MCDOWELL MAKES IT HAPPEN FOR CASE…
CLEVELAND, OH - Case Western Reserve University (1-0, 0-0 UAA) senior running back Brandon McDowell (VASJ) carried the ball 31 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 28 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans defeated Otterbein College (0-1, 0-0 OAC) 35-24 this afternoon in their season and home opener at Finnigan Field.
"It felt good to get back on the field again," said McDowell. "We need to be a little bit more crisp, but we got the job down. "One win isn't our goal. We want to win them all and in order to do that we need to be sharper."
McDowell was definitely sharp. He scored Case's first four touchdowns, including three straight at the end of the second and beginning of the third quarter.
Otterbein started off the scoring late in the first quarter with a drive of 15 plays for 50 yards that was topped off by a six yard Chase Riffle touchdown pass to John Chaney with 2:59 left on the clock. Aaron Burch's point after touchdown was good making the score 7-0 in favor of the Cardinals.
The Spartans responded quickly though. A five yard pass to Brandon McDowell from senior preseason All-American quarterback Eli Grant topped off a 15 play, 50 yard drive for Case. Freshman place kicker Joseph Brenner's point after touchdown tied the score at 7-7. Otterbein started out the scoring in the second quarter as an Aaron Burch field goal from 20 yards out made the score 10-7 in favor of the Cardinals.
The next three scores were all scored by Brandon McDowell as Case began to pull away. The Spartans took the lead after a McDowell touchdown reception and Brenner point after touchdown made the score 14-10 with 5:24 left in the first half. McDowell's score finished off an 8 play, 71 yard drive. To start the second half, McDowell scored on an 11 yard run with 11:17 left in the third quarter that completed a nine play, 74 yard drive. Another 11 yard touchdown run by McDowell made the score 28-10 with 3:08 left in the quarter finished up a 10 play, 80 yard drive.
Otterbein responded with a 30 yard touchdown pass from Downing to Chaney got the Cardinals within 11 points at 28-17. Then, Grant put the game out of reach. Grant's 35 yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver David Kallevig (Brecksville/Broadview Hts.) with 8:18 remaining in the game ended any hopes of a victory by the Cardinals. Otterbein scored with 15 seconds remaining in the non-conference game to make the final score 35-24 in favor of the Spartans.
Grant finished the game with 283 yards and three touchdowns passes on 19-29 passing. Kallevig caught 5 balls for 96 yards including the 35 yard touchdown catch.
Defensively for the Spartans, senior defensive back Michael DePaulo (Chanel) had 8 total tackles to lead the team. Also, sophomoe defensive back Santo Maimone (Eastlake North) picked off two passes that ended Otterbein drives late in the game.
"It's a good feeling," said Maimone. "We (the defense) work hard and take a lot of pride in what we do. It's nice start off with a win and be a big part of it."
For Otterbein, Josh Braden rushed for 117 yards on 31 carries and Nathan Spesier had 8 tackles to lead the defense.
Case hosts Denison next Saturday, kickoff is at 1:00 pm.
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