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Joe Thimons and Ben Day celebrate vs. Berg
Doug Beigie

Week 5 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Set for Shamrock Game

| By: Jack Stephens, Staff Writer
The Blue Streaks will be celebrating the Shamrock Game with lots of fun on Saturday.
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The red-hot John Carroll Blue Streaks look to continue their winning ways, as they return to Don Shula Stadium to take on the Capital Comets, in the annual Shamrock Game. 

After dropping the first two games, JCU has bounced back winning their last two games by a combined margin of 63. On the contrary, the Comets are off to their third straight 0-4 start to the season as they look to pull off the road upset against the Blue Streaks. 

This series has been dominated by the Blue Streaks in recent memory, as they have won the last 13 contests, winning 27 of the 37 overall. Capital has not won a game in this series since 2009, a season where they went 7-3, their best record to date.

Game Notes
Gameday Program
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Listen on WJCU 88.7 FM / WJCU.org
Tape Delay: Rock Entertainment Sports Network on Sunday from 3-6 pm & Friday, October 18 from 4-7 pm

It was a group effort on Saturday afternoon for the Blue Streaks in the win over the Muskingum Muskies. Nick Semptimphelter continued his impressive passing efficiency, completing 15 of 18 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. It was a party for wide receiver Tyren Mongomery, pulling in five catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Evan McVay rushed for 6.7 yards per carry, en route to a season-high 87 yards rushing. Quincy Newsom and Nemo Jenkins also put in productive days, rushing for 93 yards combined. 

For the Comets, their struggles on both ends continued as they allowed 45 points to Heidelberg, dropping their fourth straight game, 45-22, to the Student Princes. 

The Offenses

JCU

After scoring only seven points in their opening game against Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Blue Streak offense has caught fire, averaging 38 points per game in their last three contests. Bucknell transfer quarterback, Nick Semptimphelter, has had a large part in that ranking in the top five in almost all passing categories in the OAC. 

The graduate student has been one of the country's most efficient passers while also not turning the football over. He completed over 70% of his passes, good for 13th best nationally, for 961 yards, while also being tied for the best touchdown-interception ratio in the conference, with 11 touchdown passes and only one interception. 

A key to the Blue Streaks success in the passing game has been their luxury of having multiple different elite pass catchers. Nicholls State transfer Tyren Montgomery has started to emerge as Semptimphelter's top target, leading the Blue Streaks in receiving yards and touchdowns after his big game a week ago. Tyler Mintz was quite a week ago, but his impact has been felt all year, hauling in a team high 18 catches for 215 yards. With the Comets ranking 209th nationally and dead last in the OAC in passing defense, look for Coach Behrman to let his elite quarterback and receivers attack the defense. 

In terms of the Blue Streaks' running game, they are still trotting out several running backs. But who ever said having too many running backs was a bad thing? Evan McVay, Nemo Jenkins and Quincy Newsom have all had their own shining moments racking up 321 combined rushing yards, giving the Blue Streaks the seventh ranked rushing attack in the OAC. 

Behind one of the conference's best offensive lines, look for the Blue Streaks to use their three solid tailbacks to open up deep shots to Montgomery, who leads the OAC in yards per reception, as the offense looks to strike early and often against the Comets. 

Capital

All season the Comets have struggled to really find any rhythm offensively so far this season, averaging 18.3 points per game, good for eighth in the OAC. However, an angel for them to potentially pull off the upset is through controlling the time of possession battle. 

In order to do that they are going to need to win up front and create gaps for running back Kassim Johnson to run through. While the team may struggle in the running game, Johnson has shown flashes running for nearly five yards per carry and 172 yards. 

The game will most likely fall on the shoulders of their senior quarterback Ben Owens and his top target, Nate Younker. Owens, a big body QB, standing at six foot two, is coming off a pretty effective game through the air. Completing 23 of 36 attempts for 227 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 49 yards and another score. The key in this contest for Owens is for him to keep the ball out of the hands of the Blue Streaks, which he has been good at, only throwing two interceptions. For Younker, he is going to be challenged with a loaded JCU secondary, and Owens is going to need to find ways to get the ball into the hands of his top playmaker.

The Defenses

JCU

Once again, it's been a tale of two seasons for the Blue Streaks. After giving up 588 yards rushing through their first two games, JCU has only allowed 31 yards rushing per game in their two victories. A big factor in that has been the dominance of the John Carroll front seven. 

Junior defensive end Ben Day was the star of the show a week ago, racking up five total tackles and two sacks, giving him his first OAC athlete of the week honor of his career and a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week. Graduate student Tyler Thimons has been the leader of that group all year, having a team-high 31 total tackles almost half way through the season, putting him fourth in the OAC. His brother Joe has had a breakout season this year, currently sitting third in the OAC in sacks (3.5), while also tallying 15 total tackles. Another breakout candidate has been linebacker Davon Badley, who in just three starts has 16 tackles and an interception. 

In a strong secondary, junior defensive back Lamar Thomas has been the leader with 22 tackles, a forced fumble and two pass break ups. To go along with Thomas, Jacob Hufnagel, JP Germano, Tyson Simon and Kevin Doyle round out a secondary that currently sits fifth in the conference in passing yards allowed. 

The Comets are going to have their hands full against a defense who is starting to find their footing as the season continues. 

Capital

The Comets defensively, have struggled to find any positive notes on the young season, currently sitting near the bottom of the conference in almost every significant defensive category, while also averaging 48 points allowed per game. 

A few bright spots for Capital has come through their linebacking trio of Cyrus Burden, Griffin McKinney and Quincy Hains, who have been tackling machines, racking up a combined 66 total tackles between the three of them. Leading their secondary is junior defensive back Owen Beatty, who has 21 total tackles, one fumble recovery and two pass breakups. 

Capital is going to have to figure out how to stop the complimentary style of the Blue Streak offense and they are going to need to create turnovers in order to do it. 

Special Teams

A consistent staple of the John Carroll squad has been an elite special teams unit. Owen Schukert currently sits 34th in the country in net punting, averaging 40.24 yards per punt, with a long of 61. In the kicking game, Colin Schuler filled in for the injured Yanni Volas and connected on three of four tries, with a long of 45 yards, good for the tenth longest field goal in Blue Streak history and the longest since 2021. 

FULL SHAMROCK GAME SCHEDULE:

10:00 am:   
  • Tailgate starts on South Belvoir
  • Irish Music by WJCU 88.7 FM
  • Raddell's Sausages
  • Cleveland Irish shirts and hats available for purchase
10:30 am:     
  • Shuttle from Black Forest begins 
  • Shuttles begin at 10:30am in the St. John's parking lot, just east of Black Forest (4368 Mayfield Road, South Euclid)
1:25 pm: East Side Irish American Club bagpipers play as JCU Football runs onto the field 
1:26 pm: Mary Agnes Kennedy sings Irish and American National Anthems
1:28 pm: Mark Owens – the Honorary Consul General of Ireland, Ohio – serves as honorary coin toss captain
1:30 pm: Kickoff

Halftime: Gaelic Football, Gaelic Athletic Assocation
Postgame: Party at Black Forest in South Euclid 
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