COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On an afternoon where it looked like the Capital University football team was on the front foot, troubling the No. 22 ranked John Carroll University Blue Streaks, costly momentum swings proved to be the difference in a 38-7 loss. 

Capital (1-4, 0-4 OAC), got going in the game right away. After captain Nick Fisanick won the opening coin toss, John Carroll started with the ball. On the very first play, JCU quarterback Jake Floriea threw an interception right to Fisanick where the junior linebacker returned it to the John Carroll 38-yard line, setting up the Comet offense with a short field. In great position, Capital marched down the field in eight plays to find the end zone and capture a 7-0 lead in the game. 

The drive was largely pushed forward by 17 yards rushing from Drew Engle. Facing a 3rd-and-14 play, the Comets came up with a great play to find pay dirt. QB Ben Everson, returning to the starting lineup for the first time since week one, found freshman Ben Zerby on a slant pass. Zerby, who made a nice jumping grab, ducked under a tackle and scampered his way into the endzone on a 14-yard play. The TD was the first of Zerby's career in Purple and White. It was also Everson's second passing score of the season.  

From there, JCU tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter on a rushing score from Mathew Buser. 

In the second quarter of action, John Carroll threatened. After Capital was stopped on 4th-and-1, the Blue Streaks found themselves at the Capital one-yard line, threatening to take the lead. With a fresh set of downs, Capital's defense held strong, stopping JCU on four straight plays to keep the game tied. First, Jack Blaisdell and Kobe Swackhammer each had a solo tackle on Matthew Buser for no gain. On third down, Dez Turkson tackled tight end Tadas Tatarunas for a loss of one. On fourth down, John Carroll looked to pass from Floriea. The Comets were up for the task and swarmed Floriea back to the 20-yard line where Mike Lauofo was there for the big-time sack. The play looked to swing a great sense of momentum in Capital's favor. 

On the next Capital drive, the offense came out swinging. Everson connected on a 54-yard pass to Noah Meeker for a big gain, looking to set the team on their way to another score just before halftime. After a Drew Engle three-yard rush, the Comets faltered on a backward pass, thus fumbling the ball away to JCU's Tyshawn Jones, swinging all the positive momentum right back in favor of the Blue Streaks. 

John Carroll capitalized on that swing of momentum and took just three plays to find the go-ahead score on a 40-yard touchdown reception from Brennan Fugh. 

Capital had time in the first half to get back some momentum as on their next drive, they ended up trying for a 43-yard field goal. The attempt was blocked by JCU's Nick Costanzo and once again deflated the Capital momentum right before the intermission. 

Out of halftime, the Blue Streaks flexed their muscles and showed why they have been ranked in the top-25 all season by scoring 24 second-half points to secure a 38-7 win. 

In all, Ben Everson had a decent day throwing the football as he passed for 111 yards and a TD on eight completions. In the receiving game, Noah Meeker led the team with three catches for 76 yards. Mike Smith and Drew Engle combined for four catches and 21 yards, while Ben Zerby accounted for the other completion on his 14-yard touchdown. 

Rushing the ball, Drew Engle was the go-to man as he picked up a net of 34 yards on 10 attempts. Everson gained 41 yards, but was tackled for a loss of 30 yards in the rush, thus giving him 11 net yards on the ground. Lance Matthews rushed for a net gain of 18 yards. 

Defensively, Nick Fisanick led the team with nine solo tackles and the interception on the opening play of the game. The defensive line wreaked havoc on the Blue Streaks accounting for 10 tackles for a loss and five sacks. Mike Lauofo who had eight tackles in the game had a sack for an 18-yard loss, while Dez Turkson had two sacks for a loss of nine yards. Matt Lauofo (13 yards) and and Kobe Swackhammer (five yards) accounted for the other two sacks. 

Malik Davis and Chad Davis each had a pass break-up in the secondary for Capital. 

On John Carroll's defense, three players had five tackles each as Tyshawn Jones, Luke Brown, Daniel Gracar each had five stops. Jake Bunofsky and Elijah Chungu each had an interception for the Blue Streaks. 

Offensively for JCU, Jake Floriea passed for 307 yards, 242 of which went the direction of Brennan Fugh. Evan McVay led all rushers with a net gain of 193 yards on the ground. Matthew Buser rushed for 60 yards as well. 

The road for the Comets continues to stay tough as the team will travel to Alliance, Ohio next Saturday to face the No. 4 ranked University of Mount Union. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.