and sophomore linebacker Billy Chrisovergis (Dayton/Bellbrook), whose 3 stops included a sack and 2 others for loss.