WESTERVILLE -- For the 10th straight season, the Rhine River Cup will reside in Tiffin.
Methodical in its approach, the Heidelberg University Football team blanked rival Otterbein, 38-0, in the 34th rendition of the traveling trophy series.
To preserve the shutout, the 'Berg defense had a goal-line stand and forced two red zone turnovers.
Heidelberg outgained Otterbein, 449-261.
Otterbein drove the length of the field on the game's opening possession, but a third down pass was batted in the air by
Tyler Jackson and caught by
Mason Villarreal.
After the teams traded punts, Heidelberg got on the board first with a 20-yard touchdown scamper by
Drew Miller -- his first of the season.
Fulton Krupp added the PAT, giving HU a 7-0 lead late in the first.
Midway through the second, Otterbein had first-and-goal from the 'Berg seven. The Tricolor defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs at the two.
On the ensuing possession, Miller broke off runs of 22 and 44 yards to put HU in prime position. Backup quarterback
Lance Rickle entered and pushed the Student Princes for the final 17 yards into the end zone. Rickle pushed the pile from three yards out, putting HU up two scores.
Heidelberg led at halftime, 14-0.
HU took the second half kick and needed four plays to find paydirt. The drive started with a 23-yard pass from
Alex Arledge to
Aiden Bradshaw down the left sideline. On 3rd-and-2,
Shae Sparks broke off a 35-yard touchdown run.
Following a three-and-out, The Berg continued to press forward. The Tricolor converted on 3rd-and-10 and a 4th-and-3, setting up Rickle for a 1-yard tush-push.
A
Gryffin Bradley 27-yard field goal gave Heidelberg a 31-0 lead early in the fourth.
The Cardinals found the red zone again, but once again came away empty handed – literally.
Gage Stemen popped the ball loose and
Austin Niederkohr scooped it up for a modest return. The offense converted the turnover into a touchdown on a one-yard plunge from
Luke Blatnik.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Miller finished with 133 yards, his 10th career game with 100+ yards … The shutout was Heidelberg's first since the opening game of the 2022 season -- a 31-0 win over Adrian … Heidelberg's last shutout of Otterbein came in 2012. Both teams entered ranked No. 25 in the D3football.com Top 25, and HU won, 21-0.
UP NEXT:
Heidelberg travels to Mount Union next week to take on the Purple Raiders. Kickoff in Alliance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
