It was tough enough to spot a good team 17 points, but to make the task harder with ill-timed fumbles, drops and penalties made the mountain too steep as visiting John Carroll Blue Streaks fell to Case Western Reserve University, 30-13, Saturday night at Case Field in Cleveland.

Box Score

The Spartans would score a pair of touchdown in the first quarter. The first was set up by a short field when JCU was unable to escape from the shadow of its goal post as Case needed just five plays to cover 41 yards. Billy Deitman got the last three for the first six points of the game.

A second consecutive three-and-out by John Carroll gave CWRU another opportunity. Two big pass plays aided the 64-yard drive, the second of which was a 28-yard strike from Joey Baum to Shaun Nicely that ended up in the end zone.

Case would outgain JCU 184-42 in the first quarter alone.

The Spartans were not done, as a third three-and-out by John Carroll would give the ball right back to the hosts. This time, however, the Blue Streak defense bent but fif not break. The drive stalled at the 12-yard line, setting up a 30-yard field goal by Sam Coffey.

Trailing 17-0 and in desparate need of a time consuming let alone yard consuming drive, the JCU offense finally got on track. The Streaks traversed 59 yards in nine plays, with Teree' Harris bowling over from two yards out. Bradley Marchese cut the lead to ten points with a PAT at the 7:52 mark.

Neither team mounted a threat the remainder of the half, and Case would take a 17-7 advantage into the break.

After stopping CWRU on its first drive, John Carroll seemed ready to seize momentum. After starting at their own 29, the Streaks moved to the 49, and on a third down-and-two play, Frank Ross appeared to have picked up ten yards and a first down. However, an illegal block penalty reset the down back to third, and JCU could not get the necessary yardage to continue the drive and on fourth-and-one at midfield, elected to punt.

Case then did seize back the momentun, as Baum hit Zach Homyk on a 46-yard pass play on the very first play after the JCU punt. That led to a Baum six-yard scoring strike to Bryce Coleman seven plays later.

The PAT was blocked, however, keeping the margin within two scores at 23-7.

JCU would close the margin to ten points at the 6:30 mark of the fourth quarter when quarterback Michael Locke scrambled 14 yards for a touchdown. The Streaks went for two but the pass was broken up.

CWRU would tack on a late touchdown for the final points, cementing its first win over John Carroll since 1986.

Deitman led all rushers with 164 yards on 31 carries, leading a Case Reserve (1-0) ground attack that amassed 257 yards. Baum was 9-13 for 133 yards, with Homyk his top target (6 catches for 91 yards).

Jacob Adams recorded a team-high 12 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. 

John Carroll (0-1), which lost its sixth straight game dating back to 2009, was paced by 155 yards total offense by Michael Locke. In his first start, Locke was 12-24 for 111 yards passing but had an interception and was plagued by six official dropped passes.

Jonathan Cooley (15 tackles) and C.J. Seitzinger (12) led the JCU defense.

Case Reserve had 390 yards total offense compared to John Carroll's 277.