A pair of Muskingum touchdowns provided the bookends for an Ohio Athletic Conference defensive battle as the visiting Muskies rained on Wilmington's Homecoming festivities, 14-3, at Williams Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Wilmington is now 0-3 in the OAC, 0-4 overall. Muskingum moves to 3-0 in the conference, 4-0 for the season.

"We are a young football team. We lost 17 seniors from last year's team, most of whom were starters," Wilmington head coach Ken Minor said. "This is pretty much a fresh team from the beginning. When you consider that we have had chances to win three of our four games against outstanding football teams, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic."

The Muskies, coming off a 27-7 win over then-No. 9 Ohio Northern Sept. 24, returned the opening kickoff to the Wilmington 46-yard line and methodically marched downfield to take a 7-0 lead.

Wilmington played against a tilted field most of the first half, the victim of unrelenting field position woes. But the Quakers' defense slammed the door on Muskingum to keep Wilmington close.

The Quakers took a 66-yard journey late in the first half, a drive that was fueled by a 30-yard pass from Brandon Arehart (Wilmington) to Stephen Donoghue (Liberty Township/Lakota East). When the drive hit a red-zone stall, Max Gabbard (Waynesville) drilled a 24-yard field goal that sent the game to the break with the Quakers trailing, 7-3.

"We felt good about things at the half," Minor said. "We knew that we were competing with them. They are a very good football team and we had some success against them on both sides of the ball."

Wilmington's defense turned in a pair of key third-quarter plays to kill Muskingum threats. Linebacker Darian McGee (Dallas, Texas/Duncanville) picked off a Muskingum pass at the Wilmington 6 and cornerback Joe Joe Knecht (Lancaster) intercepted a pass at the Quakers' 23.

"I have to give a lot of credit to defensive coordinator Mark Lane and his staff. They really had our men prepared for this game," Minor said. "Muskingum scored 27 points against Ohio Northern, so I think our defensive effort today speaks volumes about how well prepared our guys were."

Wilmington also found hitting enemy territory easier than finding the end zone. The Quakers moved the ball to the Muskingum side of midfield three times in the second half, but each drive ended with empty hands.

"We are very young on offense and Muskingum's strength is their defense. That combination worked against us," Minor said. "I think we are getting better, but the caliber of competition narrows the margin for error. If you make mistakes against teams like Muskingum, they will make you pay."

The Muskies used a short field late in the fourth quarter to drive 45 yards to take a 14-3 lead.

Knecht led the Quakers with eight tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Linebackers Antwoine Shelton (Dallas, Texas/Duncanville) and Matt McFadden (Sabina/East Clinton) had 10 stops apiece.

Arehart passed for 174 yards, with Kyle Blakeman (Wilmington) on the receiving end six times for 43 yards.

Wilmington will remain at home next Saturday when the John Carroll Blue Streaks visit for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.