On Saturday, Oct. 5, the John Carroll University football team blew out the candles from the Hall of Fame celebration and homecoming weekend with a 31-10 win over the Muskingum Muskies.

The game started out as a defensive standstill, with neither team able to score a touchdown in the first quarter or muster up much offense. Still, the Blue Streak defense came up big.

Sophomore defensive back Nate Leopold put the Blue and Gold on the board with a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown.

In the second quarter, the Blue Streaks extended their lead courtesy of a field goal from sophomore kicker Anthony Lupo, which increased the score to 10-0.

The Muskies responded quickly, scoring a touchdown of their own.

Heading into the third quarter, the Muskies continued to chip into the JCU lead, converting on a field goal to tie the game at 10.

The Blue Streak offense then began to establish itself at the halfway point through the quarter, as junior quarterback Jake Floriea found sophomore wide receiver Keyshawn Colmon on on a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Once the Blue and Gold took the lead again, they never looked back.

Junior running back Michael Canganelli took the team home, scoring the next two touchdowns to put the game out of reach. 

“It took a little bit for our offense to get going,” Floriea told The Carroll News. “Once we found our stride, we felt like we started playing well.”

One of the most encouraging signs for JCU was the play of the offense in the second half against Muskingum. However, Floriea credited the Blue Streak defense for the offense’s production.

“Our defense played really well again,” he said. “They put the offense in a great position the whole game.”

Even with a win the Blue Streaks still know they have a lot to work on. 

“We still have a lot of work to do and we haven’t shown our full potential yet,” Canganelli said. “I’m really excited to see how we do against Capital next week.”

Floriea hopes that the team’s performance against Muskingum can be a turning point.

“We need to take that momentum and roll with it the rest of the season,” he said.

The Blue Streaks will look to carry that momentum to the next game as they face OAC opponent Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, on Saturday, Oct. 12.