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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
30
Winner John Carroll JCU 1-1 , 1-0
7
Baldwin Wallace BWU 1-2 , 1-1
Winner
John Carroll JCU
1-1 , 1-0
30
Final
7
Baldwin Wallace BWU
1-2 , 1-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
JCU John Carroll 0 10 13 7 30
BWU Baldwin Wallace 7 0 0 0 7
Brennan Fugh running
Tim Phillis
Methodical drives on offense and a crushing defense keep The Rock in University Heights for an 11th straight year.

Game Recap: Football | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

First Win of the Behrman Era Locks Up 11th Straight Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Victory

BEREA, Ohio – Saturday was a day of firsts, but also an 11th. 

The first victory of the season for John Carroll Football and the first win of a new regime, but just as importantly, the 11th straight Cuyahoga Gold Bowl conquest over Baldwin Wallace for the Blue Streaks.

The men of Jeff Behrman '95 roared for 30 straight points in a dominant victory over the Yellow Jackets at George Finnie Stadium in Berea, 30-7.

"I'm happy for our players. They've worked so hard, they've practiced and prepared really hard and dealt with some adversity the last couple days," said Behrman. "They came out here and did what we asked them to do, which was play together and play with tremendous effort while executing the gameplan. They certainly did that."

While it was the second game of the year, the Blue Streaks still experienced some early jitters. JCU forced an early three-and-out by the Yellow Jackets, but then Baldwin Wallace stole momentum, forcing a quick JCU punt and then driving down the field. The Yellow Jackets marched 8 plays and 44 yards, concluding with a 1-yard George Linberger touchdown run. 

The Yellow Jackets also enjoyed an advantage in the early battle of field position, as JCU's offense sputtered in the early going. But in the final drive of the first quarter, JCU started gaining traction. While BW led after the first quarter, 7-0, the first play of the second quarter changed that. Joe Collins found Joey Torok deep down the left sideline on a playaction pass, a beautiful rainbow resulting in a 7-7 tie. 

The teams traded decently successful drives, but the next three possessions ended in punts. But then the Blue Streaks came alive with 5:08 in the second quarter. John Carroll matriculated the ball down the field with short plays, all the way down to the BW 4-yard line. But then the Yellow Jackets held firm, so Yanni Volas converted a 21-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. 

The Blue Streaks then held firm on defense on BW's final drive, retaining a 10-7 lead heading into the break.

The opening drive of the third quarter was a masterclass in setting the tone, as the Blue Streaks methodically marched down the field. Following a holding call on the opening kickoff, Joe Collins opened with a few passing plays. That opened the door for two Mason Sullivan chunk plays on the ground of 10 and 18 yards. Later on the 11th play of the drive, Brennan Fugh ran a beautiful in-breaking route, catching the ball on the right hash on the 2-yard line and bursting into the end zone for a 16-yard TD from Collins. Volas provided the extra point for the 17-7 lead. 

"We talked about it leading up to the game, the more disciplined team is going to win the game. We did make some uncharacteristic mistakes, discipline-wise in the first half, but we had a different focus in the second half," said Behrman. "They were loading the box, it was tough for us to establish the run game, so we had to throw the ball a little bit. We threw the ball to start the second half to loosen them up because they were giving us some soft coverage. We found a couple different ways to run the ball and get downhill. The offensive line and the backs made it happen."

The next Yellow Jackets play from scrimmage saw a nice gain on the ground. But Baldwin Wallace moved no further, and John Carroll punished them for it. 

BW backed up John Carroll for 3rd and 13 from the JCU 7-yard line. One of the most critical plays of the ballgame followed. Fugh made a spectacular leaping grab at the 50-yard line for a gain of 43 yards. On the next set of downs, Matthew Buser picked up a crucial 4th and 1 at the BW 41. A couple penalties by the home team set up JCU for success, and Buser punched in a 9-yard touchdown score for the 23-7 advantage. Baldwin Wallace again stalled on offense on the next drive, so JCU carried a commanding 16-point lead into the fourth.

