Shutout wins by 44 and 45 points have become almost routine for the John Carroll University Blue Streaks. For the fourth time this season, the Blue and Gold scored 44 or more points on Saturday Oct. 6 and, for the second time this season, JCU earned a shutout.

The Blue Streaks cruised to a 44–0 win against the the Capital Crusaders in the annual homecoming game, improving to 4–1 overall on the season and 3–1 in the conference. JCU has extended its winning streak to nine games over the Crusaders, scoring 48, 56, 48, 71 and 54 points in the previous five matchups.

Sophomore running back Mike Canganelli started the game out on the right foot, racing 41 yards on the opening play of the game.

“I feel good with the way Mike has been playing,” said head coach Rick Finotti after the game.

Canganelli rushed for a career-high 160 yards, collecting a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the match. He has 590 all-purpose yards in 2018, with five total touchdowns.

Following Canganelli’s run, the John Carroll offense finished driving down the field 16 yards, setting up senior Matt Danko for a 26-yard field goal. It was a chip shot for Danko, as he kicked the Blue Streaks into a 3–0 lead at the 11:53 mark in the opening quarter.

Surprisingly, it took the Blue and Gold 20:20 to make their mark on the scoreboard once again. Danko lined up for a 49 yard field goal try, nailing it down the middle. Danko’s 49-yard field goal was a career long. The kick put Danko at 10th in all-time in career points as a Blue Streak.

It took a while for senior quarterback Anthony Moeglin to get going but, once he did, he was solid. Moeglin led JCU’s first touchdown drive near the end of the second half, capping the series off with a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior Danny Disbrow.

Moeglin threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns, completing 12 passes. He notched 500 career completions as a Blue Streak and 6,000 career total yards on offense, both highly impressive marks.

The second half provided a spark in scoring for the Blue Streaks following a 16–0 first half. The Blue and Gold went on to outscore Capital 28–0 in the second half.

With 16 seconds on the clock in the third quarter, Moeglin found junior Evan Nugent 38 yards for a touchdown score. The pass came on 4th-and-12, a gutsy play call.

The Blue Streaks defense was unstoppable once again. JCU forced -18 rushing yards, eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss. The defensive line combined for 5.5 sacks, including one sack from senior Ray Brown. Brown is now third all-time in career sacks with 22 in his career.

“They work relentlessly and non-stop,” Finotti said of the defensive line.

Senior Adam Thompson had another career game, totaling a team-high 2.5 sacks and six tackles, good for second best on the team. Through five games, Thompson leads the team in tackles (25), is second on the team in sacks (5.0), and third on the team in tackles for loss (5.0).

JCU has a gauntlet of a schedule to close out the 2018 season. They will face Ohio Northern (4–1), Marietta (5–0), Wilmington (0–4), Heidelberg (2–2), and Baldwin Wallace (3–1) in their final five games. The Blue and Gold will especially be looking to get wins against Ohio Northern and Heidelberg, as losses against those two teams last season destroyed playoff aspirations.