ADA, Ohio -- A career day for sophomore quarterback Ben Everson powered the Capital University football team to a 35-28 upset victory over the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears on Saturday afternoon. 

Everson, who had yet to pass for more than 150 yards in a game in his career, exploded for 351 passing yards on an 18-for-27 completion rate. In those 18 completions, four passes went for touchdowns, also a career best for the Zanesville native. 

Helping Everson's success were huge receiving performances for the likes of Kameron Lee and Aralius Walters. Lee reeled in six catches for 128 yards and touchdown, while Walters hauled in four catches for 100 yards even and an additional score. Noah Meeker has two catches for 55 yards, and Mike Smith had two catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns. 

The rush game for Capital (2-5, 1-5 OAC) also worked well, especially early on. The opening touchdown of the game came on a rush by Jonathan Williams who returned to action after dealing with an injury. Williams rushed 11 times for 45 yards and a TD. Drew Engle carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards. 

On the defensive side of the football, Capital had several players step up making plays all game long. James Curtis led the team with nine tackles, while both Malik Davis and Mike Lauofo each had seven stops of their own. Balor Appiarius had six tackles out of the Capital secondary as well. Capital also pressed the Polar Bears in their backfield all game long as the team tallied up six tackles for a loss and three huge sacks. Jack Blaisdell had a sack and two TFLs, while Matt Lauofo and Dez Turkson each had a sack and a TFL. 

After forcing ONU (4-4, 3-4) to settle for a field goal try on their opening possession -- which was missed by Dom DiFalco -- the Comets scored on their first drive of the game. On their first offensive play of the game, Everson connected with Lee on a 38-yard completion, setting the tone for the drive. A combo of short rushes from Everson and Engle picked up some yards, but the drive exploded even more as Everson hit Walters for a 30-yard completion on the fourth play of the drive. On the ONU four-yard line, Jonathan Williams found a lane to the end zone, giving Cap an early 6-0 lead. The ensuing PAT try was blocked, keeping the score at 6-0. 

The rest of the first quarter and the first Capital drive of the second quarter passed by without incident, leading to ONU's first possession of the second quarter. The Polar Bears went 10 plays for a four-yard touchdown pass from Brody Hahn to Chase Rose. DiFalco hit the PAT, putting ONU ahead. On their next two possessions, ONU found paydirt, extending their lead out to 21-6 on 32-yard and 47-yard passes from Hahn to Austin Eick. 

Trailing by 13 points, Capital worked a nice drive to cut the deficit. Once again, the drive was made by two huge link-ups between Everson and Lee and Everson and Walters. First, Everson hit Walters for a 44-yard catch, before sealing the drive on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Lee. Down 14-12, Cap called a QB keeper and Everson scampered into the end zone for the two-point conversion, bringing Cap within one score before halftime. 

Despite trailing out of halftime, the Comets didn't waver and found the end zone twice in the third period. Punting on their first two drives of the quarter, things started slow for Cap, but shorp defensive play, including a three-and-out and a fumble recovery by Zhy Perry set the Comets up for another score. After Perry's fumble recovery, Cap took over on the ONU 36. Two plays later, the Comets were in the end zone as Everson connected with Mike Smith on a 33-yard score. Once again, the Polar Bears blocked the PAT, putting the score at 21-20. 

Once again the Cap defense came up big forcing ONU on another three-and-out on their next possession. 

With the ball on their own 42-yard line, Cap had a little bit of work to do. Opening the drive, Everson found Noah Meeker for a 46-yard completion, setting the tone for Capital. A two-yard rush from Everson was then negated to a holding penalty, forcing Cap back to the tip of the red zone. The penalty didn't phase the in-form Everson as just three plays later, Everson connected with Walters for an 18-yard score. On the two-point conversion attempt, Everson passed to Sam Pickett, pushing Capital ahead 28-21 just before the fourth quarter. 

Starting the fourth quarter, the Cap defense once again stepped up and forced the Polar Bears to punt. With another opportunity on offense, the Comets put the pedal to the metal, looking to win the game convincingly. Once again, the Capital offense moved down the field on their first play of the game, this time on a 31-yard completion from Everson to Lee. A big third-and-nine conversion to Noah Meeker set the tone for the eventual game-winning touchdown. On third-and-goal, Everson connected with Mike Smith again in the end zone, pushing the lead out to 35-28. 

With 4:31 remaining in the game, Chase Rose hauled in another ONU touchdown on a seven yard pass from Trevor McConnell. 

Down by just a touchdown, the hosts attempted an onside kick that went in favor of the Comets after the ball bounced out of bounds. Right at midfield, the Comets kept the ball on the ground, trying to run out the clock. The team was successful, picking up three huge first downs along the way, eventually settling for victory formation. In the middle of the drive, however, the Comets were bailed out by a pass interference call on ONU's Elijah Harris, giving the team 15-yards and a fresh set of downs. With ONU out of timeouts, Drew Engle iced the game on a challenging seven-yard rush to the right picking up the all-important first down for Cap, leadin Everson to a pair of kneel downs to ice the game. 

Filling out the stats for Ohio Northern was a combined effort at QB. Brody Hahn started the game and was 12-for-22 for 243 yards and three TDs. Trevor McConnell was 10-for-23 for 122 yards and a score. Brock Martin rushed for just 31 yards on the ground, while the entirety of the ONU offense rushed for just 44 yards. Austin Eick was the leading receiver for the hosts with 152 yards on six catches and two touchdowns. Defensively, Josh Bever led all players with 11 tackles. 

The win for Capital was their first over Ohio Northern since the 2007 season when they defeated ONU at home by a 24-6. The 2007 Capital team was the last team to qualify for the NCAA playoffs. 
Additionally, this game marked the second time this season that Capital has held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing after they had previously accomplished the feat at Heidelberg. 

Capital out-gained the Polar Bears by a margin of 420 yards to 409. The game marked the first time in the Brian Foos era in which the team has clicked this well offensively, racking up over 400 yards of total offense. 

The Comets will look to take this momentum into next Saturday in a busy day at Bernlohr Stadium. Their next game, a 1:30 p.m. kickoff vs. Otterbein on October 30th, will be the team's Homecoming and Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Early in the morning prior to kickoff, Capital will host the induction ceremony for new Hall of Fame members Lindsay Shepherd, James Starks, Lizzy Stanton and Steven McCarthy. Additionally, the team will be battling crosstown rivals, Otterbein in a battle for the Oars -- a reignited tradition this year between the two schools. It will be a fun-filled weekend with several families, alumni, and friends all participating to make it an enjoyable time for all.