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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Shane Lindstrom punt return TD vs. Wittenberg 9-26-26
Gavin Hunter
3
Wittenberg WIT 0-4 , 0-3
49
Winner John Carroll JCU 4-0 , 3-0
Wittenberg WIT
0-4 , 0-3
3
Final
49
John Carroll JCU
4-0 , 3-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WIT Wittenberg 3 0 0 0 3
JCU John Carroll 7 28 14 0 49

Game Recap: Football | | JCUSID

Second Quarter Spree Keys Victory for #7 JCU Football over Wittenberg

Special Teams played a big role, as Shane Lindstrom tied the program record for longest punt return

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The start was somewhat shaky, but John Carroll Football dominated Wittenberg University, 49-3, on Parents & Family Weekend at Don Shula Stadium .

The Blue Streaks made several impressive plays on special teams to steal the momentum away from the Tigers in a 28-point second quarter in a third straight blowout in North Coast Athletic Conference Play.

John Carroll is now 4-0, the best start for the program since 2014. The Blue Streaks have allowed no more than a touchdown in all four games, marking the best start to a season defensively since the 2013 Blue Streaks didn't allow a double-digit point total until the regular-season finale. 

Postgame Press Conference: Ivory Travers, Shane Lindstrom, Greg Roman, Jr.
Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Brian Polian

"What I am most impressed with our team is that we kept our poise," said Head Coach Brian Polian '97. "That was a Bad start to the ballgame for us, but we kept our poise. In Week 1, the defense drove the engine of the football team. In Week 2 against Ohio Wesleyan, the offense drove the engine of the football team. Today, when the team needed a boost, it was the kicking game that allowed us to get going. 

The Blue Streaks had a miscue on the first offensive drive, with a fumble on the second play from scrimmage. Wittenberg managed to take advantage, though the JCU defense kept the Tigers out of the end zone. Wittenberg knocked in a 35-yard field goal, marking the first points allowed by the JCU defense in the first half this season. 

"We were a little uneven at the start and we gotta get ball security fixed.
The run game was a little bit uneven early in the ballgame," said Polian. "They were very clearly kicking their front and movement towards our tight ends. They were not going to let us run the ball early in the ballgame, but when people do that, then you gotta make plays in the passing game because you're going to have safeties low and obviously we did that and were able to take some shots."

In response, the Blue Streaks responded with a quick march down the field. Dorian Facen Jr found an opening across the middle and hauled in a 23-yard touchdown reception.

Just a couple ticks into the second quarter, Shane Lindstrom made some magic. The shifty returnman picked up the Wittenberg punt at the 8-yard line and quickly made a couple Tigers miss. With great blocks by Javi Quimba and Joel Slewion, Lindstrom raced up the JCU sideline all the way to paydirt and the history books. Lindstrom's 92-yard return tied the longest in program history with the legendary Burrell Shields way back in 1949 vs. Marshall. 

"The punt bounced and in my head I'm thinking, 'If I get a good hop, I'll probably field it,' especially since we were in punt block. Thankfully, the ball bounced right up to me so I decided to take it," said Lindstrom. "It was awesome, any time you have a big play on special teams like that, it ignites both sides, so we were fortunate to have that. That touchdown was all because of [my blockers], anyone could have scored with the blocks they have. When I'm running down the sideline with 5-6 players leading me in, I was a little gassed, but that was awesome and shows a lot about team and the selfless traits we have."

"Shane's punt return was an unbelievable play. The escort of people who were straining really hard at the end to get him home was impressive," said Polian."

The senior wideout wasn't done yet, as the star evaded defenders en route to paydirt on a 39-yard TD reception a couple minutes after his impressive return. The great catch occurred after a Dylan Crasi punt block, as the senior corner made an athletic play to get the ball back in Wittenberg territory.

Midway through the half, the defense got in on the scoring. With Wittenberg buried deep in their own territory, the Tigers' QB lofted a desperate third-down pass downfield and into the waiting hands of Greg Roman, Jr. The sophomore raced 15 yards to the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown and a 28-3 JCU lead midway through the second. 

"Those types of plays you just gotta make," said Roman. "I stuck to the coaching, play the deep middle and make plays that are given to you. I am grateful to have the opportunity on that specific play and teammates to help me get in position to make the play."

With time dwindling in the first half, the Blue Streaks marched down the field, looking for a dagger score. A Tyler Green toss to Facen up the far sideline provided the bigtime strike, as the senior outleaped the Wittenberg corner for six with 23 seconds left. 

At the half, the Blue Streaks stood ahead of the Tigers, 35-3. 

On just the second play of the second quarter, the Blue Streaks added to the lead with a 70-yard pass and catch. Cohen Klimak hauled in a pass in the flat and raced past one defender and got a couple more blocks in racing down the sideline for a score.

JCU's offense kept pressing on its ensuing drive. Lindstrom made a leaping 37-yard grab to the Wittenberg 1-yard line. A couple plays later, Evan Nelson made an easy catch for his first career touchdown reception. JCU pushed the lead to 49-3 with 8:59 left in the third quarter. 

That was more than enough for the victory, as the Blue Streaks kept the Tigers off the board the rest of the way.

The Blue Streaks outscored the Tigers by a wide margin in total yards, 495-144, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. 

Tyler Green enjoyed a great game at 17-of-21 passing for 311 yards and 5 TDs. Lindstrom finished with 4 catches for 100 yards and 1 TD. 

On defense, Ivory Travers looked fantastic with a career game, racking up 7 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. Janiere Cook and Cole Bayer both accumulated 6 tackles. Eugene Gibbons nabbed 5 tackles and 2 TFLs.

"We play as one, every game is the same thing, same outcome," said Travers. "When you fall back to the level of training, everything will play itself out. We do not change the way we think about any game, we attack with resilience. We don't raise or lower preparation for anyone." 

Next Up
John Carroll will face perhaps the toughest test yet of the season with a massive road trip. The Blue Streaks will head to #20 Washington University in St. Louis next weekend. 

"I'm still not sure if I know who we are," said Polian. "I learned a lot about how we are physically and emotionally at Carnegie Mellon. This team we played today, that was a one score game against WashU. We're doing good work. We are going to learn a lot about who we are playing a ranked team, an opponent new to the league in a similar situation to where we were last year. This is not an easy road trip, Cleveland to St. Louis. We will fly commercially very early on Friday morning and then partner with a Jesuit school in St. Louis for our walk-through. We need to be really focused this week."
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