John Carroll vs. Heidelberg football: Blue Streaks' defense dominates in 24-7 win
Sep. 24—Heads up, John Carroll football fans — the Blue Streaks defense is pretty darn good.
The unit was on display Sept. 24 against No. 19 Heidelberg in a dominant 24-7 Ohio Athletic Conference victory at Don Shula Stadium.
Since beginning the season with a 35-26 loss at Washington and Jefferson, JCU has allowed two touchdowns — one each to Heidelberg and Baldwin Wallace the last two weeks.
.@JCUFootball D gets stop on 4th down @jcusports pic.twitter.com/7WRPF65eBP
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
The Student Princes entered undefeated at 3-0 and had scored at least 30 points in those games. But the Blue Streaks stifled that unit for most of the day. Heidelberg had just 105 yards of offense on 43 plays from scrimmage.
"The goal is to keep stacking on top of this because the games are only going to get harder," said JCU defensive end Bricker Thiel, who led his team with six tackles, 1.5 for loss and half-sack.
The win Sept. 24 capped a difficult stretch against three solid teams, including two of the upper-tier teams in the OAC in BW and Heidelberg.
"The execution has improved. The tackling has improved," said JCU interim head coach Drew Nystrom. "We've taken care of the ball."
After turning the ball over four times in a season-opening loss at Washington and Jefferson, the Blue Streaks have zero turnovers the last two games.
TD @JCUFootball on 5-yard catch by @tadas_tatarunas and JCU leads @BergAthletics 14-7, q2 3:19 @jcusports #d3fb pic.twitter.com/jgn2uz1dKm
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
Offensively, that ball protection starts with QB Joe Collins, who had an efficient day. He was 20 of 27 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Both TD passes went for 5 yards — one to tight end Tadas Tatarunas of Mentor and the other to wide receiver Brennan Fugh.
TD Brennan Fugh late Q3 and @JCUFootball leads No. 22 @BergAthletics 21-7 @jcusports pic.twitter.com/bPZYPbKg5Y
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
"Coach Nystrom was on us to play our A game," said Fugh. "Today, I think we played pretty well."
Said Nystrom about his team's defensive performance: "They're playing lights out. They're playing fast, playing hard. Really proud of those guys rallying to football."
For Tatatrunas, it was third TD of the season. He's scored in all three JCU games this season. Fugh had a huge game with eight receptions for a 113 yards — including two acrobatic catches along the sideline. As good as Fugh was on this day, he realizes and appreciates how dominant his team's defense was against the Student Princes.
TD set up by this sweet catch by Fugh @JCUFootball @jcusports #d3fb pic.twitter.com/lb445SVuia
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
"Our defense is really good," said Fugh. "They come up and make big plays when they need to."
The game was a defensive struggle in the first half. Running back Demerius Goodwin (18 carries, 54 yards) capped a seven-minute drive that took 14 plays and covered 77 yards with a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Two third down catches on drive by Fugh and @JCUFootball has it at Berg 5 pic.twitter.com/sQtmQrdx0W
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
Heidelberg (3-1, 2-1 OAC) responded early in the second with its best drive of the game (eight plays, 66 yards) and tied the game at 7-7 on Montavious Yearby's 4-yard TD.
Late in the second, the Blue Steaks (2-1, 2-0 OAC) responded with another long drive — 15 plays, 86 yards in 8 minutes, 26 seconds — capped by Tatarunas' TD and it was 14-7.
TD run Goodwin, @JCUFootball leads @BergAthletics 7-0, 4:39 remaining q1 #d3fb pic.twitter.com/nuuxfEQOsw
— Mark Podolski (@mpodo) September 24, 2022
"There is not a better feeling than moving a team against their will," said Nystrom on his team's long drives. "Our guys fed on that, took on that."
It stayed 14-7 until late in the third quarter when another sustained drive (12 plays, 57 yards) was finished off by Collins' TD throw to Fugh.
JCU had 304 yards on offense. Running back Evan McVay rushed for 91 yards on 24 attempts, and receiver Joey Torok of Kirtland chipped in with five receptions for 35 yards.
Heidelberg's struggles on offense could be pointed to an inability to stretch the field. Drew Sims completed 12 of 19 passes but for just 73 yards. His longest pass was 18 yards. The Student Princes' leading rusher Montavious Yearby was limited to 37 yards on 12 carries.
"The guys are ecstatic. We're going to enjoy this," said Thiel.
