Week 9 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Return Home at Last

JCU will welcome Otterbein to Don Shula Stadium on Saturday

Football 11/8/2024 12:00:00 PM Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Week 9 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Return Home at Last

JCU will welcome Otterbein to Don Shula Stadium on Saturday

John Carroll will celebrate the 1973 and 1974 PAC Championship teams on Saturday.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The John Carroll Blue Streaks (6-2, 6-1 OAC) return home to Don Shula Stadium Saturday afternoon for their penultimate game of the season, facing off against the Otterbein Cardinals (1-7, 1-6 OAC).

Last week, the Blue Streaks used a 42-point first half and career performances from their stars to win their sixth straight game of the season against the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. The Blue Streaks dominated on both sides, outgaining ONU, 547-311, and holding their conference's best run game to 143 rushing yards.

After winning their first game of the season two weeks ago against Capital, the Cardinals dropped their game last week to Heidelberg, 55-7.

Historically, John Carroll holds the significant advantage over Otterbein, winning 30 of 36 total matchups and the last ten. Last season, the Blue Streaks concluded their season with a 37-22 win at Otterbein, closing out an 8-2 season. The last Cardinal win came in 2012, by a score of 21-7, a season that saw Otterbein go 8-2, their best record to date.

The Blue Streaks look to win their seventh straight and move their record to 4-0 at home in the 2024 campaign.

Before the game, John Carroll will honor the 1973 and 1974 Presidents Athletic Conference Championship teams.

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The Offenses

John Carroll

The Blue Streaks' offense ranks 31st nationally in total offense and 41st nationally in passing offense. Both are anchored courtesy of their graduate student quarterback Nick Semptimphelter, who has been lighting up defenses all fall. The Bucknell transfer leads the conference in almost every significant category, passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, you name it, he is leading in it. Semptimphelter once again dominated last week completing 12-of-12 passes for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns. The star became the first quarterback in John Carroll history to finish a game with a perfect completion percentage.

To go along with the success of the quarterback, graduate student wide receiver Tyren Montgomery was cooking defenders all afternoon long. Hauling in five catches for a season high 176 yards and three touchdowns, earning him OAC offensive player of the week. On the season, the Nicholls State transfer ranks second in the OAC in receiving yards with 730, and his 11 touchdown receptions lead any other receiver in the conference.

The running back room once again was solid all around, tallying 231 total rushing yards, their second straight game with over 200 yards rushing. Wilmington transfer Nemo Jenkins led the team in rushing yards with a limited work load, using an 80-yard rushing touchdown to account for 99 yards on only four carries. Jenkins currently leads the team with 401 rushing yards on the season, while also scoring four touchdowns. The team's second leading rusher, Evan McVay, also had a big day Saturday. The Aurora native scored two touchdowns and accounted for 93 total yards in both the rushing and passing game. The squad has also gotten major contributions from sophomore Quincy Newsom, who has 305 rushing yards and a team-high eight rushing touchdowns.

Otterbein

It has been a struggle offensively all season for the 1-7 Cardinals, averaging just a hair under 13 points per game. The struggles have come mostly due to their revolving door of a quarterback room, though former JCU QB Jake Schaefer '16 has done a nice job leading the team as interim head coach.

Redshirt senior Hayden Lehmann was given the keys to the offense a few weeks ago, and has given the Cardinals a bit of a spark. Last week he struggled, but against the Comets, the Fremont product went 13-of-19 for 175 yards and three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Turnovers have been a killer for Otterbein all season. The Cardinals are going to need a repeat performance from the senior in order to get the job done Saturday.

A bright spot in their offense has been the receiver duo of juniors Owen Menge and Zane Duning. The two have combined for 668 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Last week, Menge had a big day, hauling in five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. The 5'7" receiver has had at least three catches and 40 yards in each of his last three games. Dunning has also been balling the last couple weeks, accounting for 189 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his last three games.

Sophomore tailback Matt Griffin leads the Cardinals with 227 net rushing yards and four touchdowns on 3.6 yards per carry. The Cardinals are going to need to get him going in order to open up their passing game against a solid JCU defense.

The Defenses

John Carroll

After struggling in the first two games of the season against really tough opponents, the Blue Streaks defense has dominated, not allowing more than 16 points in their last six games. A big reason for their success has been their rushing defense, which ranks third in the OAC and top 100 nationally.

Last week, John Carroll shut down the Polar Bears rushing attack, which was once of the best in the county, to only 143 yards. Linebackers Mason Rus and Tyler Thimons, and defensive end Ben Day, were a big reason for that, each racking up seven total tackles. Rus had a big day racking up a season-high six solo tackles. Thimons has been a monster all season and his whole career with a team-best 60 total tackles and 245 total over the course of his five year career. Ben Day has been a monster in both the running and passing game. The Brecksville product leads the team with four sacks and seven tackles for loss. He's also tallied four pass breakups and three quarterback hits.

Junior defensive lineman Tommy Wasinski had a career game against the Polar Bears. The Saint Ignatius product accounted for an interception, a sack and two total tackles. He has been a force in the heart of the JCU defense all year, notching five tackles for loss, 22 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.

The secondary has been productive all season, holding teams to 206.5 passing yards per game, which ranks fifth in the OAC. Last week, the Blue Streaks limited the Polar Bears to 168 passing yards. Freshman Dylan Crasi has made a big impact all year long in his first year. 19 total tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble and a tackle for loss. Sophomore Jacob Hufnagel has also been lockdown, with 30 total tackles, two interceptions and eight pass breakups on the season.

Otterbein

The Cardinals defense is going to have their hands full all afternoon, but they are going to lean on their secondary and passing defense which ranks third in the OAC. Their secondary also leads the OAC and ranks 11th nationally in intercepted passes. Defensive backs Vincent Fisher and Randy Cochran Jr. both have accounted for three interceptions which is tied for second best in the conference. The duo has also combined for 87 total tackles and 13 pass breakups.

Junior linebacker Thomas Cherry has been flying around the football field all season long, leading the OAC with 74 total tackles, also accounting for five tackles for loss and recovering a fumble.

On the defensive line, senior Justin Bartlett and sophomore Tinell Edwards have been getting in the backfield for the Cardinals. Bartlett leads the Cardinals with seven and a half tackles for loss. The Cambridge product also has tallied 54 total tackles and one and half sacks. Edwards, an Akron product, has racked up three sacks, an interception, a pass breakup and 21 total tackles.

Otterbein is going to have their work cut out for them, but will lean on their productive stars in order to try to pull off the upset Saturday.

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