TIFFIN, Ohio -- On Saturday afternoon, the Capital University football team traveled to No. 22 Heidelberg University for their first Ohio Athletic Conference game of the season. Unfortunately for Capital, a slow start to the game led to a big 48-17 loss on the road. 

The Student Princes (3-0, 2-0) burst out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and tacked on another touchdown in the second frame before Capital (1-1, 0-1) even had a chance to get on the board. 

Offensively for Capital, a trio of QB's combined for 128 yards of passing. Luke McCarrell and Trevor Harrison-Rawn led the way with 45 yards passing each. Harrison-Rawn and Jake Woycke each had a passing touchdown. Kameron Lee and Mike Smith were on the receiving end of those TDs. Capital picked up an impressive 113 yards on the ground against a strong rush defending team in Heidelberg. Lance Matthews (51 yards) and Tyson Shutler (34 yards) picked up the lion's share of the rush yards. 

On the defensive end of the ball, Louie Hoersten and Mike Lauofo each had nine tackles each. Lauofo also picked off a pass from Heidelberg's Drew Sims in the second quarter. 

On special teams, Kameron Lee booted eight punts for a combined 343 yards, an average of 43 yards per punt. Eric Noble connected on a 40-yard field goal and had four kickoffs for 180 yards. 

As a unit, the Capital defensive crew held Heidelberg's usually dominant rush game to just a net of 63 yards on 26 attempts. In five games this past spring, Heidelberg rushed for just under 1,000 yards en route to a OAC Championship runner-up finish. 

Unfortunately for CU, Heidelberg got the points fast and furiously by connecting on the deep pass on several occasions early in the game. In total, Capital surrendered 373 yards in the air at the end of the game.  

Heidelberg controlled the first quarter and some change by blitzing the Capital defense for four touchdowns -- all of which came via a 25-yard or longer pass play from quarterback Drew Sims. Twice, Sims connected with Brandon Reed and once each with Dimitri Penick and Maceo Matthews. 

On Heidelberg's third drive of the second quarter, Capital put a quick end to the possession, as Mike Lauofo picked off Sims on a 2nd-and-9 play. The interception was Lauofo's first of his career. 

In great field position, the Purple and White worked to get on the board. Three straight incompletions forced Eric Noble to the field to attempt a 40-yard field goal. Under pressure, Noble knocked it through the uprights to get Capital on the board with his first field goal of the season. 

Capital threatened to get more points on the board just before halftime as the team started driving with 16 seconds left. A pass interference play followed by a 15-yard completion from Jack Woycke to Sam Pickett gave the team one last chance before time expired. The final play of the half,  Capital nearly pulled off a crafty play, as Woycke's pass was deflected by Kameron Lee to Sam Pickett. Unlucky for the Purple and White, the ball fell incomplete, ending the half, 28-3 in favor of the Berg. 

Receiving the second half kickoff, Capital managed their opening drive very well. After two short runs, a 10-yard pass to Lance Matthews picked up a first down for Cap. The next play, Luke McCarrell connected with Mike Smith for a 17-yard pick-up. From there, Matthews worked around a Berg penalty to pick up another 13 yards. Another Berg penalty put Cap in a great scoring position. Jack Woycke re-entered as QB and first scampered for nine yards on the ground and then found Kameron Lee in the end zone for a 7-yard passing TD, cutting the deficit to 28-10. Woycke's pass was the first touchdown pass of his Capital career. 

After Noble's ensuing kickoff, Heidelberg's Brandon Reed returned the kickoff to the Capital 13 yard line. Cap's defense settled in as Heidelberg failed to find the end zone and forced Branden Steckel to kick a 27-yard field goal. 

After Heidelberg re-established themselves in control of the game, Capital put together a solid drive and found the end zone again. Tyson Shutler was inserted at running back and picked up 31 yards on the first three plays of the drive. Then, Trevor Harrison-Rawn took over at QB, and found Sam Pickett for a 16-yard completion. Harrison-Rawn followed up the completion with back-to-back completions to Mike Smith. The second completion was good for a 12-yard touchdown. Smith made an agile catch over his shoulder and barely tapped his toes inbounds with a defender all over his back for the score. Much like Woycke's pass earlier in the game, the TD was Harrison-Rawn's first in a Capital uniform. 

Heidelberg's Drew Sims passed for 373 yards on 25 completions and for six touchdowns. He connected with Dimitri Penick (2), Brandon Reed (2), Maceo Matthews (1) and Nick Cofer (1) for touchdown passes. Rushing the ball, the Berg gained a net of just 63 yards.

Capital returns home next Saturday for another OAC match-up as Marietta College visits Bernlohr Stadium. Kickoff in Bexley is slated for 1:30 p.m. Capital Athletics will be hosting a fall student-athlete recruit day for all sports that day. Prospective student-athletes should contact their prospective coach to set up a visit to campus. Various events will take place prior to the football game kickoff and all prospective student-athletes on campus will receive free admission to the football game.