Catholic 20, Ohio Wesleyan 14

Sept. 8, 2007

Junior running back Zack Rojek (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) scored on a 2-yard run to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 20-14 late in the third quarter, but Catholic turned away the Bishops 3 times during the fourth quarter to hold on for a non-conference win on Saturday at Selby Field.

Leading, 20-7, late in the third quarter, Catholic was set to punt from its own 39-yard line, but the snap sailed over the head of Cardinal punter Thomas Breslin. Breslin chased the ball down, but his knee touched the ground at the 2-yard line, and on the next play, Rojek went through the left side of the line.

The Bishops got the ball back when sophomore defensive back Rylan Mitter-Burke (Marlborough, Mass./Marlboro) picked off a pass at the Ohio Wesleyan 17 and returned it to the Catholic 45-yard line.

Ohio Wesleyan picked up a pair of first downs, the second on Rojek's run to the Cardinal 22-yard line, but the drive stalled at the 17 and ended when junior tight end Terrance Raeford (Brookline, Mass./Chesire Academy) could not get a foot in bounds after catching a sideline pass from junior quarterback Andy Boff (Defiance/Tinora).

After another stop, the Bishops drove into Cardinal territory again, with Boff connecting first with senior split end Zach Dennis (Jefferson) and then sophomore tight end Tyler McDaniels (Ironton) for first downs. After carries by sophomore running back Steven Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) and Rojek, the Bishops faced a third-and-2 from the Catholic 26, but Rojek was stopped inches short of the first down on third down, and the Cardinal defense held on fourth-and-short to get the ball back with 2:28 left in regulation time.

The Bishop defense allowed one first down but got a stop, and Ohio Wesleyan had the ball at its own 39-yard line with :30 to go. The Bishops struck for 26 yards on Boff's pass to freshman split end Greg Orr (San Antonio, Texas/Clark), and after a personal foul penalty was assessed on the Cardinals, giving the Bishops a first down at the Catholic 20 with :23 to go. A substitution infraction moved the ball back to the 25, but Catholic was flagged for pass interference on Boff's pass to Dennis in the end zone, giving Ohio Wesleyan a first down at the 13 with :15 to go. Boff went for Dennis again, but Catholic's Nick Olivero stepped in front and picked off the pass in the end zone to end the threat.

Catholic had taken a 7-0 lead on its first possession of the game, with Keith Ricca connecting with Andrew Buis for a 46-yard touchdown to cap an 86-yard, 7-play drive.

Ricca fired another touchdown pass early in the second quarter, finding Dan Saunder on a deep crossing route for a 20-yard score that made it 14-0, Catholic.

Rojek returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, and the Bishops took advantage of the good field position, with Boff finding Dennis for a 30-yard scoring play to cap a 50-yard, 4-play drive that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 14-7.

Ricca engineered another scoring drive late in the second quarter that increased the Catholic lead to 20-7. Ricca converted one fourth-down situation, sneaking for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Bishop 42, and Rich Barry picked up 6 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Ohio Wesleyan 31 to keep the drive going. Stevie Hendley took over from there, picking up 14 and 8 yards on back-to-back carries before going over from 3 yards out for the score.

The Cardinals' Jaime Farrell missed a 22-yard field goal on Catholic's opening possession of the second half, setting the stage for the Bishop comeback later in the quarter.

Rojek led the Bishops with 77 yards on 19 carries. Boff completed 8 of 17 passes for 113 yards, with Dennis making 4 catches for 77 yards.

Junior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) led the Bishop defense with 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Mitter-Burke added 9 tackles and a pass breakup, senior linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) had 9 tackles and forced a fumble, and junior tackle Julian Strother (Warren/Kennedy) made 8 stops, including a sack and 1 1/2 for loss, and forced a fumble.

Barry paced Cardinal rushers with 60 yards on 9 carries, while Hendley finished with 58 yards on 9 carries and Chris Daley added 56 yards on 14 rushes. Ricca completed 20 of 30 passes for 213 yards, with Buis making 7 catches for 113 yards.

Defensive standouts for Catholic included Anthony Delborrel, who had 13 tackles, including one for loss; Bill Gross, who had 9 stops, including 1 1/2 for loss, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass; and Mike Goodman, whose 9 stops included 1 1/2 for loss.

Box Score