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The Capital University football team looks to rebound from an emotional rivalry game with an Ohio Athletic Conference win this Saturday at Muskingum at 1:30 p.m. in New Concord, Ohio.
The Crusaders (1-7 overall, 1-6 OAC) concluded their home schedule last Saturday against Otterbein, falling 23-9 against the Cardinals. Capital closes out the 2012 season with consecutive road contests beginning this weekend.
On Saturday, the Crusaders outgained Otterbein 210-199 in total yards but were thwarted by a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns with less than four minutes left in the affair. The two teams combined for 20 penalties and nearly 200 penalty yards as well as seven turnovers in a physical match-up that exemplified a cross-town rivalry.
Making his first career start, freshman quarterback Ryan McSweeney (Seven Hills, Ohio) passed for 155 yards and a score. Junior wide receiver Alex Coleman (Columbus, Ohio) led the receiving corps with four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Taylor Wellbaum (Piqua, Ohio) caught seven passes for 49 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Matt Tash (Painesville, Ohio) totaled 11 tackles to lead an inspired defensive effort. Senior defensive linemen Jay Bondzeleske (Columbus, Ohio) recorded three sacks, while fellow senior linemen Nate Nasrallah (Norton, Ohio) and Seth Nelson (Columbus, Ohio) tallied two apiece. In total, the defense posted 17 tackles for a loss, including seven sacks.
Special Teams Seek Improvement
Capital coach Henry Stanford noted the difficult position the special teams put both the Crusader offense and defense in on several occasions.
In addition to allowing a blocked extra point that prevented Capital from tying the game early in the fourth quarter, a Cardinal punt deflected off the back of a Crusader in punt coverage, giving Otterbein the ball at the Capital 7-yard line early in the first quarter.
The Cardinals started in Capital territory on their first three drives, one of which resulted in a touchdown drive.
"Special teams were one of the deciding factors on Saturday," Stanford said. "We had a catch interference, we had Otterbein return a punt to put them in good field position and we had Otterbein's punter pinning us deep on our own end a couple times. Those miscues put the offense and defense in compromising positions."
Younger Players Coming Through
Stanford pointed out the strong play of several of the Crusaders' underclassmen, including McSweeney, freshman running back Bo Hardy (Galloway, Ohio), freshman wide receiver Taylor Wellbaum (Piqua, Ohio) and freshman offensive lineman DeVaughn Dobbins (Pickerington, Ohio) on offense.
Defensively, Stanford credited Tash, freshman defensive back Zach Green (Groveport, Ohio) and freshman linebacker Bryant Bokovitz (Gallipolis, Ohio) for stepping up. Green posted six tackles and an interception on Saturday, while Bokovitz contributed with three stops, including one for a loss.
"It gives you some promise that these young guys have the potential to be very good," Stanford said. "If we can take something good from Saturday, it's that we've found some young guys who can play football."
Muskingum Offense Concerns Stanford
The Muskies (1-7, 1-6) enter the week coming off a stunning 20-19 setback at Ohio Northern on Saturday. Muskingum led 19-7 after one half but surrendered a pair of second-half scores, including a touchdown with 33 seconds to play for the final margin.
Quarterback Alex Meredith leads the Muskingum offense with 608 yards passing, 128 yards rushing and eight touchdowns combined. Wide receiver James Washington, who led the Muskies with nine receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, has 592 yards and eight scores for the season.
Meredith's backup, CJ Snider, is the team's leading rusher with 334 yards. Muskingum's spread-option offense is difficult at times to decipher, Stanford said.
"The one thing we're always concerned about with Muskingum is that they run the option," Stanford said. "They have the potential to run the triple-option with the quarterback, fullback and running back, so we'll go through the option rules with our defensive players."
In last season's 28-26 victory over Muskingum, Capital contained the option attack, holding the Muskies to just 33 yards rushing. After falling behind twice in that contest, the Crusaders came back each time, taking the lead for good on a trick play early in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, the Muskies run a 4-3 scheme and are led by linebackers Chaney Fulton and Erik Hall, who have 50 and 46 tackles, respectively.
