At last! A 41-7 thumping of visiting Defiance vaulted Capital to its first win in 1,027 days. Nov. 10, 2018 marked the last time the Purple and White rang the Victory Bell at the corner of Pleasant Ridge and East Mound Street.
Bernlohr Stadium was rocking the night away as Capital began the first full season of the Brian Foos era with a bang. For Capital, the win wasn't just a gritty, grind it out type of a win. The team controlled the tempo from the opening kickoff and aside from one play, dominated nearly every snap of the ball. In addition to the milestone victory for Capital, the win was the first in the head coaching career of coach Foos.
In total, the Cap offense racked up 372 yards of total offense, forced six turnovers, and didn't commit a single penalty across the four quarters to roll to victory.
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| Capital athletics photo by Joe Maiorana, impactactionphotos.com |
Offensively, the team made the difference on the ground picking up 214 yards of rushing. Jonathan Williams led the team with 71 yards, while Lance Williams carried the ball for 62 yards. A trio of rushers found the end zone as Drew Engle, Ben Everson, and freshman Tyson Shutler all rushed for scores. Through the air, Everson and Luke McCarrell split time under center and combined for 158 yards. McCarrell passed for two touchdowns, while Everson threw one TD. Kameron Lee proved to be the top choice in the passing game as he hauled in six catches for 83 yards, including a monstrous 45-yard touchdown score. Engle and Sam Pickett both caught one touchdown apiece.
Defensively, Capital had a day to remember. The team limited Defiance to 281 yards of total offense, but more importantly forced three fumbles and picked off the Yellow Jacket passers three times. Freshman Malik Davis hauled in two picks, while defensive lineman Dez Turkson caught the other off a deflection from Kobe Swackhammer. Jack Blaisdell, Turkson, and Louis Hoersten all forced fumbles. Blaisdell, James Curtis, and Pickett were all credited with recoveries on the loose balls. Additionally, the CU defense sacked the Yellow Jacket quarterbacks four times for a whopping 26 yards of loss. Blaisdell and freshman Michael Hooffstetter both had two sacks each. Blaisdell got in the backfield another two times and had four total tackles for a loss dropping Defiance back a total of 23 yards. Three Capital defenders tallied eight tackles each to help efforts -- Blaisdell, Mike Lauofo, and Nick Fisanick.
Capital was not assessed a single penalty, while Defiance was strapped for eight flags for 68 yards of loss.
The flood of Capital scores began at the 9:30 point in the first half when sophomore quarterback Ben Everson found senior wide receiver Sam Pickett wide open in the right side of the end zone. This was just the first of two scores for Everson, the second being a QB-keeper that went for one yard into the endzone. The lead was padded when McCarrell tossed a 19-yard touchdown to freshman wide receiver Drew Engle, the first of two touchdown passes for McCarrell. The second came in the form of the highlight play of the first half when senior Kameron Lee made an acrobatic grab on a game-long 45-yard bomb, ripping it from the hands of the defender and carrying three Yellow Jackets into the endzone. This concluded the outright assault from Capital in the first half, up 28-0 heading into the locker room.
The second half came with more of the same. Capital would tally three more scores in the last half-hour, taking the form of the aforementioned Everson sneak, and two eight-yard runs by Engle and freshman Tyson Shuter respectively. The Purple and White would only allow Defiance a single touchdown in the second half, on the way to a dominating 41-7 final score.
Starting quarterback Daylon Lange threw for 141 yards, a touchdown, and a pick for Defiance. Lange also rushed six times for a net of zero yards. Backup quarterback Cole Recker threw two interceptions and made just four completions on the night. Amin Shaheed reeled in six catches for 113 yards and a TD. On the ground, Tyshaun Freeman pounded his way up the middle for 47 yards on nine runs.
Defensively, Defiance was led by seven-tackle efforts from Ben Agyemang and Maurice Brewer. Derrell Walker forced and recovered a fumble as well for the Yellow Jackets.
Capital looks to continue its success in two weeks in Tiffin as they start their OAC schedule against the Heidelberg Student Princes on Sept. 18. Kickoff is set for 1:30 pm.