Multiple records were shattered as the John Carroll Blue Streak football team routed the Capital Crusaders 90-0 at Bernlohr Stadium in Bexley, Ohio, last Saturday, Oct. 12.  

The result of the game marked the most points scored in any NCAA game this season and broke an Ohio Athletic Conference record along the way. 

The 90 points also tied a school record, previously set on Sept. 28, 1929, when John Carroll defeated Valparaiso by the same score.

“I am just really proud of our football team,” head coach Rick Finotti said after the game. “Those guys, behind the scenes — after the Mount [Union] loss — people were second guessing our guys. They didn’t take it personal. They just bonded together and went to work. 

“Like I tell my players all the time, you guys give me everything that I ask of you. Work ethic, you do a great job in the classroom, a great job in the community. Just keep putting your nose to the grindstone and it will work out.”

The Blue Streaks scored 28 points in the first half and then scored 27 points within the first six minutes of the third quarter to establish a 45-0 lead. From there, the Blue and Gold backups and reserves scored an additional 45 points.

“We always look at our offense as a working process. A working progress. We just keep getting better,” offensive coordinator Jeff Fink said. “When we are taking care of the ball early. The guys started to click a little bit more. We got a couple steps better. We just keep getting better. That result was because of the work the guys have put in over the last five weeks to get better.”

Most impressively, seven different Blue Streaks scored touchdowns, including four players that registered their first career score. Twenty-nine different players made a tackle on defense. 

The scoring started after Tyshawn Jones recorded an interception early in the first quarter, setting up junior Michael Canganelli to score his first of three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon.  

Big plays were a dime a dozen in this game for John Carroll, as Devin Limerick burst for a 55-yard touchdown run on a third down and one with 4:30 left in the first quarter. 

Limerick’s score was the only time he touched the ball in the entire first half.

After an 18-yard touchdown by Canganelli early in the second quarter, the junior scampered for the longest run of his career late in the first half as he ran 55 yards to the end zone for a career-high third touchdown.

He has now scored three touchdowns five times in his collegiate career.

It only took the Blue Streaks two plays to score as the third quarter began, as junior quarterback Jake Floriea connected with senior Evan Nugent for a 68-yard touchdown.

An Anthony Lupo field goal made it a 38-0 game and after another Limerick touchdown, and freshman running back Matthew Buser ran for his first career touchdown from 34 yards out to make it 52-0 with 7:18 remaining in the third.

More and more starters began to come out of the game, replaced by backups on both sides. This time, junior Deven Ward scored on a 30-yard run. After another Lupo field goal, sophomore defensive back Jake Bunofsky intercepted a Capital pass and took it the distance to make it a 69-0 game.  

The scoring did not stop there. Ward and Buser each rushed for another touchdown to put John Carroll ahead 83-0.

Howard Frazier put an exclamation point on the afternoon as he ran 84 yards to pay dirt for the game’s final score. With that touchdown, the Blue Streaks set the OAC record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game.

“I’m just really proud of our football team,” John Carroll head coach Rick Finotti said afterwards. “There’s so many young guys that work so hard for us and it’s great for those guys to get playing time. It’s even better when you’ve got the older guys cheering you on and coaching you up on the sideline too.”

The 90 points and 695 yards of total offense against the Crusaders were punctuated by the fact that JCU managed only 80 points in their first four games combined.

“I was happy with how we were able to execute early in the game on offense,” Blue Streaks Offensive Coordinator Jeff Fink said. “If you look at the last couple of games, we haven’t played well in the first half but played better in the second. This is the first time that we have put a complete game together.”

John Carroll is now 4-1 (3-1 OAC) and will head back home to take on the Ohio Northern Polar Bears at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. 

Capital (0-5, 0-4 OAC) will head east on the same day to take on the No. 2 team in Division III, Mount Union.