The 2011 Ohio Athletic Conference season will kick off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when Wilmington College travels to Bexley to face the Capital Crusaders.

After a bye week, both teams will be looking for win number one this week. The Quakers dropped a 26-16 decision to Mount St. Joseph on Sept. 3 while Capital fell to No. 20 Wittenberg, 45-28.

"I thought our players really gave it all they had against Mount St. Joseph," Wilmington head coach Ken Minor said. "We just kind of ran out of gas at the end of the game. They were much deeper than we were, and that took its toll on us. Capital played well against a very good Wittenberg team. If they hadn't self destructed a couple times in the red zone, that game could have had a different outcome."

Sophomore quarterbacks will lead each squad into battle at Bernlohr Stadium. Ryan Kremchek passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns against Wittenberg while Brandon Arehart (Wilmington) passed for 98 yards against MSJ — 97 of which went to classmate Kyle Blakeman (Wilmington), who also hauled in a TD catch.

"Kremchek had a nice game. He completed 11 passes to Ryan Williams. They are a good combination," Minor said. "For us, Brandon is key. As he goes, we go, offensively. Both teams really lean on their young quarterbacks."

Junior running back Tyrell Richardson (Columbus/Centennial) will be making a homecoming of sorts after rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown in the opener.

"Tyrell always runs hard. We had a couple breakdowns on the offensive line, which prevented his numbers from being better. He's very excited about this game because he gets to go back to the Columbus area. We play at Capital and Otterbein this year, so he realizes that these are the last times he is going to play in his home city," Minor said.

Wilmington's defense played well in a losing effort against Mount St. Joseph. The Quakers got fumble recoveries from safety Alex Brandt (Sanford, NC/Lee County) and linebacker Matt McFadden (Sabina/East Clinton) while junior linebacker Ben Dunahue (Kenton) had an interception and forced a safety.

The play up front of Donnie Ary (Jamestown/Greeneview), Aaron Day (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) and Kody Brentlinger (Zanesfield/Benjamin Logan) caught the coach's eye.

"We were pleasantly surprised by their play," Minor said. "We knew that Donnie was solid, but both of our ends just did a fantastic job. A couple of the guys who subbed in for them also did a good job. We hope that continues for the entire year."

Capital, Minor said, has athletes like senior linebacker Troy Spiker across the defensive set.

"Spiker is a great football player," Minor said. "They have a solid front line, very good linebackers and good athletes in the secondary. There just isn't anyone out there who stands out as a weak link. It is a typical solid Capital squad."

The Crusaders edged Wilmington, 10-7, last season in a game that filled the jar with would-have-beens and could-have-beens.

"We remember that game more than any game last year," Minor said. "There was a play where we thought we had recovered a fumble, but didn't get the call. They went on to kick the winning field goal. It was a hard game to stomach. It just reminded us of the importance of every play and the importance of playing your hardest on every play."