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Case Reserve 35, Ohio Wesleyan 7
Oct. 18, 2008
Case Reserve quarterback Dan Whalen threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Spartans erupted for 21 points in the second quarter and pulled away for a non-conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday at Selby Field.
The Spartans assembled an efficient drive on their first possession of the game, with Whalen hitting Brian Webster for 9 yards and a first down to move the chains once, then connecting with Zach Homyk for 13 yards and a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 26-yard line. On the next play, Greg Meyer broke through the left side and scored on a 26-yard run for a 7-0 Spartan lead.
Ohio Wesleyan answered with a lengthy drive, with junior running back Steven Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) running for a pair of first downs and freshman quarterback R.J. Marsilio (Westport, Conn./Staples) connecting with sophomore quarterback Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) on a pass play for 27 yards. Fisher found freshman tight end Pat Embleton (Chesterland/Gilmour Academy) for 15 yards on a clutch third-and-7 call for another Bishop first down, then with Ohio Wesleyan facing a fourth-and-3 call from the Case Reserve 22, Fisher and Embleton connected again for 5 yards and a first down at the Spartan 17. On third down from the Case Reserve 15, however, Fisher was sacked by Spartan lineman Dale English, moving the ball back to the Bishop 24, and on fourth down, the Bishops brought in senior Chris Kras (Aurora) for a 41-yard field goal attempt, but Kras's kick, while long enough, was wide right.
Case Reserve countered Ohio Wesleyan's 16-play, 72-yard drive with a long possession of its own. Whalen kept the drive going with a 9-yard strike to Brian Webster on a third-and-4 play, then handed off to Corey Checkan for 4 yards on third-and-2 from the Ohio Wesleyan 40.
The Bishop defense rose up at that point, with sophomore linebacker Pete Merkle (Loveland) dumping Case Reserve running back Derek Bush for a 4-yard loss on first down, and the Ohio Wesleyan defense thwarting a screen pass call by the Spartans on third-and-10, but staring at a fourth-and-10 situation from the Ohio Wesleyan 36, Whalen hit Homyk on the sideline for 12 yards and another first down, then connected with Checkan for 6 yards and a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 9-yard line. After taking the ball to the 3 on a quarterback draw, Whalen threw an incompletion on second down and saw D.J. Suitca stopped short of the goal line after a shovel pass on third down. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Checkan was able to break the plane and give the Spartans a 14-0 lead, capping a 19-play, 76-yard drive that consumed more than 9 minutes off the clock.
Ohio Wesleyan moved the ball into Case Reserve territory as freshman running back Raymon Beach (Landover, Md./Crossland) reeled off a 21-yard gain on the Bishops' first play from scrimmage, but Case Reserve's Bobby Bott gave the ball back to the Spartans by picking off a Fisher pass at the Case Reserve 25-yard line. Whalen took advantage of the opportunity, moving the Spartans 70 yards in 5 plays, capped by a 28-yard TD strike to Homyk for a 21-0 lead with 4:06 left in the first half.
The Spartans recovered an onside kick after that score and used most of the remaining time in the second quarter, moving to a first down at the Bishop 6-yard line on Whalen's 11-yard pass to Homyk. After a Derek Bush run gained one yard, the Spartans called time out with :19 to play, and on the next play, Whalen bobbled the snap, took off to his left, and scrambled into the end zone for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Case Reserve added to its lead late in the third quarter when Ben Chlebina recovered a Brown fumble at the Ohio Wesleyan 14-yard line and returned it for a touchdown.
Senior running back Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover) highlighted Ohio Wesleyan's fourth-quarter scoring drive, running the ball on 4 consecutive plays for 24 yards. A screen pass from Fisher to sophomore tight end Danny Flanegan (Mansfield/Ontario) picked up 15 yards before Adams ran for 10 yards and a first down at the Spartan 2-yard line. Brown went over on the next play to finish off the day's scoring.
Adams led the Bishops with 71 yards on 12 carries. Fisher completed 5 of 11 passes for 46 yards. Embleton caught 2 passes for 20 yards.
Defensive standouts for the Bishops included Merkle, who shared the team lead with 9 stops, including 1 for loss; freshman defensive back Eli Cowan (Galena/Columbus DeSales), who shared the team lead with 9 tackles; senior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy), who shared the team lead with 9 tackles; and senior linebacker Jason Chitwood (Toledo/Bowsher), whose 8 tackles included 1 1/2 for loss.
Greg Meyer led the Spartans with 57 yards on 9 rushes, while Bush finished with 44 yards on 8 carries. Whalen completed 19 of 27 passes for 197 yards and a score, and Homyk had a team-high 6 receptions for 70 yards. Jeff Brown led the Spartans with 8 tackles, including 1 for loss, and a pass breakup.