UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio –The No. 25-ranked Baldwin Wallace football team fell to No. 8 John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference and the 30th Annual Gold Bowl Trophy game by a final score of 45-35 on Wasmer Field inside Don Shula Stadium.
BW (8-2, 7-2 OAC) ends its the season with its best record since the 2011 season. John Carroll (9-1, 8-1 OAC), who will now await to see if it gets an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Playoffs, improves to 17-13 in the Gold Bowl Trophy series and wins a Gold Bowl Trophy series record sixth straight.
Offensively for BW, senior quarterback Jake Hudson (East Lake, Florida) completed 32 of 45 passes for a career-high 350 yards with a career-high tying five touchdowns. Hudson also led the ground game as he rushed for 73 yards on 22 carries. Senior wide out Rob Wolfington (Rapids City, Mich./Elk Rapids) led the receiving corps as he caught a career-high tying 10 passes for 109 yards. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Brenton Miller (Carrollton) had a career-high and game-high 18 tackles.
John Carroll was led by junior Academic All-OAC quarterback Anthony Moeglin as he completed nine of 17 passes for 92 yards. Sophomore Michael Canganelli was the leading rusher as he gained a game-high 270 yards on 35 carries with three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Evan Nugent led receiving unit as he caught two passes for 29 yards. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Brian Robinson and senior defensive lineman Adam Thompson had 13 tackles each.
The Blue Streaks opened the scoring when Canganelli scored on a four-yard run at the 5:06 mark. Senior place kicker Matt Danko added the extra point. The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 7-7 with 30 seconds remaining in the opening quarter when junior wide receiver Deion Greer (Toledo/Toledo Central Catholic) caught a five-yard pass from Hudson. Junior kicker Jimmy Marshall (Lakewood) tacked on the extra point.
John Carroll regained the lead at 14-7 when Moeglin rushed seven yards for the score at the 11:53 mark. Danko hit the extra point. The Blue Streaks pushed its lead to 21-7 when Canganelli scored his second touchdown of the half on a 23-yard sweep at 1:17. Danko added the point after. BW closed out the first half scoring when senior wide receiver Chad Steinwachs (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville North) caught a 6-yard fade pass from Hudson with just 19 seconds remaining. Marshall added the extra point.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half scoring and cut the lead down to 21-14 when Deion Greer caught a 19-yard pass from Hudson at the 8:46 mark of the third quarter. Marshall tacked on the extra point. John Carroll responded with a 26-yard Canganelli touchdown but the extra point was no good at 7:02. The Blue Streaks scored just 12 seconds later as linebacker Chad Stalnaker took the BW fumble 12-yards to pay dirt for the 34-21 lead. Danko added the point after. The Yellow Jackets closed out the third quarter scoring when Steinwachs caught a two-yard pass from Hudson at the 3:43 mark. Marshall tacked on the extra point.
BW took its first lead of the game at 35-34 when Hudson hit Jordan Leverette on a 30-yard pass play at 12:12 of the fourth quarter. Marshall hit the extra point. John Carroll regained the lead at 42-35 when Moeglin scored on a 12-yard keeper at the 6:36 mark. Moeglin under pressure threw up a pass while falling to the ground that was caught by Nugent for the two-point conversion. The Blue Streaks closed out the scoring when Danko hit a 28-yard field goal at 1:24.