Quakers pick up homecoming victory

Team gets defensive, special teams touchdown

[Box Score]

(WC Press Release) WILMINGTON, Ohio (October 2, 2004) – The Wilmington College Quakers evened their record to 2-2 on the season with a 26-14 homecoming victory on Saturday.

Jermaine Isaac

The Green and White picked up a special teams touchdown in the third quarter when wide receiver Deon Short (Cincinnati/Mt. Healthy) returned a kickoff 89 yards before the team ended the game with an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown, giving the game its 26-14 final score.

Neither the Quakers nor the Student Princes were able to score in the first quarter, as the two teams combined for three drives in the period, with the ‘Berg running drives of eight and 14 plays in the quarter with the Quakers running a 12-play 72-yard drive that ended at the Heidelberg four yardline.

The Quakers were able to find the end zone in their third drive of the game, as the team went 33-yards on four plays, culminating with a Jermaine Isaac (Eastpointe, MI/Renaissance) eight-yard touchdown scamper, giving the hosts a 7-0 lead. Heidelberg, then scored two possessions later when Roc Patterson hauled in one of his 16 passes in the game for a 35-yard touchdown, knotting the game at seven, which stood heading into the locker room for halftime.

Heidelberg scored with 2:05 left in the third quarter when Steve West connected on his second of two touchdown passes, this one to Dustan Dolata from 13 yards away, giving the visitors a 14-7 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Short received the ball on his own 11 yardline, and streaked down the field for a touchdown, tying the game at 14 with 1:51 to play in the quarter.

The Student Princes and the Quakers battled back and forth, vying for the winning score, with the Quakers getting the next points when Isaac rushed for his second rushing touchdown of the game, giving the hosts a 20-14 lead after a missed extra point. On Heidelberg’s next possession, the ‘Berg drove 33 yards on seven plays before West was picked off by Chad Otte (Maria Stein/Marion Local) at his own 11 yardline, and ran down the home sideline for a touchdown, giving the game its 26-14 final score.

The Quaker rushing attack was led by Isaac, who carried the ball 20 times for 62 yards while Marque Jones (Wilmington/Wilmington) had five carries, all lateral passes to the flank, for 33 yards. Heidelberg’s Brett Hastings led the team with 23 carries and 67 yards while P.J. Johnson had three carries for 14 yards.

Chad Otte

Cam Marsh (Hillsboro/Hillsboro) completed 13-of-16 passes in the game for 125 yards while West was 24-of-38 passing for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Short, Brent Scherz (Wilmington/Clinton Massie) and Tom Horne (Wilmington/Wilmington) each had three receptions for 44, 25 and 16 yards respectively. Heidelberg completed passes to just three people, with Roc Patterson hauling in a game-high 16 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, while Branden Parker and Dustan Dolata had seven and one reception respectively.

Cory Norvell (Dayton/Dunbar) and Marcus Hefner (Crestline/Crestline) each had a baker’s dozen worth of tackles, 13, with nine of Norvells coming from solo stops. Hefner had four tackles for loss in the game while Brandon Tisdale (Wilberforce/Xenia) had 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Heidelberg’s defense was led by Jeff Stiffler who had 14 tackles, nine solo while Will Johnson had 10 stops in the game.

With the win, the Quakers go to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the OAC while Heidelberg falls to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in league action.

The next game for the Green and White is on Saturday, October 9 as the team travels to Alliance, Ohio to face off against the 2003 NCAA Division III runner-up Mount Union, with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m.