Ohio Wesleyan 14, Oberlin 13

Nov. 9, 2002

Sophomore tailback Jake Shank (Northwood/Cardinal Stritch) scored midway through the fourth quarter to put the Bishops ahead to stay as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Oberlin in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Oberlin.

Special teams proved to be quite special indeed for the Bishops, who blocked an Oberlin field goal attempt to preserve a scoreless tie in the first quarter; blocked a Yeomen extra point in the third quarter for what ended up as the difference in the score; and blocked an Oberlin punt to set up a touchdown that put the Bishops on the scoreboard.

Defense was the name of the game in the first quarter as each team managed one first down on its initial possession of the game. The Yeomen got the first break of the game when a short Ohio Wesleyan punt gave Oberlin the ball on the Bishop 23-yard line, but the Bishop defense held Oberlin for no gain on a third-and-2 play from the 15. Steve Willever came on for a 32-yard field goal try, but the kick was blocked by junior end Travis Little (Wheelersburg) and recovered by the Bishops.

Oberlin took the lead early in the second quarter, with Chris Jordan going over from 5 yards out to cap an 8-play, 42-yard drive. Key plays in the drive included a Greg Jaquay rush for 4 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Bishop 33 and, on the next play from scrimmage, a 25-yard completion from Chris Moffatt to Scott Barker.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a drive on its next possession, getting a pair of third-down completions from sophomore quarterback Jeff Hanna (Wadsworth). The first went for 12 yards to junior split end Harold Dale (Huber Heights/Wayne) on third-and-6 from the Bishop 37, and the second was for 11 yards to junior halfback Chad Smith (Prospect/Elgin) on third-and-6 from the Oberlin 47. But the third-down magic ended on the next set of downs, when Hanna's pass intended for freshman tailback Matt Carducci (Hudson) fell incomplete on third-and-8 from the Oberlin 34.

The Bishops would have 2 more possessions in Oberlin territory during the second quarter but would not get closer than the Yeomen 39-yard line.

The Yeomen took the second-half kickoff and struck quickly, with Jordan breaking loose for a 59-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, but freshman end Cisco Clervoix (Naples, Fla.) blocked the extra point try to keep the score 13-0.

Oberlin's next possession ended in disaster when Joseph Lourigan's punt was blocked by junior linebacker Billy Chrisovergis (Dayton/Bellbrook) and the Yeomen covered the ball at the Oberlin 1, putting the Bishops on the doorstep. Senior tailback Jimmy Kinch (Painesville/Riverside) scored on the next play and freshman Jason Whitcomb (Wauseon) converted the point after to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 13-7.

The special teams gave the Bishops a chance to tie the game when freshman quarterback Ryan Sir Louis (Hinckley/Highland) recovered an Oberlin fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but a holding penalty helped stall the drive and Ohio Wesleyan was forced to punt.

After trading punts to open the fourth quarter, Ohio Wesleyan put together a lengthy drive to take the lead. Shank started things off with a 12-yard burst, then later picked up a first down on third-and-1 from the Oberlin 33. Oberlin helped keep the drive going with a personal foul on a third-and-3 play from the Yeomen 25, giving the Bishops a first down at the 12, and from there, Smith picked up 2 yards, sophomore halfback Eric Indiciani (Delaware/Olentangy) gained 7 and Shank went over from 3 yards out to tie the game at 13-13. Whitcomb added the point after to give the Bishops the lead.

Vinnie Hachigia gave Oberlin good field position with a 45-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, and starting from the Bishop 40, the Yeomen kept the ball on the ground, with Jordan and Travis Oman moving the ball to a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 11. Jordan followed with a 5-yard gain on first down, but the Bishops held Oman to 1 yard and no gain on the next 2 plays and Willever came on for a go-ahead field goal attempt but pushed the 22-yard try wide left with 4:06 to play.

Ohio Wesleyan got one first down on its next possession, forcing the Yeomen to use all their timeouts, and the Bishops ended up punting the ball to Oberlin, giving the Yeomen one last chance from the Oberlin 12 with 1:24 remaining. Jordan reeled off gains of 12, 4 and 14 yards for a first down at the Bishop 48, but 3 straight Moffatt passes fell incomplete and Jordan was stopped after a 7-yard gain on fourth-and-10 to seal the game.

Shank led the Bishops with 65 yards on 14 carries. Jordan led Oberlin with 180 yards and the 2 touchdowns on 20 attempts. Oberlin outgained Ohio Wesleyan, 210-122, on the ground.

Hanna had one of his finest days of the season, completing 17 of 28 passes for 123 yards, with Carducci catching 6 passes for 22 yards. Moffatt connected on 6 of 23 throws for 69 yards.

Defensive standouts included junior linebacker Kent Weakley (Plain City/Dublin Scioto), who led the Bishops with 9 tackles, including 1 for loss; Little, who made 6 tackles, including a sack and 2 others for loss, and blocked a field goal attempt; and Clervoix, who made 5 tackles and blocked an extra point try.

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