'Berg Football Stumbles at John Carroll
Sophomore quarterback Andrew Miller (Dalton, Ohio / Dalton) found senior wide receiver Lucas Bauer (Huron, Ohio / Huron) in the middle of the end zone for a five-yard score to pull the Heidelberg College football team within two points of host John Carroll University with 3:13 left in the ballgame, but a failed two-point conversion gave the Blue Streaks a 17-15 Ohio Athletic Conference victory.
Miller rolled out of the pocket to the right and leaped in the air in a valiant attempt to the cross the plane of the goal line, but was hit in midair by JCU’s Mileskiewicz Bevington, dropping him just short of the two-point conversion.
The setback drops Heidelberg to 1-2 on the year and 0-2 in the OAC, while JCU improves to 2-1 overall and 1-1 against league foes.
Bauer’s score was the lone point production by either team in the fourth quarter. The Berg trailed 10-6 at the half and after trading possessions with the Blue Streaks Heidelberg pulled within 10-9 on a 20-yard field goal by Jesse Hawkins (Georgetown, Ky. / Scott County) with 5:07 to play in the third. John Carroll scored its final TD of the game on the ensuing possession to finish with 17 points on the day.
Heidelberg broke a scoreless tie in the first quarter when Miller found Dawond Roddy (Sidney, Ohio / Sidney) for a 19-yard TD reception. The point after failed as Heidelberg had a bad snap causing Hawkins to fall on the ball.
The Berg defense got off to a great start, holding the Blue Streaks to a field goal attempt on its opening drive, which missed to the left. On JCU’s second possession the Berg stood strong on the goal line, limiting its opponents to 27-yard field goal.
A Heidelberg fumble on the eight-yard line on special teams following JCU’s field goal set up an eventual eight-yard run by Rebere Sparks to give John Carroll a 10-6 lead at the break.
Heidelberg held a 302-281 advantage in total yards on the day. The Berg picked up 117 yards on the ground, while limiting JCU to just 95. It is the second time on the year that the Berg defense has kept its opponent to less than 100 rushing yards. Playing a large role on the defensive side of the ball was junior defensive tackle Matt Grieves (Huron, Ohio / Huron). For the third-straight game Grieves led the defense in tackles, picking up a season-high 12 stops, 10 of which came in the first half. It was the third-consecutive double-digit tackle game for the defensive tackle. Backing Grieves was Vaughn Klein (Galloway, Ohio / Central Crossing) and Shawn Shriver (Bellevue, Ohio / Western Reserve) with nine and six, respectively.
Offensively Miller completed 18-of-29 passes for 185 yards and two TD’s. Miller had a variety of targets on the day led by Bauer with five receptions for 52 yards and one touchdown. Snagging four catches apiece was Mike Preston (Maple Heights, Ohio / Euclid) and Roddy. Preston picked up 60 yards on the day including a 26-yard catch.
Heidelberg returns to Tiffin next week when it hosts Otterbein College under the lights at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. The game with Otterbein marks the first of two-straight at home.