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The Capital University football team looks to end its 2012 season on a high note this Saturday at Ohio Athletic Conference rival Wilmington at 1:30 p.m.
The Crusaders hope to extend their winning streak against the Quakers to 12 games, having not lost to Wilmington since 2000. Capital owns a 16-4 advantage in the series heading into Saturday's meeting.
The Crusaders (1-8 overall, 1-7 OAC) saw their 11-game winning streak against Muskingum come to an end in a 13-6 overtime defeat in New Concord, Ohio, last Saturday. Sophomore kicker Travis Bosanac (Strongsville, Ohio) tied the game at 6-6 with just over five minutes to play in regulation with a 27-yard field goal, his second kick of the contest.
The Muskies scored first in the overtime and Capital was unable to extend it to a second extra period, fumbling on the second play of the drive to end the affair.
"Saturday's game was tough," Capital coach Henry Stanford said. "We had opportunities to convert. I think our kids played hard, but it was a little bit 'luck of the draw' and some plays got away from us. We definitely had enough opportunities in the game."
Sophomore Matt Tash (Painesville, Ohio) continued his strong play with a team-high 13 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception, one of three for the Crusaders in the contest. After seeing limited playing time during the first half of the year, Tash has emerged as one of the team's strongest defenders, averaging over eight tackles per game in his last four.
"Earlier in the year, Matt wasn't quite ready, but his time came," Stanford said. "He's showing us everything we saw in him."
Senior defensive lineman Nate Nasrallah (Norton, Ohio) matched Tash with three sakcs, while senior linebacker Tyler Dugan (Columbus, Ohio) and freshman defensive back Zach Green (Groveport, Ohio) each contributed with an interception. Dugan and Green are tied for the team lead with three picks each in 2012.
Junior wide receiver Alex Coleman (Columbus, Ohio) led the offense with six receptions for 98 yards, while freshman running back Bo Hardy (Galloway, Ohio) grinded for 78 yards on 22 carries. Freshman quarterback Ryan McSweeney (Seven Hills, Ohio) completed 11-of-33 passes for 154 yards in his second start of the year.
"Ryan made some mistakes with a couple of decisions, but he stayed strong through the whole game," Stanford said. "His confidence didn't waver too much even with the interceptions. We had a drop on our last drive in regulation that would have helped us get into game-winning field goal range."
After snapping the program's 32-game losing streak with a 13-12 victory over Marietta on Oct. 20, the Quakers (1-8, 1-7) lost two straight on the road, including a 51-7 setback on Saturday at Ohio Northern. After quarterback Brandon Arehart connected with Jeremy Duncan on a 79-yard touchdown pass with 5:51 to go in the first quarter, the Polar Bears tallied 37 unanswered points to run away with the victory. Duncan posted 118 yards receiving on three catches to lead Wilmington, which was outgained 553-240 in total yards for the day. Linebacker Jacob Phillips paced the Quaker defense with 16 tackles.
Wilmington enters the week ranked 10th in the league in scoring offense (7.8 points per game), scoring defense (44.9 ppg), total offense (191.8 yards per game) and total defense (453.8 ypg).
Arehart leads the offense with 1,143 all-purpose yards, good for 10th in the conference.
"On offense, they give you a lot of different looks, formations and schemes," Stanford said. "That's always dangerous when you're playing a team who can give you multiple looks and try to create confusion with assignment football."
Three Quakers rank in the top 10 in the OAC in tackles per game, including linebacker Gunner Calhoun (second, 10.0 tpg), defensive backs Joe Joe Knecht (seventh, 7.8 tpg) and Devon Burton (T-10th, 7.0 tpg). Phillips leads the league in forced fumbles with four.
While players and coaches aren't satisfied with the way the 2012 season played out, Stanford hopes to send the team's 16 seniors, including nine defensive linemen, off on a high note while propelling the program's underclassmen into the offseason on a positive.
"We want to finish the season strong, and the last game is a springboard to the future," Stanford said. "We want our young guys to take this into spring ball, and we want our veterans to leave behind a legacy as having their best performance in their last game."
