TIFFIN, Ohio — The Baldwin Wallace football team traveled to Tiffin, Ohio tonight to take on the #21 Heidelberg Student Princes during their homecoming weekend for another Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) game. The Yellow Jackets raced past Heidelberg and earned an impressive win on the road to earn a statement win on the year. With the win, Baldwin Wallace improves to 4-0 for the first time since 2010 and adds another OAC win to improve to 2-0 in conference.
Game Recap
Heidelberg entered the night ranked No. 21 nationally and still riding the momentum of a victory over then-No. 8 Mount Union earlier this season. Instead, it was the Yellow Jackets who controlled the night from the opening kickoff.
Baldwin Wallace wasted little time making its presence felt. After the first two BW possessions ended in punts, the Yellow Jackets started at their own 46-yard line with 8:40 remaining in the first quarter. Four plays later, Boston Mulinix broke a 25-yard touchdown run, giving BW a 7-0 lead with 7:07 remaining.
The defense immediately forced another Heidelberg punt, and BW started the next drive at their own 15 but marched 85 yards on 11 plays, taking 3:44 off the clock and capping off the drive with a a four-yard touchdown run by George Linberger with just 33 seconds remaining in the quarter, making it 14-0.
Heidelberg opened the second quarter with another punt, and BW took advantage. The Yellow Jackets drove 34 yards on seven plays before Owen Warrick drilled a 34-yard field goal with 12:21 left in the half. After Heidelberg's next possession ended with a fumble forced by Blayze Myers and recovered by Myers at the Heidelberg 42, BW again came away with points. Warrick connected on a 28-yard field goal to make it 20-0 with 6:26 remaining.
Starting at the Heidelberg 43, BW needed just five plays to find the end zone. Mulinix picked up 11 yards on the ground before Charlie Bubonics found Seandelle Gardner for a 10-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 27-0 with 3:20 left in the second quarter.
Heidelberg finally answered on their following possession. The Student Princes drove 35 yards in five plays, with Brylen Parker hauling in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Alex Arledge with 1:54 remaining in the half to cut the deficit to 27-7 heading into the locker room.
Baldwin Wallace then opened the second half with perhaps its most impressive drive of the night.
After Heidelberg went three-and-out, the Yellow Jackets marched 58 yards on 13 plays, eating more than six minutes off the clock. BW converted a fourth down on a Linberger run and later converted a fourth-and-10 when Bubonics found Linberger for 15 yards. The drive ended with Bubonics connecting with Holland Young for an 11-yard touchdown, putting BW ahead 34-7 with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Heidelberg would not go away easy though. The Student Princes responded by driving 50 yards on nine plays, converting a fourth down before Parker scored his second touchdown of the night on a 15-yard reception with 3:19 left in the third and a failed extra point made it 34-13.
After a BW punt, the Student Princes started at their own 15 and used just four plays to go 85 yards, with Tyreese Clerveau catching a 34-yard touchdown pass from Arledge at the 12:40 mark. The score cut the BW lead to 34-20.
But that is all the leeway the Yellow Jackets would give them. BW took over at their own 23 with 12:35 remaining and proceeded to grind out 77 yards on 12 plays, consuming 5:38. Linberger repeatedly moved the chains on the ground, including a fourth-and-one conversion at the Heidelberg 24-yard line. On the very next play, Bubonics found Colin Quinlan for a 22-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead up to 41-20 with 6:57 remaining
The Student Princes scored once more to make it 41-26, missing another extra point, and that would be all the game had in store as the Yellow Jackets took care of business and earned a statement win on Saturday night.
Linberger led the offense with 153 yards on the ground and a touchdown on an impressive 36 carries. Bubonics went 17-of-31 passing for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Nolan Hartsel led the team with 10 tackles, JD Crouse totaled two sacks, and Myers added one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss in addition to his forced fumble and recovery.
The Matchup
With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 56-23 all-time against Heidelberg and extend their series winning streak to nine games.
Looking Ahead
BW will return to Berea next week, October 10, for Homecoming Weekend to take on another tough opponent in Ohio Northern. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
