Ohio Wesleyan 17, Allegheny 14

Oct. 9, 2004

Senior fullback Nathanael Jonhenry (Berea) scored on a 16-yard run to give the Bishops the lead, and junior split end Colby Welanetz (Carlsbad, Calif.) made a key fourth-down catch to seal the win as Ohio Wesleyan knocked off defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion Allegheny in the Bishops' home conference opener on Saturday at Selby Field.

With Ohio Wesleyan trailing, 14-10, senior defensive back Brian Gamble (Massillon/Perry) returned a Gator punt 11 yards to give the Bishops excellent field position at the Ohio Wesleyan 47. On first down, junior quarterback Ryan Sir Louis (Hinckley/Highland) found junior split end Rick Rodgers (Medina/Parma) open down the right sideline for 28 yards and a first down at the Allegheny 25. Sir Louis completed a pass for 4 yards and ran for 5 yards, setting up a third-and-1 play from the 16, and Jonhenry burst through the right side and churned into the end zone. Junior Jason Whitcomb (Wauseon) added the point after to give Ohio Wesleyan a 17-14 lead with 4:52 left in regulation time.

The Bishop defense forced 3 straight incompletions on Allegheny's next possession, and Ohio Wesleyan got the ball back on its own 38 with 4:24 left in regulation time. Junior fullback Tony Anderson (Westerville/Thomas Worthington) picked up one first down, gaining 9 yards on third-and-4 from the 44, then Sir Louis gained 2 first downs with runs of 12 and 18 yards. During the next series of downs, the Gator defense stiffened, dropping sophomore halfback Nick Rice (Dublin/Scioto) for a 7-yard loss and bringing up a fourth-and-11 from the Allegheny 20 with :25 to play, and Sir Louis found Welanetz in a crowd for exactly 11 yards and a first down that sealed the game.

Allegheny jumped on top early. Rice fielded the opening kickoff inside his own end zone and tried to return it but was downed at the Ohio Wesleyan 1-yard line. After the Bishops moved the ball out to the 7-yard line, junior punter Neil Smiley (Cincinnati/Wyoming) had the ball go off the side of his foot and the Gators took over at the Ohio Wesleyan 15. Allegheny's Mario Tarquinio carried 3 straight times, twice for 7 yards a pop and the third time for a 1-yard TD that gave Allegheny a 7-0 lead.

Ohio Wesleyan's defense rose to the occasion after that. Junior tackle Stephen Greene (Mansfield/Senior) recorded a key sack to force a punt on one Allegheny possession, and junior end Cisco Clervoix (Naples, Fla.) and sophomore end Owen Case (Marion/River Valley) sacked Gator quarterback Jimmy Savage to end another Allegheny drive. Allegheny's only other scoring chance was a 48-yard field goal try by Bryan Davis that fell short on the last play of the half.

Allegheny took the second half kickoff and put together another drive, but sophomore cornerback Tom Thome (Macedonia/Nordonia) made a spectacular interception of a Savage pass at the Bishop 16-yard line.

The play seemed to ignite the Bishop offense as well. Sir Louis exploded for a 25-yard gain on the first play, then Rice squirted loose for 9 yards and Jonhenry rumbled for 10 to pick up another first down. Sir Louis later picked up another first down with a keeper on fourth-and-1 from the Gator 14-yard line, and after Sir Louis gained 8 yards on first down, Jonhenry went over from 5 yards out and Whitcomb added the conversion to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:22 left in the third quarter.

Allegheny answered with a drive of its own on the ensuing possession, but Black's 40-yard field goal try hit the right upright and bounded away.

Ohio Wesleyan took the lead after a Gator turnover late in the third quarter. On a wide receiver screen, Savage's backward pass to Casey Devlin was high, and freshman linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) recovered the ball at the Gator 10-yard line. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 20, and while Sir Louis connected with Rice to get 14 yards back, the Bishops could get no closer and Whitcomb came on for a 23-yard field goal try with 14:51 left in the fourth quarter.

The Gators responded once more, with Savage making a pair of big plays. He connected with Marko Fonzi on a screen pass that went for 47 yards, then found Devlin on a post pattern for 34 yards and a first down at the Bishop 15-yard line. Two plays later, Kyle Geiser went over from 3 yards out and Black's PAT gave Allegheny a 14-10 lead with 11:47 left in the game.

Sir Louis led the Bishops with 107 yards on 19 carries, while Jonhenry finished with 56 yards on 7 rushes. Sir Louis completed 10 of 18 passes for 89 yards, with Rice catching 4 passes for 20 yards.

Tarquinio picked up 97 yards on 20 carries for Allegheny. Savage completed 7 of 16 passes for 96 yards.

Junior linebacker Jeff King (Sidney/Piqua) and sophomore linebacker Dominic Schwed (Aurora) led the Bishops with 8 tackles apiece.

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