Case Reserve 20, Ohio Wesleyan 17

Nov. 10, 2007

Freshman quarterback Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and tossed a 2-point conversion pass to sophomore running back Steven Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) to tie the game at 17-17 with 5:16 left in regulation time, but Case Reserve drove for a go-ahead field goal and turned aside a last-minute Ohio Wesleyan drive to hold on for a non-conference win on Saturday in Cleveland.

Trailing, 17-9, the Bishops took over on their own 17-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. On second down, Fisher connected with senior split end Zach Dennis (Jefferson) for 50 yards and a first down on the Spartan 33-yard line. The Bishops came up with some more second-down magic when Fisher found freshman tight end Montell Scott (Youngstown/Wilson) for 29 yards and a first down at the Case Reserve 1-yard line. The Spartans stopped freshman running back Mickey Geis (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge) on first down, but Fisher went over on second down to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 17-15, then hit Brown for the game-tying 2-point conversion.

Case Reserve returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 48-yard line, then moved the chains when Angelo Mirano connected with Shaun Nicely for 12 yards on a third-and-10 call. On the next play, Corey Checkan broke loose for 17 yards and a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 23, then gained a total of 14 yards on the next 3 carries to move the ball inside the Bishop 10. The Ohio Wesleyan defense stiffened there, and facing a fourth-and-4 from the Ohio Wesleyan 6, Sam Coffey came on and connected on a 23-yard field goal for a 20-17 Spartan lead with 1:34 to go.

Fisher drove the Bishops downfield, picking up first downs with completions of 11 yards to junior tight end Corey Turner (Cleveland/Marshall) and 11 yards to Dennis, the latter putting the ball at the midfield stripe. Fisher scrambled for 9 yards on third-and-10, then hit junior running back Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover) for 6 yards and a first down at the Case Reserve 35-yard line with 19 seconds to play. Two Fisher passes fell incomplete and the game ended on Fisher's scramble to the 28-yard line.

Case Reserve took a 7-0 lead late in the second quarter. The Spartans took over on their own 44-yard line midway through the period, then chewed up nearly 7 minutes of the clock. Checkan carried 7 times for 39 yards on the drive, with Mirano making a key third-down throw to Lee Sasala for 11 yards and a first down, then scrambling for 2 yards and a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 5-yard line. The Bishops forced an incompletion, stopped Billy Deitman after a gain of 1, and brought Checkan down at the 1-yard line to set up fourth-and-goal, and Greg Meyer covered the last yard. Coffey's point after made it 7-0 with 1:09 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan answered quickly, with Fisher running twice for 12 yards to move the ball to midfield, then connecting with Dennis on a 50-yard scoring play to bring the Bishops within 7-6 with :06 left in the half. Junior Chris Kras (Aurora) came on for the conversion, but his kick failed, and that was the way the first half ended.

The Spartans added to their lead in the third quarter when Mike Tuertscher recovered a Fisher fumble and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.

Once again, the Bishops had an answer for a Spartan score. Fisher found Turner for 33 yards on Ohio Wesleyan's first play on the ensuing possession, and Adams moved the sticks with a 2-yard gain on third-and-1. Adams ran twice more for 9 yards before Fisher picked up a first down with a 2-yard gain, then it was Gies who got a first down at the Spartan 5-yard line. Fisher ran twice to the CWRU 4, but the drive ended there and Kras came on to kick a 21-yard field goal that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 14-9 with 14:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Case Reserve got those points back on Coffey's 42-yard field goal with 11:09 left in the fourth, with Meyer's 14-yard run the key play in the drive.

Fisher completed 12 of 25 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown and led Bishop rushers with 75 yards on 22 carries. Dennis caught 4 passes for 112 yards, while Scott finished with 4 receptions for 43 yards.

Junior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) led the Bishop defense with 18 tackles, including a sack. Senior linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) had 9 tackles; and sophomore defensive back Rylan Mitter-Burke (Marlborough, Mass./Marlboro) made 8 stops, including 1 for loss, and broke up a pass.

Checkan led CWRU rushers with 73 yards on 14 carries. Mirano completed 7 of 18 passes for 53 yards.

Tom Brew had 14 stops for Case Reserve, while Jake Mey made 11 tackles, including 1 1/2 for loss.

Box Score