The wind and rain did not stop the Blue Streaks last Saturday as they ran through the Ohio Northern Polar Bears by a score of 44-14, improving to 5-1 (5-0 OAC) on the year.
The Blue Streaks offense started the day hot despite the cold conditions, with scores on the first four drives of the game. Evan McVay ‘25 rushed for 59 yards on the first drive alone and Mason Sullivan ‘25 tore off a long 84-yard run late in the first quarter, highlighting the strength of the Blue Streak backfield.
Head Coach Jeff Behrman ’95 dove into his bag of tricks early and often, scoring the first two Blue Streak touchdowns by way of the Wildcat formation. Jon Tomcufcik ‘24 and McVay are each lining up under center and running into the end zone themselves.
Early in the second quarter, Dorian Facen, Jr. ‘27 hauled in a 62-yard deep pass to bring the ball to the Ohio Northern two-yard line, with Quincy Newsome ‘27 finishing the job by rushing for the remaining two yards.
On defense, John Carroll held Ohio Northern on the downs where it mattered the most, coming in clutch to only give up 75 yards and force two punts, a turnover on downs, and a fumble recovery on Ohio Northern’s first four drives.
Ohio Northern began to gain momentum late into the first half and would score on a three-yard touchdown pass with under a minute remaining in the half, resulting in a halftime score of 27-7 in favor of the Blue Streaks.
The Polar Bears came out of halftime riding the momentum from the first half, putting together a 12-play, 70-yard drive that narrowed the John Carroll lead to just 13 points.
John Carroll quickly regained its footing, not allowing Ohio Northern to score again.JCU also held to only three total yards for the remainder of the game in a stunning show of defensive dominance. The Blue Streaks held onto the ball for over nine minutes of the fourth quarter, ending the long drive with a field goal to ice the game, cementing the final score of John Carroll winning 41-14.
Joe Collins (Graduate Student) was not afraid to air the ball out, throwing for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day, with three different receivers (Dorian Facen Jr. ‘27, Tyler Mintz ‘24, Brennan Fugh (Graduate Student) each finding the end zone.
Mason Sullivan ‘25 ended the day with a career-high 119 yards, and McVay ran for a season-best 143 yards in the game. The wet and slippery conditions allowed the running game to thrive, leading to the first game with multiple JCU rushers over 100 yards since the end of 2022.
The Blue Streaks return to the field on Saturday, traveling to Bexley to take on Capital University.