Sophomore running back Chase Manica rushed for a career-high 158 yards on 13 carries, but Baldwin Wallace rattled off 42 unanswered points in posting the 56-17 victory over the Wilmington College football team Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Williams Stadium.
Manica (Shelbyville, KY/Shelby County) did the bulk of his damage in the first half, gaining 156 of his yards in the first two quarters. He only rushed three times in the second half due to an injury. Junior Kyle Davis (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) picked up the slack, gaining 80 of his career-high 90 yards in the second half.
"We felt coming into the game, with a freshman starting at quarterback, we had to run the ball to help him out," said Wilmington head coach Stacey Hairston. "Our lack of being effective throwing the ball hurt us."
Freshman Brandon Mitchell (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel), in his first career start, threw for 89 yards on 9-of-20 passing with one touchdown and one interception. He started slowing, misfiring on his first seven attempts, but rebounded to complete nine of his last 13 passes.
"A freshman getting his first start, I am assuming there were some jitters," said Hairston. "We tried to keep things simple, but sometimes they start thinking too much. Sometimes as a freshman, especially at the quarterback position, once you start thinking you much – it hurts you more than it helps."
Freshman Tyrik Burns (Newport News, VA/Denbign) hauled in five passes for 59 yards and his first career touchdown.
Manica gave Wilmington the lead going 87 yards on WC's first play of its second possession.
However, the Yellow Jackets scored on its next three possessions to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room. BW took its first drive of the second half 43 yards for a score, and then recorded a defensive and special teams score to double its scoring output for the 42-7 advantage.
"It doesn't come down to our opponent," Hairston said of the miscues. "BW is a good team, they fly around and put some pressure on you. But it comes down to us. We continue to go through our growing pains. We are showing glimpses of what we can be, but we are not good enough to overcome our mistakes."
Junior Nick Williams (Cleveland, OH/Fairview) finished with 10 tackles, marking the fifth time in six games he recorded double-figure tackles. He added a sack and a pass break-up. The other two starting linebackers, junior Tarrell Starckey (Richmond, VA/Highland Springs) and freshman David Branham Jr. (Cable, OH/West Liberty-Salem) finished with eight tackles each.
"We are very deep at linebacker position, they are leaders of the defense," said Hairston.
Wilmington (0-6 overall, 0-5) travels to No. 3 Mount Union 1:30 p.m. Saturday for another Ohio Athletic Conference game. The Purple Raiders moved to 6-0 with a 58-17 victory over Heidelberg.
