The Wilmington College football team had Ohio Northern score on eight straight possessions en route to the 52-10 loss on a seasonably warm, yet windy Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium in Ohio Athletic Conference play.
"I thought we played and fought hard," said head coach Stacey Hairston. "We didn't quit. Ohio Northern is a well-coached football team. You can't make mistakes and overcome them against a team like that. I am proud the guys fought hard. No matter the score, we have to fight to the last seconds on the clock.
"It goes back to consistency," Hairston continued. "We have two plays where we look good, and then two plays when we look bad. It's a growing process to maintain the level."
It marked the final home game for eight seniors, Brandon Arehart (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington), Aaron Day (Cincinnati, OH/Walnut Hills), Donnie Ary (Jamestown, OH/Greeneview), Trevor Hooker (New Port Richey, FL/River Ridge), Antonio Turner (Gahanna, OH/Lincoln), Stephen Donoghue (Liberty Twp, OH/Lakota East), Chris Ferguson (Springfield, OH/North) and Kyle Akers (Sabina, OH/East Clinton).
After falling behind 17-0, Wilmington got on the board as freshman Grant Brown (Stoutsville, OH/Stoutsville) connected on a 27-yard field goal. The field goal capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive for the Fightin' Quakers.
The Fightin' Quakers capped the scoring with 2:17 remaining in the game when back-up quarterback Austin Jarbo (Gratis, OH/Preble Shawnee) threw a 12-yard pass to Zach Cooper (Mount Pleasant, OH/Connellsville).
Arehart finished the game 13-of-30 for 177 yards and one interception. Jarbo was 4-of-6 for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Cooper hauled in a team-high five receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown, while Tyler Tarnowski (Brecksville, OH/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) had a team-high 58 yards receiving. Josh Duncan (Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller), the league's leading receiver had four catches for 41 yards.
Zak Kruer (Miamisburg, OH/Miamisburg) recorded 43 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Defensively, Day finished with a career-high 18 tackles with one for loss. The league's leading tackler, Tarrell Starckey (Richmond, VA/Highland Springs) added 16 tackles, two for loss, one sack and a forced fumble.
R.J. Zygarkowski (New Port Richey, FL/RIver Ridge) recorded the first interception by a defensive back this season.
Wilmington (0-9 overall, 0-8 OAC) travels to Capital 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the season finale.
