Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Matthew Buser

Football Preview: #22 John Carroll Looks to Continue Winning Trend over Capital

| By: Luke Potosky, Senior Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- This Saturday, the No. 22 John Carroll Blue Streaks (2-2, 2-1 OAC) travel to Bernlohr Stadium in Bexley, Ohio to take on the Capital Comets (1-3, 0-3 OAC) in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest.

After beginning the season with a win over Otterbein & two defeats to #4 Mount Union and #12/14 Washington & Jefferson, the Men of Carroll hope to have found their stride, beginning with last week's 29-7 triumph over previously 3-1 Muskingum.

Improving to 2-2 with the victory, the Blue & Gold remain #22 in the D3Football.com Top 25 & are the first team outside the top 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Now this week, they have a great opportunity to jump above the .500 mark.

Coming into Saturday, the Men of Carroll have won ten contests in a row over the newly-named Capital Comets; a winning streak dating back to October 30, 2010. The last time these two teams squared off, however, was a record-breaking occasion for John Carroll Football.

On October 12, 2019, the Blue & Gold were victorious 90-0, setting a record for most points scored in program history & in an OAC contest.

Heading into this week though, John Carroll Football head coach Rick Finotti said he continues to emphasize one thing to his team. "I've asked this team to play to our expectations the last four weeks," the fifth-year leader said. "That's what we've been looking for; 'Can we play the brand of football we want to?' and focus on that."

Capital kicked off their season with a strong 41-7 victory over Defiance, but have fallen in their previous three OAC contests to give them a 1-3 record. Most recently, they fell via shutout to Baldwin Wallace 51-0.

JOHN CARROLL OFFENSE vs. CAPITAL DEFENSE

In Week 4, the John Carroll offense started with a pick-six and turned the ball over two other times in the game but was still able to churn out 29 points; showcasing their ability to be a high-powered offense.

A balanced effort of 239 rushing yards and 196 passing yards propelled the Blue & Gold to a 29-7 win last Saturday. With that being said, the Blue Streaks will continue looking to have success in blending the running and passing games.

Fifth-year senior QB Jake Floriea, in his third season as the starter, continues to command the JCU offense. Through four games, the Mentor native is 73-of-120 passing with 810 yards and six touchdowns. He is protected by a hard-working offensive line, led by a pair of fifth-year seniors in Preseason All-American Blake Herideen and Anthony Amata. The line is rounded out by sophomore Luke Gibbons, Anthony Bonacci, and Jack Faron.

The Blue Streaks also have a two-headed ground attack in senior running back Demerius Goodwin (67 carries, 386 yards, five TDs; six receptions, 42 yards) and junior back Matthew Buser (33 carries, 210 yards, two TDs; six receptions, 32 yards). Buser put on an impressive showing last week with 111 rushing yards and two scores on just 11 carries. Freshmen Evan McVay and Mason Sullivan have earned touches in the backfield as well.

JCU's receiving core is led by the trio of Brennan Fugh (13 receptions, 259 yards, two TDs), Devin Limerick (14 receptions, 115 yards, one TD), and Keyshawn Colmon (12 receptions, 130 yards). Coach Finotti had some praise for what his outside threats have put together so far this season, "The work they do doesn't always get noticed in the stat column. Whether it's their effort, blocking downfield, or their leadership; they are an important part of this team."

The Capital defense will look to improve upon their performance from last week. Tackle-wise, they have two junior linebackers with over 30 tackles this season; Nick Fisanick with 33 to his name & Mike Lauofo with 32 plays made. Mike's older brother Matt Lauofo (nine tackles, two TFLs) and James Curtis (20 tackles, two fumble recoveries) round out the linebacking core.

The Comets will have a defensive line led by senior Jack Blaisdell who has 25 tackles, including a superb nine tackles for loss through four games. Dez Turkson (19 tackles, two TFLs, one forced fumble) & Kobe Swackhammer (18 tackles, two TFLs) will look to play a role in stuffing the Blue Streak offense as well.

