Football's second-half surge falls short vs. BW

The Muskingum football team scored three touchdowns over the final 15 minutes of play, but Baldwin Wallace held off the late Muskie surge to escape New Concord with a 42-28 win. The contest marked Muskingum's 98th Homecoming.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (2-4 overall, 1-4 OAC), Muskingum (5-1, 4-1 OAC)
• Location: New Concord, Ohio - McConagha Stadium
• Attendance: 2,475
• Temperature: 67 and partly sunny

Notable

• At halftime, Muskingum recognized three Ohio Athletic Conference championship teams - the 1979 Wrestling team, the 1989 Women's Basketball team, and the 1999 Volleyball team.
• Also, at halftime, Muskingum announced that junior men's golfer Brenton Franks and junior volleyball player Kamryn Smith were named Homecoming King and Queen.
• Muskingum senior defensive lineman Tim Ousley had one sack to push his Muskingum career sack record to 24. 
• Muskingum senior receiver Darius Hayes-Carruth had 64 yards receiving to raise his career total to 1,194 yards, which ranks eighth all-time at Muskingum.

How It Happened

• Muskingum trailed 27-7 at the break and 34-7 late in the third quarter. 
• Muskingum's surge started when freshman running back Jeffrey Curtis scored on a 45-yard touchdown run to cap off a quick four-play, 94-yard drive with one second left in the third quarter. The drive started after Muskingum senior defensive lineman Tim Ousley blocked a 28 yard Baldwin Wallace field-goal attempt, and the Muskies took possession at their own six-yard line. Curtis ended the game with 63 yards rushing on eight carries with one score.
• Muskingum struck again on sophomore quarterback Jordan Garrett's six-yard run to pull the Muskies to within 34-21. The touchdown ended an 11-play, 55-yard drive.
• Baldwin Wallace answered the Muskie challenge with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Kegan Armitage to Iyan Mitchell to push the Yellow Jacket lead to 42-21 with 9:11 on the clock following a successful two-point conversion.
• The Muskies quickly responded to the BW score when Garrett hit senior receiver Darius Hayes-Carruth for a 51-yard touchdown pass at the 8:30 mark of the final frame. Garrett ended the outing 6-of-13 for 135 yards with one score and one interception. Garrett also added 23 yards rushing with one score. Hayes-Carruth led the Muskie receivers with three grabs for 64 yards and one touchdown.
• Muskingum looked poised to trim its deficit further on Baldwin Wallace's ensuing possession when senior linebacker Trocon Keneah sacked Armitage and forced a fumble that junior linebacker Nehemiah Bowie recovered at the BW 22. After a BW sack, two incomplete passes and a false start penalty, Garrett's fourth and 19 pass was intercepted by Jack Bauer at the BW 10 and returned to the BW 23.
• Baldwin Wallace was able to complete three third-down conversions after taking possession to close out the final 6:31 on the clock to preserve the road win.

Inside The Numbers

• Muskingum ended the game with 340 yards of offense and 13 first downs. Baldwin Wallace had 438 yards of offense and 22 first downs.
• Junior quarterback Brody Hahn started the game for the Muskies and went 6-of-18 for 33 yards with one interception. He also added 64 yards rushing and one score on eight totes. Hahn's score came late in the first quarter on a 41-yard run.
• Freshman receiver Ja'Lin Goodman had two grabs for 48 yards and sophomore tight end Jacob Quinn registered three receptions for 15 yards.
• Senior defensive lineman Tim Ousley paced the Muskie defense with 14 stops and two tackles for loss, including one sack for seven yards.
• Senior linebacker Caleb Gaiters added 11 hits.
• Senior linebacker Trocone Keneah had four tackles and one sack for seven yards and one forced fumble.
• Junior defensive back Brian Brown had two stops and one interception. 
• Armitage led BW going 15-of-31 for 273 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
• Jon Murray Jr. rushed for 63 yards and one score, while Shaun Perry rumbled for 61 yards.
• Mitchell had a game-best 138 yards receiving on six receptions with three touchdowns. 
• Josh Liberati led the Yellow Jacket defense with 11 stops.

Up Next

• Muskingum next plays at Otterbein on Saturday, October 26. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.