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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
JCU vs BW
JCU opens the 2021 season with a win against Baldwin Wallace
17
Baldwin Wallace BWU 0-1 , 0-1
28
Winner John Carroll JCU 1-0 , 1-0
Baldwin Wallace BWU
0-1 , 0-1
17
Final
28
John Carroll JCU
1-0 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
BWU Baldwin Wallace 0 3 7 7 17
JCU John Carroll 7 0 7 14 28

Game Recap: Football | | By: Garrett Siegel

After 482 Days Between Games, JCU Takes Down BW in Season Opener

John Carroll had 482 days since their last football game. That last game was also against Baldwin Wallace, a Blue Streak victory on a Hail Mary pass. Today, the Cuyahoga River Bowl was won again by the Blue Streaks.

With a shortened season, it is imperative to get a fast start. The Blue Streaks did just that with a long kickoff return by Deven Limerick to start the game. 

"We practiced KOR 100x a week. Work so hard in special teams, and that's the result: Big plays," said Matthew Buser after the big play.

Senior quarterback Jake Floreia then led the JCU offense to a first drive touchdown with a third down touchdown pass to Matthew Buser out of the backfield. The team would trade punts going into the second quarter.

Baldwin Wallace drove down to the JCU 30 and stalled to a fourth down. After a bobbled snap, quarterback Keagan Armitage decided to run a QB power out of the shotgun, and was stopped in the backfield by junior defensive back Nate Leopold. The Yellow Jackets would get momentum back, as Chris Burnside ran back a fumbled snap inside the JCU 30 again. 

A huge sack by Daniel Garcar backed up BW to a third and long, and an incomplete pass to the endzone seemed to stall the drive, but a roughing the passer penalty enabled the drive to continue. A third down sack by Ross Valenti stalled the drive again, and held BW to a field goal by Dean Sarris as the Blue Streaks hung onto their lead 7-3 at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter. 

The defenses would then take over the rest of the quarter, as the offenses would trade punts. Andy Han would pin the Yellow Jackets inside their own 15 with just 1:30 remaining, and it seemed like that would do it for the half. However, a targeting call on JCU would give 15 free yards to BW and some life, but the Blue Streak defense stepped up and the score held at 7-3 at halftime. 

The two teams would trade punts again, but BW would get great field position on their second drive of the half. Armitage would then scramble to his right and toss a ball inside the 15 yard line of JCU to Cody Koeielus. Three incompletions would lead to another field goal attempt from Dean Sarris. John Carroll's special teams would come up huge again. The Streaks blocked the field goal and it was picked up and returned by sophomore Josh McLean for a touchdown, and the Streaks led 14-3. 

"I was a big baseball guy in high school, and it looked like a fly ball," sophomore Josh McLean said. "I knew my team had my back as they carried me into the end zone," McLean continued. "My dad passed away in the summer so I played for my dad today. I wrote his name on my wrist and he was there with me the whole time."

On the ensuing drive, JCU's momentum would grow even larger. Tyshawn Jones would pick off Armitage on the second play of the drive. However, a sack by Brenton Miller of Baldwin Wallace would force a fourth and long that JCU would not convert. BW would take advantage as Armitage found Darius Stokes streaking down the sideline on a "GO" route into the red zone. Armitage would finish the drive himself with a two yard run, to make the score 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The fourth quarter would start with a bang for JCU as Floreia found Devin Limerick across the middle, and the catch and run would put the Blue Streaks inside the 15. Demerius Goodwin would pound it in for his first career score, as the Streaks led 21-10 just three plays into the fourth quarter. 
BW would answer right back as Armitage found Stokes again, this time going all the way for a 42 yard touchdown, cutting the JCU lead to 21-17 with 12 minutes to go. 

JCU would punt on the next drive. Han caught the snap on the short hop and delivered another strong kick inside the 15 that was returned by Iyan Mitchell for 46 yards. At this point, it seemed as if BW would turn the momentum into more points, but a sack and forced fumble by Kyle Ulshafer would return the ball to the Streaks. The Streaks would convert two third downs in the air via Devin Limerick. Matthew Buser would finish off the drive, this time on the ground for a one yard score to make it 28-17. 

That score would stand the final three minutes and change, as JCU won 28-17, for their first win of a four game season. 

"Our players did everything to ensure safety, sacrificing time and personal freedoms to create a good environment for us," Head Coach Rick Finotti said. "Unselfish, showed love for each other. Football is so much passion, it's what's right in the world. They gave us everything they had. But credit to Baldwin Wallace. Both teams battled and played really hard. It was a physical football game."

The Blue Streaks will travel to Alliance, OH to face the #3 ranked University of Mount Union. 
 
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