By Colin McGuigan

WESTERVILLE — The Otterbein football team reclaimed the Oar trophy from rival Capital with a 39-10 victory over the Comets on Saturday afternoon, recording their highest point total since 2021. The Cardinal defense also came up big, recording five interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (1-6 overall, 1-5 OAC), Capital (0-7 overall, 0-6 OAC)
• Venue: Memorial Stadium – Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Redshirt senior quarterback Hayden Lehmann completed 13 of 19 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
• Freshman running back Lucas Reed led the Cardinals’ ground game, gaining 34 yards on 14 carries and adding a touchdown.
• Three different receivers caught touchdown passes from Lehmann on the day in juniors Owen Menge (3 receptions, 68 yards, TD) and Zane Duning (2 receptions, 43 yards, TD) and sophomore Vincent Berardi (4 receptions, 38 yards, TD).
• The Cardinals’ five interceptions came courtesy of freshman Colton Weisbrod, sophomores Jaden Irvin and Tinell Edwards and seniors Vincent Fisher and Landen Pettet. Pettet returned his interception for a touchdown.
• Junior Thomas Cherry tallied a team-high 10 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
• Weisbrod added nine total tackles to go with eight from Irvin.
• Edwards posted 2.5 sacks, and redshirt senior Randy Cochran Jr. and sophomore Cullen Dent added two sacks each.

Game Summary

• Otterbein led 12-0 at the end of the first quarter courtesy of a pair of touchdowns. Griffin scored on a 6-yard run with 7:32 left in the period, and Berardi made an impressive reception in getting a foot down in the back left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with 4:26 left. Capital blocked the extra point on the first touchdown, and the Cardinals failed on a 2-point conversion following the second score.
• The Comets answered with a 3-yard touchdown run and PAT to cut the deficit to five, 12-7, with 14:16 left in the second quarter.
• The Cardinal defense got in on the scoring next, as Pettet intercepted a Ben Owens pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to put Otterbein up 19-7 with 11:02 left in the opening half.
• Capital ended the half with a 24-yard field goal as time expired to trail 19-10 at the break.
• Menge hauled in a 38-yard pass from Lehmann in the end zone to increase the Otterbein lead to 25-10 with 11:31 left in the third quarter.
• Duning caught a 36-yard pass from Lehmann in the end zone for a 32-10 Cardinal edge with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.
• Otterbein capped the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run from Reed with 1:56 remaining in the fourth period.
• The Cardinals finished with a 126-74 edge in rushing yards and out-gained the Comets 301-249 in total yards of offense.

Quotes

• Interim head coach Jake Schaefer: “I was really impressed with the way our kids played today. It was all about them today. There were a lot of funky plays, but our guys stayed resilient and locked in and kept putting points on the board. The defense played lights-out and put us in a lot of really good positions offensively. Listening to Jack Rafferty talk last night in his Hall of Fame speech and again this morning, you don’t lose to Capital. I shared that message with our kids today, and they shared that energy all day on the field. I’m excited to build off this but definitely more excited to bring the Oar home and keep the momentum rolling.”
• Sophomore tight end Vincent Berardi: “This was a long time coming. We have so many guys that do the right thing and come in day in and day out, and we’re so glad we get to celebrate this win and bring the Oar back to Westerville. There was a different energy with this being a rivalry game, but we did the same preparation all week, and it finally payed off. Our mindset for the whole game was to keep our foot on the gas and not stop until the clock hit zero.”
• Redshirt senior quarterback Hayden Lehmann: “The whole team was excited for rivalry week, and we had a chip on our shoulder coming in. We took care of what we needed to do and got a good outcome. We were excited and hyped to get the Oar back. Our main goal was to beat Cap, and we did that.”

Notables

• Saturday’s victory was Schaefer’s first as interim head coach at Otterbein.
• The Cardinals’ 39 points marked their highest point total since getting a 47-10 win over Capital on April 9, 2021.
• Capital claimed the Oar trophy last season with a 35-31 victory in Bexley. Otterbein had won four straight meetings prior to that. The Cardinals now lead the all-time series with the Comets by a 47-46-3 margin.
• During halftime of Saturday’s game, Otterbein recognized its 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees, including Laura (Basford) Cheyney, Austin Curbow, Jack Rafferty, Julie (Stroyne) Nixon and Bobby Weinberg. Read more about the inductees here.
• Senior Justin Bartlett’s career totals include 215 tackles, 39 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. He is tied for fourth all-time at Otterbein in tackles for loss and is four sacks shy of moving into fifth all-time in that category.

COURTESY OTTERBEIN ATHLETICS