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WILMINGTON, Ohio – Capital University Football entered Williams Stadium ready for a battle on Friday night. They delivered. In his first game leading the Purple and White, Head Coach Brian Foos and the Crusaders found success on both sides of the ball and provided a thrill in Wilmington. However, the Wilmington College Fightin' Quakers used a 99-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to overcome Capital and defend its castle. CU came up just short, 26-21, in its season opener.
 

SPORTING DEFENSE EARLY
The Quakers and the Crusaders showed flashes of good defense early and both sides combined for just 109 yards of total offense. Wilmington sacked quarterback Luke McCarrell twice in the opening quarter, leading to Cap's low total and rushing yards count.

Capital junior Aralius Walters induced the team's first takeaway of the season when on the first drive he knocked the ball free of wide receiver Chandler Wren's hands after a catch. Walters scooped up the ball for the turnover, marking the first of three occasions he would be involved in a Capital takeaway.

WE HAVE POINTS!
Coming out of a scoreless first quarter, Wilmington found itself driving deep into Capital territory. After the turn of the quarter, it took three plays for the Quakers to find the end zone on a Kyle England 3-yard run.

Capital came back directly to tie the game on the following drive using a pair of long passes to set up tying score. With the run game not working, CU went to the pass and hit junior Mike Smith (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) on a 34-yard route. Two players later, freshman quarterback Ben Everson (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) rolled out and threw to the back of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown, finding junior Kameron Lee (Piqua, Ohio/Lehman Catholic) for six.



MORE DEFENSE
Both teams went back to work on the defensive side of the ball and each forced the other to stall out on downs on their next respective possessions. After failing to convert on its offensive drive, CU was pushed with its backs all the way to the goal line. On third and four from the five, Tyreeq Nebbitt appeared to have just enough for the first down but upon stretching out for the score lost the ball, where Aralius Walters (Dayton, Ohio/Miamisburg/Mount St. Joseph) was there to garner possession for the Crusaders.

That play kept Wilmington off of the board and preserved a 7-7 score heading into the half.

Walters made another dramatic appearance when he caused Wilmington's third turnover of the night. WC quarterback Kyle Barrett sought one of his wide outs to his left and instead placed the ball right into the chest of the on-the-run Walters, who brought it back deep into Quaker territory.

CASHING IN WITH EVERSON
The Walters interception cost Wilmington the lead when Ben Everson returned as Cap's quarterback. The Zanesville native posted two consecutive rushes for 10 or more yards to put the Crusaders at the 5-yard line. Following a four-yard loss and a delay of game penalty, Cap was backed up to the 14-yard line, but Everson used his legs to scamper out of trouble and into the end zone, making for a 14-7 score.



THE COMEBACK
Neither team scored for the duration of the third quarter, setting up a dramatic final 15 minutes. Wilmington's Kyle Barrett hit Tyreeq Nebbitt for 41 yards on the first play of its drive at the top of the fourth quarter, setting up 1^st and goal. Following two unsuccessful attempts to get into the end zone, Barrett found wide out Itika Wynn in the corner for a six-yard touchdown pass. The point-after attempt tied the game at 14-14.

After exchanging three-and-outs, Wilmington gave Capital excellent field position following a 28-yard punt that landed near midfield. On the first play of the next drive, Everson rolled right and while being hit high launched a deep pass that hit Kameron Lee in stride at the goal line for six more points. For Lee, it was his second touchdown grab of the night and put him over the 100-yard plateau.
Wilmington was quick to respond when on its next drive went 78 yards on seven plays, which ended in a Kyle Barrett three-yard touchdown run. However, the PAT sailed wide right to allow Cap to hold on to a 21-20 lead.

While Capital was unable to put more points on the board, Lee used his leg to boot a punt and pin the Quakers down at its own 1-yard line. Five minutes had been left on the clock and the Quakers used nearly all of that time to march down the field and set up the eventual game-winning score. Wilmington was forced to convert a third-down situation on three different occasions and in doing so, put the offense inside the red zone. After taking its second timeout, Barrett found Wynn again with just enough separation between him and his defender to make the touchdown catch from six yards out.

Following a failed two-point conversion attempt, Wilmington led 26-21 with 39 seconds to go. Walters nearly broke enough tackles to make a run for the end zone on the ensuing kickoff but was tripped up at the 38-yard line. After three complete passes by McCarrell that put Cap at its own 43-yard line with four ticks remaining, the junior launched one last prayer into the air. Lee went up for the catch but it was disrupted by Quentin Davis as time expired, leading to the final whistle.

THE NUMBERS

• Capital was outgained by Wilmington, 550-265, in total yards, but ran 28 fewer plays and held the ball nearly nine minutes fewer than the Quakers.
• CU was aided by three takeaways, two via fumble and one by interception, while committing zero turnovers of its own.
• Aralius Walters finished the game with two fumble recoveries, one interception, two passes defended, and 13 total tackles (9-4-13).
• The combination of Ben Everson and Luke McCarrell at quarterback totaled 19 completions on 35 attempts for 267 yards. Everson went 7-for-12 for 150 and accounted for both Capital passing touchdowns.
• Kameron Lee was on the receiving end of both touchdowns through the air. He made a total of six catches for 139 yards, both career highs.
• On the other side, Kyle Barrett threw for 379 yards on 25-of-43 attempts. He tossed for two touchdowns and one pick. Ace Taylor (6-116-0) and Lathan Jones (5-109-0) both finished over 100 yards receiving, but Itika Wynn Jr. landed both of the team's touchdown grabs.
• Jaluan Covington led the Quakers with seven tackles, three for loss, and two sacks, and one was one four to tally a sack in the game.

THE NEXT STEP
Capital (0-1) will take the week to prepare for Heidelberg University in another road contest set for Friday, March 19 in Tiffin. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Student Princes will be playing in its first game of the season following a bye week to open the year.