FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)

AFTER WEEK THREE ...
Once again, the Heidelberg University football team defended The Castle and fired the cannons en route to a resounding 55-6 win over the Capital University Crusaders this past Saturday.

A balanced offense lead by Offensive Coordinator Jason Lewis put up 682 yards of total offense, including 300 in the air and 382 on the ground.

Throwing the ball, Jimmy Gephart accounted on all 300 yards on just 11 completions, while also going for four touchdowns. Gephart's touchdowns connected with Maceo Matthews, Dimitri Penick and Keivon Belcher twice. Penick's two receptions totaled 116 yards, including an 85-yard score.

Rushing the ball, Tayy Yearby rushed for a blistering 182 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carriers. Branden Short totaled 91 yards on 11 attempts before being removed through injury.

On special teams, Brandon Steckel was a perfect seven-for-seven on PATs and was two-for-two on field goal tries.

Defensively, Tramon Wiley picked off a pass for the third consecutive game and the fourth time this season. Tyler Matuszak and Patrick McCarthy each had eight total tackles to lead the team, while Verondtae Wilkinson contributed three tackles for a loss.

Baldwin Wallace was swallowed up by No. 2 Mount Union on Saturday by a final score of 45-7. BW's most effective attack was through the air where AJ Miller threw for 215 yards. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, Miller also threw two interceptions. Jon Murray Jr. was responsible for the lone BW touchdown on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets did force two fumbles and recovered both from the Purple Raiders. On the tackling, Josh Liberati led the way with nine total stops.

AROUND THE LEAGUE ...
For the first time all season, all 10 OAC schools were in conference action on the same day this past week.

No. 2 Mount Union brushed aside Baldwin Wallace, 45-7. D'Angelo Fulford threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns for the Purple Raiders.

No. 14 John Carroll struggled on offense, but managed a 14-7 victory over Otterbein. A 33-yard passing score from Jake Floriea to Keyshawn Colmon was the difference in the third quarter.

Wilmington knocked off Ohio Northern 42-38 for their first win over the Polar Bears in 25 years. In the drama filled game, Kyle Barret threw an eight-yard pass to Itika Wynn Jr. with just 28 seconds remaining for the winning score.

Marietta defended home field with a 31-25 win over Muskingum. Tanner Clark rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries for the Pioneers.

Heidelberg brushed aside Capital 55-6 behind 682 yards of total offense. Tayy Yearby rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns while Jimmy Gephart threw for 300 yards and four scores.

In week four, Capital and Marietta will take their bye weeks. Heidelberg will travel to BW, Wilmington will visit Muskingum, John Carroll will host Mount Union and Ohio Northern will stay home to play Otterbein.

EVERY PASS BEGINS WITH J
• Senior QB Jimmy Gephart has four career starts ... and has thrown for 4+ touchdowns in three of them
• Gephart is the first Berg QB to go 4-0 in his first four starts since at least the 2000 season

MAYBE HE'S BORN WITH IT. MAYBE IT'S MACEO
• Junior WR Maceo Matthews had his fourth straight game with a TD grab
• In last four games, he has 476y and eight TDs

HEIDELBERG RUNS ON BRANDEN
• Junior RB Branden Short seemed to be bruising and cruising his way to another 100+ yard game, but exited when HU built a commanding first half lead
• Short has three career 100+yd games
• This season, Short is averaging 5.36 yards and a cloud of turf pellets per rush

CAN YOU YEARBY NOW? GOOD.
• Freshman RB Tayy Yearby set a career high with 182 yards rushing -- on a mere 10 carries
• The Florida native reeled off runs of 73 and 59 yards against the Crusaders

WHAT CAN BLACKiston DO FOR YOU?
• Sophomore DL/LB Zach Blackiston continued to be a handful, picking up 2.5 TFLs against Capital
• Blackiston has a sack in 10 of his 13 games in college

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS
• CB Tramon Wiley -- a former WR who switched over to defense this summer -- has interceptions in all three games this season
• Wiley is first HU player with a pick in three consecutive games since safety Tyler Levanduski accomplished the feat in 2010

THE KICKER PICKER UPPER
• Freshman kicker Branden Steckel earned OAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after he kicked two field goals and seven PATs vs. CAP
• Steckel has hit on 19-of-20 PATs this season

THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE RETURNS.
• Capital kicked off twice on Saturday -- the first was a failed surprise onside kick to begin the game ... The second was returned by Maceo Matthews for 28 yards
• Heidelberg only has four returns on the season ... and leads the nation with a 44-yard average

FAIR AND BALANCED
• HU is second in the nation in total offense
• Among the top 10 schools in total offense, HU is by far the most run/pass balanced
• 51.5% of Heidelberg's offense has been through the air, while 48.5% has come on the ground

LAST TIME vs. BW
• Penalties at inopportune moments hampered Heidelberg in a 34-10 loss
• Keivon Belcher hauled in a 66-yard TD reception on HU's second play of the game
• BW was 8-of-13 (61.5%) on 3rd Down ... Heidelberg was 4-of-18 (12.5)