Photo Courtesy of John Swartzel
(WILMINGTON, Ohio) – The Wilmington College football team fell in their final game of the 2023 season Saturday afternoon at home in Williams Stadium, 38-14. They end their season with a record of 3-7 overall and 2-7 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). It was Senior Day for the Quakers as 25 seniors, along with a student coach were honored before the start of the contest.
The Quakers struggled offensively in the first quarter, as the Polar Bears jumped out to a 10-0 advantage after the first 15 minutes. Ohio Northern took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.
After a pair of short drives by each team, the Quakers got the ball in good field position at their 47-yard line. A 15-play drive ensued for Wilmington, resulting in their first score of the day to make it 17-7. The drive consisted of big plays of eight yards to Saa'lih Muhammed and 13-yards to Bryan Kearse along with a key holding penalty on Ohio Northern to keep the drive alive. Senior Derek Larimer would eventually find Najee Dade for the four-yard score.
The Polar Bears would score on their next drive to push it to 24-7, which would be the halftime score. A long Quakers drive to the Polar Bears 28-yard line fizzled out early in the third quarter, before the Quakers forced and recovered a huge fumble to give them the football at the Ohio Northern 32-yard line. Five plays later and Muhammed was standing in the endzone after a 17-yard pitch and catch from Larimer made the score 24-14. The next drive for the Polar Bears was a momentum shifter. The Quakers had the Polar Bears at third down and four at their own 36-yard line, but a 64-yard touchdown followed as Brennon Norris found Evan Tekancic, who ran down the left sideline to make it 31-14.
The Polar Bears would score again to make the score 38-14 with 7:32 remaining in the contest. The Quakers wouldn't threaten to score again for the rest of the game.
Notables
- Derek Larimer broke Adam Ryan's 23-year-old single-season passing touchdowns record this afternoon, as he came into the game tied with Ryan at 34 and slinged his 35th and 36th of the season to set the new record.
- Nehemiah Jenkins ran for 89 yards on 26 carries.
- Bryan Kearse led the receivers with eight catches and 67 yards, while Saa'lih Muhammed caught four passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.
- Zac Schmidt made a career-high 17 tackles (six solo, 11 assisted) in the game, giving him five games this season with double-digit tackles. He also picked up his fifth interception of the season and third in the last two games.
- Jarod Lee made 10 tackles (seven solo, three assisted) in the game, while Joey Weikel had nine tackles (six solo, three assisted).
What's Up Next
This concludes the Quakers 2023 season, as they will return to Williams Stadium next fall for their 2024 campaign.
