John Carroll’s football team has won their last four homecoming games, with many notable performances in these games.
One of the Blue Streaks’ most dominant performances ever came in their 2023 homecoming game against Wilmington College. They won 59-7. quarterback Joe Collins ‘23 shined in the win. He finished the game with two passing touchdowns, 267 yards through the air and only four incompletions.
Collins was also very productive in his final two seasons, throwing for over 2200 yards and 25 passing touchdowns in each. He finished his career as a Blue Streak with a 69% completion percentage. In 2023, JCU finished with a record of 8-2.
When thinking about the Blue Streaks’ Passing game, it’s hard to forget about wide receiver Brennan Fugh ‘23. His performance in the 2022 homecoming game versus Heidelberg University was memorable, to say the least. He finished with eight receptions, 113 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown and helped lead the team to defeat Heidelberg 24-7. The Blue Streaks finished their 2022 season 8-2.
Fugh’s best season was in 2021. He finished with 1114 receiving yards, 65 receptions and seven touchdowns, ending his career with a total of 2768 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.
However, in this year’s homecoming game, the defense took the spotlight. On Sept. ___the Blue Streaks faced off against Baldwin Wallace University Linebacker Tyler Thimons had 14 total tackles with one and a half of his tackles being for a loss. This year, JCU has struggled to stop the run. But over the past few games, they have turned a corner with their run defense. If they want to keep that up, Thimons will have to continue his high level of play. This season Thimons has already totaled 49 tackles, his season high for a game is 14.
Stopping JCU’s run attack was difficult for Muskingum University in the 2021 homecoming game. Matthew Buser had a big game in their 29-7 win, finishing with 111 rushing yards on only 11 carries. He also made it to the endzone twice.
Busser had multiple seasons where he missed three games, but when he played he made his presence known. In 2023 played five games and averaged 50 yards per game. He finished the year with 251 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging four yards per carry. JCU finished 7-3 on the season.
