Quakers fall to Capital in a shootout, 49-30

Corey Smith throws for a career-high 353 yards in loss

[BOX SCORE]

November 13, 2004

WILMINGTON – The Wilmington College Quakers fell to a strong Capital squad 49-30 in a shootout at Williams Stadium on Saturday. The two teams combined for 687 yards through the air, with the Quakers accounting for 389 of those.

Capital started strong, scoring three times in the first 15:04 of the game, taking a 21-0 lead just into the second quarter. The first score was on a Colin O’Reilly eight-yard touchdown run before quarterback Rocky Pentello found Kyle Rankin and Jeremy Mulkey on back-to-back scores before Pentello jumped on a fumble in the end zone, giving the Crusaders a 28-0 lead with 5:17 to play in the second quarter.

The Quakers found the end zone for the first time in the contest when Corey Smith (Leechburg, PA/Kiski Area) found Marque Jones (Wilmington/Wilmington) for a 65-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 28-7. Capital scored on their next possession when Pentello found Jason Bainum for his third and final passing touchdown of the game. The Quakers answered with a four-play, 60-yard drive, culminating with Jones’ second receiving touchdown of the contest, taking the score to 35-14 heading into the locker room.

O’Reilly scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to start the scoring in the second half before the Quakers rattled off 17 consecutive points on a Smith-to-Deon Short (Cincinnati/Mt. Healthy) 46-yard touchdown, a Jon Bednarek (Columbus/DeSales) 48-yard field goal and a Smith one-yard touchdown run, the final score cutting the deficit to just 12 at 42-30. Capital added the game’s final score when safety Kyle Hausler returned an interception 26 yards for the insurance score, giving the game its 49-30 final score.

Smith led the Quakers with 353 passing yards, going 26-of-44 in the contest, throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions. His counterpart on the Capital sideline, Pentello, was 22-of-34 passing for 298 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Smith was also the Quakers’ leading rusher, rushing seven times for 20 yards while Jermaine Isaac (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) had 10 yards on the ground. O’Reilly had 118 yards rushing on 21 carries to go with a score while Mulkey had 15 yards in the game.

A trio of receivers, Short, Jones and Brent Scherz (Wilmington/Clinton Massie) each hauled in seven passes, with Jones leading the group with a career-high 124 yards and two scores while Short caught for 107 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Rankin led the Crusaders with seven catches for 69 yards while Matt Cesaratto had four catches for a team-high 96 yards.

The defense was led by Chad Otte (Maria Stein/Marion Local) who had a career-high 16 tackles while Cory Norvell (Dayton/Dunbar) and Jeff Jenkins (Bellbrook/Bellbrook) each had 12 tackles to close out their collegiate careers. Brandon Tisdale (Wilberforce/Xenia) had four tackles, including a sack to go with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries, including a 46 yard return that was stopped at the one yardline. The Capital defense was led by Kyle Hausler who had 10 tackles and two interceptions while Bart Sparhawk and Joel Sickmeier had seven tackles apiece.

The loss ends the Quakers’ season at 3-7 overall and 3-6 in the OAC while Capital ends their season at 7-3 and 6-3 in league play.