The lead soon stretched even further. After a quick 5-play BW drive, the Blue Streaks broke the backs of the Yellow Jackets on a crushing 8-play, 86-yard march. Completions of 33 and 22 yards from Collins to Tyler Mintz set up JCU deep in enemy territory. Once again, Buser did the honors of punching it in, diving for a 2-yard score, his second of the day. 

And there the score stood, 30-7 John Carroll. 

The Blue Streaks enjoyed a clear advantage in just about every stat. Primarily, in terms of yardage, as the Blue Streaks outgained the Yellow Jackets by a wide margin, 414-189. The JCU offense got it done effectively through the air, as Joe Collins completed 23-of-33 passes for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns. Collins surpassed 250 yards for the fifth time in his career. His primary target was Brennan Fugh, who hauled in 9 catches for 110 yards and a score. The fifth-year man from Pittsburgh now has eight games in his career with over 100 receiving yards.

"Joe's trust in me and the offensive line getting him the chance to throw made it happen," said Fugh. "We got the run game going in the second half, too. This gives us great momentum. Congrats to Coach for getting his first win at JCU, hopefully the first of many to come." 

On the ground, JCU finished with 112 rushing yards, as Buser did the most damage with two touchdowns but Mason Sullivan led the team with 54 yards. Collins made a couple clutch scrambles to pick up first downs, and the offensive line played quite well. 

On defense, Chris Golson and Jahiem Peake tied for the team lead with 7 tackles, while Chris Golson tallied 2 tackles for loss. Thomas Faron and Bricker Thiel each tallied sacks, as the defensive line roared late in the game to stop any hopes of a BW comeback. John Carroll finished with 8 quarterback hurries. 

"The D-line got after it, the QB was running around for his life at the end. We got him on his back, which was good," said Behrman. "When you're doing that, your guys in the back end aren't giving them anyone to throw it to, so it's a group effort."

The secondary played quite well, with players such as Elijah Chungu, Kevin Doyle, and others preventing any big plays, as BW managed only 100 yards through the air, with a long pass of 22 yards. 

"We had a lot of penalties early, so the coaches told us to keep the penalties to a minimum and keep the game in front of us. And we did," said Golson. "We knew they were big and physical, we just had to get under their pads, hit them low, and keep driving our legs."

After his first win back at John Carroll, Behrman felt grateful for all of the folks who made the win possible. 

"I want to thank my wife, she puts up with a lot from me since I don't see her a lot during the season, so I want to thank her," Behrman said.  "I want to thank our coaching staff, they've done a tremendous job in a short time in getting on the same page, and aligning to get our guys prepared. I want to thank the administration, they've been unbelievable. It's not just me who's home for the first Gold Bowl on this side of it, it's Brian Polian along with us as well."
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter JCU BWU
BWU
08:07 - BWU - Linberger,George 1 yd run (Evans,Joseph kick), 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 02:53
0 7
2nd Quarter JCU BWU
JCU
14:53 - JCU - Torok,Joe 28 yd pass from Collins,Joe (Volas,Yanni kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:51
7 7
JCU
00:59 - JCU - Volas,Yanni 21 yd field goal 12 plays, 64 yards, TOP 04:09
10 7
3rd Quarter JCU BWU
JCU
09:51 - JCU - Fugh,Brennan 16 yd pass from Collins,Joe (Volas,Yanni kick) 11 plays, 87 yards, TOP 05:03
17 7
JCU
01:52 - JCU - Buser,Matthew 9 yd run ( ), 11 plays, 90 yards, TOP 05:57
23 7
4th Quarter JCU BWU
JCU
07:14 - JCU - Buser,Matthew 2 yd run (Volas,Yanni kick), 8 plays, 86 yards, TOP 04:48
30 7

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