In the Comet secondary, look for Louis Hoersten (23 tackles, four pass breakups, one forced fumble) and Malik Davis (12 tackles, 2 INTs) to try and step up to make big plays. Balor Apparius (17 tackles, 1 INT) and Chad Davis (16 tackles) will be the safeties looking to prevent big plays from the Blue Streaks.

JOHN CARROLL DEFENSE vs. CAPITAL OFFENSE

Going into last week, defensive coordinator Jeff Long's Men of Mayhem were tasked with shutting down a Muskingum offense that scored 62 points against Wilmington. Consider that task mission accomplished; as the Blue Streaks limited the Fighting Muskies to just 194 yards of offense in 57 plays. On top of that, they held the usually efficient Muskie offense to just 4-of-15 on third downs and shut down their only chance to score in the redzone.

Overall, Coach Finotti has been impressed with the mixture of young talent getting their chance to shine as well as the trusted leadership of his veterans. "I've been happy with young guys like Tyler Thimons, Ben Grafton, Josh McLean, and Elijah Chungu who are all coming into their own. The leadership from guys like [Nate] Leopold, Brian Robinson, and Hunter [Orlando] certainly emits great energy that helps spark everybody."

The Blue & Gold defense starts with their defensive line. Junior edge rusher Ross Valenti has carried his momentum from the Spring as he leads the team with three sacks, and senior end Jack Burton has ten total tackles, including 2.5 TFLs to his name. Mentor natives Daniel Garcar (15 tackles, two TFLs) and Kyle Ulshafer (three tackles) are both strongholds inside the tackle box as well.

Senior linebackers Hunter Orlando (30 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs) and Luke Brown (28 total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries) anchor an experienced and active linebacking group. Combine that with 5th-year athletes in Tyshawn Jones (team-high 32 tackles) and newly-named OAC Defensive Player of the Week Brian Robinson (seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs), JCU will certainly look to their linebackers to guide the defense the rest of the season.

The Blue & Gold's dynamic secondary is led by senior defensive captain Nate Leopold (13 total tackles, two TFLs, one INT). Alec Wallace (ten tackles, one INT, one forced fumble), Jake Bunofsky (13 tackles), and sophomore Elijah Chungu (nine tackles, four pass breakups) round out the back four.

The Comet offense has been engineered by a few different quarterbacks so far this season, but most recently, it's been sophomore Ben Everson. The sophomore from Zanesville is 9-of-26 this season, but has thrown a touchdown and ran for one as well. Another arm in the waiting is Trevor Harrison-Rawn who is 10-of-22 this season and has thrown two touchdown passes.

Capital, like the Blue Streaks, have a two-headed rushing attack in redshirt freshman Drew Engle (43 touches, 237 total yards, two total TDs) and junior Lance Matthews (36 carries, 178 yards). They will look to run behind a line consisting of two seniors, two juniors, and a freshman.

The Comet receivers will look to make some big plays against the Blue Streak secondary. Four names to keep your eye on include Kameron Lee (13 catches, 134 yards, two TDs), Mike Smith (nine catches, 99 yards, two TDs), Sam Pickett (nine catches, 73 yards, one TD), and Noah Meeker (seven catches, 103 yards).

SPECIAL TEAMS

Finally, in terms of special teams, John Carroll senior punter Andy Han (21 punts, 739 yards, five inside the 20) and graduate student kicker Grant Gonya (2-4 FG, 12-12 XP, 17 kickoffs, 953 yards, six touchbacks) lead the kicking units. Last week, holder Clayton Anderson turned a botched extra point into a two-point conversion with a lofted pass to Tadas Tatarunas. Devin Limerick (one return, 34 yards) and Nate Leopold (six punt returns, 74 yards) will lead their respective return units.

For the Comets, Eric Noble is 1-of-3 kicking field goals and will assume kickoff duties. Kameron Lee has booted 29 punts this season, seven of which have landed inside the 20 and four of which have traveled more than 50 yards. Capital's main returnmen will be Lance Matthews (nine returns, 166 yards) and Mike Smith (one return, four yards).
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories

Sponsors