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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Tyren Montgomery vs. Otterbein on 11-9-24
Peter Wangechi
Tyren Montgomery is closing in on Marshall Howell's single-season receiving touchdown record.
0
Otterbein OTT 1-8 , 1-7
56
Winner John Carroll JCU 7-2 , 7-1
Otterbein OTT
1-8 , 1-7
0
Final
56
John Carroll JCU
7-2 , 7-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
OTT Otterbein 0 0 0 0 0
JCU John Carroll 14 21 14 7 56

Game Recap: Football | | Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Dominate Cardinals in Penultimate Game of Regular Season

John Carroll Football pitched a shutout for the first time since October 2022

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The John Carroll Blue Streaks collected a win in their penultimate home game of the year against the Otterbein Cardinals, earning the program's first shutout victory since 2022, 56-0.

After starting the season dropping their first two games of the year, the Blue Streaks have rattled off seven straight victories playing tremendous complimentary football. John Carroll has certainly hit its stride on both sides of the ball. 

"This team loves to compete," Head Coach Jeff Behrman '95 commented on his team's big performance. "Does not matter who the competition is, you only have so many guaranteed games to play with your brothers, and this is a really tight team and they have really grown over the course of the year."

After deferring the coin toss, the Blue Streak defense made their presence known instantly, forcing a Cardinal three and out. Senior tailback Evan McVay got the offense going for JCU with a 11-yard run. Two plays later, Offensive Coordinator Travis James once again turned to his senior running back, who burst through the lane for a 20 yard touchdown run quickly into the ball game. 

Otterbein began to find their rhythm a bit on their ensuing drive. Redshirt senior quarterback Hayden Lehmann found freshman wideout Jayson Walker twice for seven and 30 yards, setting them up deep in Blue Streak territory. However, the John Carroll defense held strong forcing a turnover on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down. John Carroll's next offensive drive would start with a 17-yard completion from quarterback Nick Semptimphelter to sophomore Dorian Facen Jr, but the drive would stall after a penalty set them back to second and long. 

The JCU defense kept up their hot start by stopping the Cardinals on third down courtesy of a sack from junior linebacker Kenny Grobolsek. On the first play after the Cardinal punt, Semptimphelter hit his favorite target, graduate student Tyren Montgomery, on a deep shot for 31 yards. Two plays later, a misdirection play was drawn up as Semptimphelter found junior running back Nemo Jenkins all alone for a Blue Streak touchdown. 

Another three and out from the Cardinals set up the Blue Streaks on their own 40, as the opening frame closed out with a 14-0 JCU lead. 

The Evan McVay show continued into the first two plays of the second quarter. After a rush of eight, Semptimphelter faked the give to McVay, dropped back and found his tailback wide open, and the senior did the rest, sprinting 48 yards down the sideline for his second touchdown of the afternoon to stretch the lead to 21. 

More of the same for both sides continued, as Otterbein punted again to the Blue Streaks, and then the JCU offense created a big play. This time an end-around to Montgomery was good for 30 yards. Three plays later, a third different Blue Streak running back found paydirt, as Quincy Newsom broke the plane from one yard out to make it 28-0. 

A big play on the ensuing kickoff from freshman Adam LaCarte gave the Cardinals their worst field position of the afternoon on their own 17. Nothing changed for the Cardinals offensively as they gained zero yards and punted it away again. After a JCU punt, on the ensuing drive from the Cardinals, down the stretch of the first half, sophomore linebacker Tony Tirado blew up their drive, racking up his third sack of the year for a loss of eight. After an incompletion on third down, Otterbein gave the ball back to the Blue Streaks with 1:13 left in the half. A pass of 24 yards from Semptimphelter to McVay set up JCU inside the redzone with 12 seconds left. On the next play, an incredible effort from Montgomery in the back of the end zone, who got a foot down for another Blue Streak touchdown to close out the half with a 35-0 John Carroll advantage. 

