Ohio Wesleyan 17, Allegheny 10

Oct. 27, 2007

Freshman running back Mickey Geis (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge) and junior running back Jerell Cephas (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) scored first-half touchdowns as Ohio Wesleyan built a 17-3 halftime lead, and the Bishop defense made the lead stand to give Ohio Wesleyan a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Allegheny on Saturday at Selby Field.

For the second straight home game, the Bishops took the opening kickoff and scored less than a minute into the game. This time, freshman quarterback Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) connected with senior split end Zach Dennis (Jefferson) for gains of 11 and 30 yards on the first 2 plays from scrimmage, then Fisher found junior tight end Corey Turner (Cleveland/Marshall) on the sideline. Turner was ruled out of bounds inside the Allegheny 1-yard line, and on the next play, Geis went over for a 7-0 Ohio Wesleyan lead with 14:01 left in the first quarter.

Allegheny answered with a drive of its own, with quarterback T.J. Salopek converting a pair of third-down situations, first with a run for 4 yards and then with a completion to Jim Lieb for 17 yards, but on third-and-3 from the Ohio Wesleyan 6, sophomore defensive back Daniel DeLay (Pine, Colo./Conifer) broke up a Salopek pass and Josh Whiteside came on to convert a 24-yard field goal attempt to bring the Gators within 7-3.

DeLay set up the Bishops' next scoring drive by returning an Allegheny punt to the Gator 43-yard line late in the first quarter. Fisher scrambled for 21 yards and a first down at the Allegheny 22, then hit Dennis for a pair of completions and another first down, but on fourth-and-goal from the 8, the Bishops turned to junior Chris Kras (Aurora), who converted a 26-yard try to give the Bishops a 10-3 lead.

Senior linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) picked off a Salopek pass midway through the second quarter, giving the Bishops the ball at the Allegheny 17. After a Gator offside penalty, Dennis ran for 6 yards, Fisher picked up 3 more and Cephas went over from 3 yards out for the score, and Kras's point after stretched the Bishop lead to 17-3 with 5:37 left in the first half.

Allegheny had the ball inside Ohio Wesleyan territory on its first 2 possessions of the third quarter, but on the first drive, the Bishops forced a punt from their own 39-yard line. Ellis recorded a third-down sack from the Ohio Wesleyan 21-yard line on the second drive, moving the Gators out of field goal range, and on fourth down, senior defensive end Patrick Trenor (Urbana) and freshman defensive tackle Taylor Smith (Marengo/Highland) brought down Salopek for a loss of 2 to give the ball back to the Bishops.

Ohio Wesleyan punted the ball away to open the fourth quarter, and this time the Gator offense was able to move the ball. Salopek hit Lieb for 14 yards on a third-and-12 call from the Allegheny 22, then found Lieb twice more for first downs to move the ball into the Ohio Wesleyan side of the field. Salopek scrambled for 8 yards and another first down before connecting with Lieb for 14 yards and a first-and-goal at the Bishop 7. Ohio Wesleyan's defense fought back, with senior end Cory Fuller (Prospect/Marion Elgin) and junior linebacker Matt Weisman (Solon/Gilmour Academy) sacking Salopek for a loss of 8 on first down, and Ellis bringing down Leib for a loss of 4 on second down, but a personal foul penalty gave Allegheny a new set of downs, and the Gators took advantage, with Rodney Still scoring from 1 yard out on third-and-goal. Josh Brannan converted the point after to bring Allegheny within 17-10 with 7:37 left in regulation time.

Junior running back Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover) reeled off a 16-yard gain on first down for the Bishops, but Ohio Wesleyan could not pick up another first down and Allegheny got the ball back on its own 15-yard line with 5:24 to play.

Salopek found Pete Obourn for gains of 14 and 20 yards to move the Gators into Ohio Wesleyan territory, but on first down from the Ohio Wesleyan 48, Ellis picked off a Salopek pass to give the ball back to the Bishops with 3:43 remaining.

Adams picked up another first down for the Bishops, but the Gators spent their time outs and forced a punt, with Allegheny getting the ball back on its own 11-yard line with 1:28 to play.

Salopek moved the chains with completions to Bobby Burkes for 9 yards and Jake Vite for 14 more, but on first-and-10 from the Allegheny 36, freshman defensive back Chris Newman (Lorain/Clearview) intercepted a pass to end the threat.

Fisher led Ohio Wesleyan with 86 yards on 19 rushes and completed 9 of 21 passes for 103 yards. Adams added 55 yards in 12 carries. Dennis led Bishop receivers with 7 catches for 80 yards.

Ellis led the Bishop defense with 12 tackles, including 2 sacks and 4 for loss, and intercepted 2 passes. Newman finished with 9 stops, including 2 for loss, and an interception, while junior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) had 9 tackles and broke up an Allegheny pass.

Still led Allegheny rushers with 41 yards on 12 carries. Salopek completed 23 of 35 passes for 175 yards, with Lieb making 11 catches for 68 yards.

Craig Lawrence had 9 stops, including a sack and 2 for loss, for Allegheny, while Nick James made 8 tackles, with 1 for loss.

Box Score