Senior running back Demerius Goodwin proved to be a pivotal aspect for the John Carroll University Football Team this weekend as the squad defeated the Otterbein University Cardinals on the road 41-17, earning the Blue Streaks their first Ohio Athletic Conference win of the season. 

The Blue and Gold found the endzone five times during the contest, three times via Goodwin, giving him his career-high three touchdowns in a game.  

“After a year of uncertainty, words can not explain how it feels to have a college career-high in the number of touchdowns,” stated Goodwin. “As a transfer student, this has been a very long year of not knowing if I will play football again and building a strong bond with my teammates.”

Otterbein received the kickoff to start the game and attempted to move down the field on the John Carroll defense. Nine plays later, the Cardinals were stopped on downs, giving the Blue Streaks possession for the first time that day. 

Starting on the 32-yard line, quarterback Jake Floriea took the field with the Blue and Gold offense. 

Floriea connected with one of his favorite wide receivers, Keyshawn Coleman, for 31-yards, taking major strides down the field, but it was all Goodwin for the rest of the possession. Goodwin rushed for 4-yards, 6-yards, and ended with a 23-yard rushing touchdown, putting six points on the scoreboard for John Carroll. 

Kicker Grant Gonya added the extra point and the Blue Streaks took the 7-0.

Not even a minute later, the John Carroll offense had another opportunity to score as the defense forced a three and out for the Cardinals. 

The Blue and Gold effectively moved down the field, finishing this possession again with a Goodwin touchdown rush and a successful extra point. 

As the first quarter ended, the Cardinals were positioned on the John Carroll 37-yard line as they trailed the Blue Streaks 14-0. 

Taking the field at the start of the second quarter, the Cardinals added a field goal to the scoreboard, dropping the Blue and Gold lead to just 11 points. 

This did not deter the Blue Streaks as Floriea and the offense came back hungry for a score. 

In back-to-back pass completions, Floriea was able to find tight end Gavin Martik in the back of the endzone for an 18-yard touchdown pass. 

With Gonya’s successful kick attempt, John Carroll took a commanding 21-3 advantage over the Cardinals 

The Blue and Gold offense continued to dominate the game, as they were able to put Gonya within field goal range as he completed a 25-yard attempt, adding an additional three points for JCU. 

Otterbein fired back with a touchdown of their own, but the Blue Streaks remained unphased as they remained ahead 24-10. 

Goodwin once again made his way into the endzone, after a commanding performance for the Blue and Gold, as he ran for four consecutive downs, finishing with a 59-yard rushing touchdown, his third of the night and a season long TD rush. 

The buzzer sounded for halftime and John Carroll headed into the locker room as the captain of a 31-10 battle. 

Slowing down slightly in the second half, the Blue Streaks traded possession back and forth with the Cardinals before Floriea connected with wide receiver Devin Limerick for a 7-yard touchdown at the end of the third. 

The fourth quarter adopted a similar scoring pattern, as the first score in this period came with under three minutes left to play. 

In over a nine minute, 15 play possession, the Blue and Gold were able to get within field goal range for Gonya as he finished a 24-yard attempt, rounding out the scoring frenzy for John Carroll. 

As the clock wound down in Westerville, the scoreboard revealed a 41-17 victory for the Blue Streaks.

Floriea threw for 169 yards off of 15 completed passes, to leading receivers Coleman (50), Tadas Tararunas (27) and Brennan Fugh (25). 

Goodwin rushed for a total of 194 yards, adding three touchdowns, while Matthew Buser and Evan McVay added 64 and 59 yards, respectively. 

Tyshawn Jones and Luke Brown held down the defensive side of the field with eight tackles apiece. Ross Valenti added his name to the stats sheet with two tackles and a sack for the defense. 

“The key to success that the team and I found against Otterbein was togetherness. During that game, we played well with each other while knowing our roles and executing our job,” commented Goodwin. “The John Carroll football team has something special here, and I am glad to be a part of this team and the fantastic coaching staff.”

The Blue Streaks (1-1) will be back in action at home in University Heights on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m. to take on archrivals, the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (2-0).