It was a total team effort from the Blue Streaks in the passing and running game from McVay in the first half, who had two catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, along with 39 yards rushing on three carries and a touchdown. Semptimphelter put on his usual efficient passing performance, completing 13-of-15 passes for 196 yards and three scores. The Cardinals could only amount 60 yards of offense in the first half, as Lehmann completed 11 of his 20 passes for 75 yards. Otterbein could not get the ground game going, amassing -15 net rushing yards. 

"We have just been taking it one day at a time. Then on Saturdays we want to come out strong, and the defense has been doing that, which has led to our success," Ben Day commented on the evolution of the Blue Streaks defense over the course of the year. 

On the opening kickoff in the second half, McVay continued to be a problem, returning it for 58 yards. A couple plays later, McVay hit the end zone for the third time in the afternoon, making it 42-0 Blue Streaks. The Blue Streak offense would not be on the sideline long, as Kenny Grobelsek forced a fumble that freshman Josh Jones recovered. On the very next play, Semptimphelter found Montgomery on a deep pass of 47 yards for another JCU touchdown. 

"Honestly it felt surreal," Montgomery said after being asked how it felt to score two more touchdowns, closing in on the single season JCU record. "I want to thank Coach Behrman for getting me out of the portal, and my quarterback, without him none of this would be possible." 

Another punt from the Cardinals on their next possession gave JCU the ball back. A twelve play drive from the Blue Streaks put them on the doorstep of scoring again, leading 49-0 after three quarters. JCU broke through on the first play of the fourth, as it was Jenkins breaking through and scoring again, his second total touchdown of the game, making it 56-0 Blue Streaks. The lead was enough for Coach Behrman to put in some younger guys down the stretch to garner some experience for the future. 

"You get to see guys who bust their butt in practice all day and help guys like this prepare themselves for the game on Saturday. I take so much joy in it because I know they love it, but I see their teammates excited on the sideline when they are making plays," Behrman said about the impact of getting in some unsung heroes on the squad late in the game. 

Midway through the final period, John Carroll's team leader in sacks, Joe Thimons collected his fifth of the season on a third down forcing the ninth Otterbein punt of the game. Two plays into the next John Carroll drive the Blue Streaks would fumble, giving the Cardinals premier field position at the JCU one yard line. However, the Blue Streaks defense would bear down and force a turnover on downs, off of a big sack from sophomore Anthony Pietragallo, preserving the shutout for JCU. 

An interception from Gavin Calkins in the final seconds was the icing on the cake, as the Blue Streaks collected their first shutout since the fall of 2022. 

Semptimphelter finished with 16 completions on 19 attempts for 260 yards and four touchdowns. A big reason for his success was his connection with Montgomery again, as the Nicholls State transfer hauled in six receptions for 113 yards, his third straight game with 100 plus receiving yards, and two touchdowns. On the ground, John Carroll combined for 168 rushing yards, with Jenkins having the most with 47 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. McVay tallied three total scores and 112 all purpose yards in both the receiving and rushing game. 

"We have a versatile offense," Semptimphelter said on the success of the offense toward the back half of the year. "We have a great offensive line, running backs and receivers, so we can strike in both the running and passing game."

The defense was lock-down all afternoon long, allowing only 107 yards of total offense, and -7 rushing yards. Ben Day led the way with five total tackles. Tyler Thimons and Tirado were right behind him, each tallying four tackles. 

"We showed we were the more dominant team," Day said after the game about the performance of the JCU defense. 

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will put their seven-game winning streak up to the test, to close out the regular season at home against the 8-1 Marietta Pioneers next week. The game will kick off at 2 pm, this monster matchup will also be Senior Day, Faculty Appreciation and the 1994 OAC Champions will be honored.

"I want to credit our coaching staff, by instilling the mindset of 'one game at a time'," Behrman said after the game about the opportunity to potentially earn a bid to the NCAA Playoffs. "The only thing in our control after going 0-2, was to win the next game. We have stayed present in the moment and now the message is now that everything we want is right in front of us."
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