Football slips in rain-soaked game at Otterbein

The Muskingum football team slipped at Otterbein in a rain-soaked game on Saturday afternoon, 18-10.

With the loss, the Muskies fall to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Otterbein now stands at 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the league.

The Muskies seemed poised to strike first with the ball on the Cardinal seven-yard line when junior quarterback Brody Hahn was intercepted at the goal line to end the Muskingum threat. Following a three-and-out by the Muskie defense, Otterbein's punt was fumbled by the Muskies during the return and recovered by the Cardinals at the Muskie 41. Otterbein then orchestrated a 10-play, 41-yard drive that ended with a Logan Pharmer 10-yard touchdown pass to Dom Ross to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with 58 seconds left in the opening frame after Collin McCrady's extra point.

Muskingum trimmed its deficit to 7-3 at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter on sophomore kicker Gavin Costello's 37-yard field goal. The five-play, nine-yard drive was set up by an Otterbein bad snap on a punt attempt that gave the Muskies possession at the Cardinal 29.

Otterbein added to its lead (9-3) with a safety at the 7:35 mark of the second quarter. The Muskies took possession at their own one-yard line following an Otterbein punt, and on the first play of the drive sophomore running back Justin Bell was stopped in the end zone. 

Muskingum had a chance right before halftime to cut into the Otterbein lead, but Costello's 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked. 

The Cardinals added another safety at the 12:25 mark of the third quarter when Greg Nolder sacked Hahn in the end zone to push the Otterbein lead to 11-3. The Cardinals then pieced together a five-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown scamper by Jordan Bost-Floyd to extend the Otterbein lead to 18-3 at the 10:21 mark of the third quarter.

The Muskies scored their first touchdown of the outing in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when freshman running back Jeffrey Curtis capped off a seven-play, 63-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. 

Muskingum had one final opportunity to potentially tie the game when it took possession at its own 47 with 7:21 on the clock. The Muskies marched down to the Otterbein 26 and appeared to score a touchdown on a Hahn pass to junior running back Cameron Near, but the play was called back due to a holding call at the Otterbein eight, followed by a Muskie unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which put the ball at the Otterbein 33. The Muskies responded with a 23-yard pass from Hahn to freshman receiver Ja'Lin Goodman to setup up first-and-goal at the Cardinal 10. The Muskies moved the ball to the Otterbein four-yard line and faced a fourth-and-goal when Hahn was dropped for a six-yard loss to turn the ball over to the Cardinals with 1:53 left in the game. Otterbein was then able to muster one first down en route to running out the clock to secure the home win.

Muskingum ended the game with 353 yards of offense and 20 first downs. The Muskies also held a 32:02-27:58 edge in time of possession. Hahn went 17-of-36 for 191 yards with two interceptions. He also rushed for 64 yards on 18 totes. Curtis tallied 72 yards rushing on 20 carries with one touchdown. Senior receiver Darius Hayes-Carruth led all receivers with five grabs for 92 yards. Hayes-Carruth now ranks sixth all-time at Muskingum with 1,286 receiving yards. Senior linebacker Trocon Keneah and junior linebacker Nehemiah Bowie led the defensive effort with eight stops each.

Otterbein registered 189 yards of offense and 14 first downs. Pharmer directed the offense going 9-of-20 for 85 yards with one score. Matt Webb rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries, and Bost-Floyd added 42 yards and one touchdown. George Redding and Jacob Leonardi led the Cardinal receivers with 33 and 34 yards each, respectively. Ryan Tuchow paced the defense with 11 stops, while Greg Nolder logged 10 stops.

Muskingum next hosts Heidelberg for Senior Day on Saturday, November 2. The game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in McConagha Stadium.