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Albion 16, Ohio Wesleyan 0

Sept. 28, 2002

Mike Gough connected with Adam Schantz on a 17-yard scoring play late in the first quarter and Albion made the lead stand by thwarting 4 second-quarter Ohio Wesleyan drives in Briton territory and went on to defeat the Bishops in non-conference play on Saturday in Albion, Mich.

The teams traded fumbles on their opening possessions and exchanged punts on their second possession. Albion then forced another Bishop punt and took over on the Ohio Wesleyan 47-yard line with 4:37 left in the first quarter and covered the 47 yards in 7 plays. Shaun Moon handled the ball on the first 6, catching a pass for 4 yards on the first play and running 5 straight times for 26 yards before Gough and Schantz connected from 17 yards out. The Britons missed the point after try and led, 6-0.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with an impressive drive of its own, starting at its own 31 and getting a 57-yard pass play from sophomore quarterback Jeff Hanna (Wadsworth) to senior tailback Jason Osborne (Oak Harbor) on the first play of the second quarter, spotting the ball at the Albion 7. Freshman tailback Jake Shank (Northwood/Cardinal Stritch) picked up 5 yards on first down but was held for no gain on second down, then Hanna was stopped for no gain on third down from the 2. The Bishops went for the tying score on fourth down, but junior halfback Chad Smith (Prospect/Elgin) was knocked out of bounds short of the pylon, giving Albion the ball on downs at its own 1-yard line.

Senior cornerback Steve Siefert (Sylvania/Northview) then picked off a Gough pass at the Albion 24, giving Ohio Wesleyan another golden opportunity, and the Bishops seemed poised to take advantage when sophomore halfback Eric Indiciani (Delaware/Olentangy) ripped off 12 yards on first down, but the drive stalled at the Albion 8 and freshman Jason Whitcomb (Wauseon) came on for a 26-yard field goal attempt that went wide right.

The Bishops started their next drive at their own 13 but quickly moved into the Albion half of the field when Hanna hit junior split end Bryan Beigie (Shaker Heights/Walsh Jesuit) for 32 yards on first down, but that drive ended 2 plays later when Chris Stefanes intercepted a Hanna pass at the Albion 45.

Ohio Wesleyan got the ball back with 4:42 left in the first half and stayed on the ground, with Osborne, senior halfback Bernie Vendlinski (Brunswick/Highland), Shank and Smith doing the damage as the Bishops marched from their own 31 to a first down at the Briton 25. After a rush for no gain and an incompletion, Hanna found Osborne for 6 yards before a Bishop time out with :03 left gave Ohio Wesleyan a chance to set up a last-second field goal attempt. Sophomore J.D. Winteregg (Englewood/Northmont) came on for a 37-yard try, but his kick went wide right to end the half.

Ohio Wesleyan dodged a bullet in the third quarter when a lengthy Albion drive ended in Andy Cline's missed field goal try from 21 yards, and the Bishops got the ball back and started another long march. With Shank doing most of the running and a key Hanna-to-Osborne connection for 29 yards, the Bishops found themselves with a first down at the Albion 16 as the third quarter ended. A pass interference penalty gave the Bishops a first down at the Briton 11, but Albion's Jason Carpenter ended the threat by intercepting a Hanna pass in the Briton end zone.

The Bishops had one more drive into Albion territory in the fourth quarter, moving to the Albion 35 before punting the ball away with 8:27 to play.

Albion added some insurance when Adam Auvenshine's 26-yard punt return gave the Britons the ball at the Ohio Wesleyan 30, and the Britons eventually settled for an 18-yard field goal by Cline for a 9-0 lead with 3:04 to play. Albion got the ball back when Raymond Burton picked off a Hanna pass and the Britons wrapped up the scoring on Dustin Louwaert's 15-yard run with 1:06 to play.

Ohio Wesleyan outgained Albion, 328-318, but the Britons owned a 199-121 advantage on the ground. Ohio Wesleyan had 15 first downs to 13 for Albion.

Hanna completed 13 of 28 passes for 207 yards, with 4 going to Osborne for 95 yards and 4 to Beigie for 75 more. Osborne led Bishop rushers with 38 yards in 11 carries.

Gough completed 9 of 16 passes for 119 yards for Albion, with Auvenshine catching 3 for 41 yards. Louwaert rushed for 122 yards in 17 carries.

Defensive standouts for Ohio Wesleyan included freshman safety Craig Keenan (Salem, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham), who led the Bishops with 11 tackles and broke up a pass; junior linebacker Billy Chrisovergis (Dayton/Bellbrook), who made 10 stops; junior tackle Josh Brown (Mansfield/Senior), whose 9 tackles included half a sack; Siefert, who made 7 tackles, intercepted one pass and broke up another; and freshman end Cisco Clervoix (Naples, Fla.), whose 4 stops included 2 for loss.