The John Carroll offense exploded for nine touchdowns – seven rushing, one passing, one fumble recovery in the end zone -- and one field goal, plus a defensive TD (on an interception return) to blast Wilmington College, 72-14, on Saturday afternoon in JCU's Shula Stadium.

The Blue Streaks erupted for six touchdowns in the first half on the way to 42-14 halftime lead.  JCU's only punt during the entire game came on its second possession of the first quarter.

In the first half alone, the Blue Streaks more-than-doubled their average points per game (20 ppg) during the first three games of the season.

JCU's 72-point outburst was the most points in one game since an 80-point output against Marietta on Oct. 18, 2014.

JCU scored on five of its six possessions in the first half and added a defensive score when sophomore safety Tyshawn Jones scored on a "Pick-6" interception on a pass over the middle from Quakers senior quarterback Luke Creditt at the visitor's 22-yard line, turning a 14-7 game into a 21-7 lead and established JCU's dominance.

"We knew we had to step it up this week," Jones said.  "I just jumped the route (on his interception) and there was no one in front of me so I knew I had to score."

The Blue Streaks opened the scoring parade on their first possession, as junior running back Sam Kukura took a pitch from sophomore signal caller Anthony Moeglin for the final yard of a 55-yard drive in eight plays at the 9:21 mark of the first quarter.  Kukura ran for 77 yards in nine carries during the game, allowing him to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for his career.

"We went to work Monday through Friday," Kukura noted.  "We have faith in our offensive line. The offense is starting to come together – good chemistry."

Moeglin was accurate on 20-of-27 passes for 248 yards and a TD.

"Our whole goal this week was to execute and I had to be more accurate," Moeglin pointed out.  "We had a lot of experience out there with our receivers and they had three freshmen in the secondary.  But they're coming up and will be competitive," he said of Wilmington.

The Fightin' Quakers looked like they might make it a competitive game when they tied it at 7-7 on their third possession, covering 79 yards in just 7 plays.  The star of the drive was senior running back Eric Flynn who accounted for the final 65 yards of the drive: a big 42-yard swing pass-and-run from Creditt; a 16-yard run to the 7 and a 7-yard scamper for the TD.

The Fightin' Quakers came in averaging 38 points per game but the JCU defense limited them to 257 total yards of offense in 50 plays while JCU tallied a whopping, season-high 626 yards on 75 offensive plays (most offensive yards since JCU compiled 664 vs. St. Norbert on Sept. 7, 2013).

"The "D" played well as a unit," Jones stated.  "We were locked in all week."

"We're playing a different defensive system," Coach Rick Finotti noted.  "We're getting comfortable with it now.  The way our "D" adjusted after it was 7-7 was very good," Finotti added.

Senior RB Ro Golphin gathered the bulk of his 81 yards in the first half.  "We're always told 'run hard, pads low,'" Golphin said.  "It was our best offense of the season."

Freshman speedster running back Michael Canganelli contributed 83 yards and two scores in five rushes late in the game, including a 41-yard sprint midway through the 4th quarter and a 29-yard dash to cap the scoring with 49 seconds to play.

Sophomore defensive tackle Conner Bogard led the defense with seven tackles including a sack and two tackles-for-loss.  Sophomore Chad Stalnaker was credited with six tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss.

JCU now leads the series with Wilmington, 20-3.  The Blue Streaks have dominated the last two games by a total score of 139-21

JCU (2-2 overall and 2-1 in the OAC) travels to Marietta (2-2, 1-2 OAC) next Saturday, Oct. 7 for a 1:30 game against the Pioneers.