The Cardinals' football season ended in disappointing fashion, with a 35-33 triple overtime loss to John Carroll on senior day in Memorial Stadium. Otterbein rallied from a 13 - 3 first half deficit to take the lead with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but the Blue Streaks were able to tie the game at 20 on a late touchdown with 16 seconds left.
"It is a tough way to lose, especially when we had opportunities to put the other team away," said head coach Joe Loth.
The first overtime resulted in no points scored by either team. Both the Cardinals and the Blue Streaks missed 35-yard field goals to keep the score knotted at 20 - 20.
In the second overtime period, the Blue Streaks got on the scoreboard first with a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mark Petruziello to tailback Tyler Gingrich.
Otterbein answered when sophomore quarterback Jack Rafferty connected with senior wide receiver Scott DeLong for a 26-yard pass to the John Carroll four on third and fifteen. Rafferty punched the ball in the end zone on a one-yard run two plays later to tie the game at 27.
In the third overtime, Otterbein scored on the first play from scrimmage with a 25-yard run by Rafferty. The Cardinals had to go for two, as the overtime rules state, but the conversion attempt failed on an incomplete pass, leaving the score 33 - 27.
After gaining one first down, the Blue Streaks converted a fourth and two from the Otterbein seven with a touchdown pass from Petruziello to wide out Peter Spachner to tie the game at 33. Petruziello then scored the game-winning two- point conversion with a two-yard pass to tight end Chuck Sroka.
"It is the worst feeling, but it is motivating as well," said junior linebacker Eric Burnsides of the loss.
John Carroll got on the scoreboard first with a three-yard pass from Petruziello to wide receiver Frank Ross on their opening drive of the game. The Blue Streaks moved the ball 67 yards on 12 plays.
The Cardinals responded with an 11-play, 42-yard drive that stalled at the John Carroll 18 on an incomplete pass from Rafferty to DeLong. Place kicker Alex Shirvanian hit a 35-yard field goal to bring the Cardinals within four.
In the second quarter, the Cardinals began a drive at their own 20 and moved to the John Carroll 39-yard line. The drive was stopped when tailback Eric Yates fumbled at the 35-yard line.
The fumble was recovered by John Carroll's defensive end Nadhal Eadeh, who returned the ball 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point try by John Carroll was blocked, leaving the score 13 - 3 at halftime.
"A couple turnovers in the first half slowed down our ability to score," Loth said.
Otterbein's opening drive of the third quarter was stopped at the John Carroll 46-yard line. B.J. Wanninger's punt was blocked by the Blue Streaks and recovered by M. Nettling at the Otterbein 44.
The Cardinal defense came out strong after the blocked punt with a first down sack that was erased by a holding penalty on the Blue Streaks offense. On second down, Austin Weaver forced a fumble and Corey Spellman recovered it at the John Carroll 46.
With momentum on their side, the Cardinal offense moved the ball 40 yards to the six. Then Shirvanian added his second field goal of the day.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals rallied with back-to- back touchdown drives of 57 and 95 yards. On the first drive, Rafferty completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Ray Welch to tie the score.
"We made some good adjustments on offense," Rafferty said. "We kept drives alive that we stalled out on in the first half."
On the next drive, the Cardinals converted a third down with a 47-yard strike from Rafferty to DeLong. Rafferty then hit sophomore wide receiver Dan Gendron four plays later for a 36-yard touchdown pass that took the lead 20 - 13.
With just under four minutes left in the game, John Carroll began the final drive of regulation at their own 26. The Blue Streaks' offense moved the ball 74 yards on 10 plays to tie the game. It was their only score of the second half. "It was tough to lose the last two games," Rafferty said.
The Cardinals finish the season with a 5 - 5 record overall and 5 - 4 record in conference play. Otterbein tied for fourth place in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with John Carroll and Baldwin-Wallace.
The highlight of the season has to be the upset win over then sixth-ranked Capital. The rivalry win put the Cardinals in position to make the post season, but season-ending losses to Baldwin-Wallace on the road and John Carroll at home ended those hopes. Otterbein finishes the season with some impressive offensive numbers. The Cardinals ranked second in the OAC in rushing offense (165 ypg), scoring offense (28.1 ppg) and total offense (381.7 ypg) behind conference champions Mount Union.
The 2008 season looks promising for the Cardinals, with the return of 18 starters. "With all the starters we have coming back and how we improved as the season went on, [we have] something to build on in the off season," said Rafferty.
"I had a goal of making a run in the playoffs," said Burnsides on the potential of the 2008 season. t&c;
