The Buckeyes stayed unbeaten in the NCFA on Saturday, rolling to a 57-7 victory over conference foe Wright State on the road. The win moves Ohio State to 5-2 on the season and a perfect 5-0 in the NCFA.
For the second-straight week, the Ohio State offense racked up more than 500 yards of offense, despite a running clock for the entirety of the second half. The Buckeyes led 50-7 after 30 minutes, which led to the running clock.
Ohio State opened the game with an immediate scoring drive, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kellyn Gerenstein to tight end Adam Bardak. The catch would be the first of five for Bardak on the day, who finished with a career-best 91 yards.
The Buckeyes doubled their lead on their ensuing drive as running back Johnathan Thiele exploded for a 36-yard touchdown run, his first of the season. Despite just five carries on the day, Thiele led all players in rushing with 84 yards to go along with his first collegiate touchdown.
Yet another defensive stop gave Ohio State the ball back, and again the Buckeyes were able to score as Gerenstein found wide receiver Casey Scroggins for a 29-yard strike on a brilliant scramble drill by both players. Scroggins hauled in six passes for 127 yards and two scores, the second of which accounted for the only points of the second half.
A two-yard plunge from running back Jalen Haley, capped a short scoring dive on Ohio State’s next possession after the Buckeye defense forced a fumble. The Buckeyes carried a 28-0 lead into the second quarter, which featured even more OSU fireworks.
Touchdown runs by Gerenstein and another by Haley put Ohio State up 42-0 midway through the second quarter before Gerenstein tossed his third touchdown pass of the half to Spencer Moore from 30-yards out. A mis-handled snap on the point-after attempt led to a two-point conversion as Cam Ryan found Chris Karras for two points, leading to a 50-0 advantage.
Gerenstein, who played less than one half of football due to the lopsided score, completed 13-of-18 passes for 283 yards and three scores and finished with zero interceptions for the third straight game. He also added 14 yards and a score on the ground. Haley, who is inching toward the program record of rushing yards in a season, finished with 11 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Wright State was able to get on the board right before the half, putting together a scoring drive with just seconds remaining on the clock, sending the game to 50-7 at the half.
With a running clock in the second half, the Buckeye offense was able to manage just seven points, when Moore – now playing quarterback – found Scroggins for a score on a receiver screen. Moore finished the day 5-of-6 passing for 62 yards and a score, adding two catches for 51 yards and a score from his tight end position.
Defensively, Ohio State forced five turnovers, including an interception from linebacker Colby Stahl, another from Kaleb Slover and three fumble recoveries. The Buckeyes have out-scored their conference opponents by a margin of 132-21, despite not playing the second half of the Miami (OH) game, which was surrendered at halftime by the Redhawks.
Record Breakers
– Casey Scroggins now holds the program records for receptions and receiving yards in a single-season, passing former teammate Geoff Green II. On the year, Scroggins has caught 40 passes for 816 yards and seven touchdowns. Green still holds the program record for touchdowns in a season, with eight.
– Kellyn Gerenstein broke his own record of passing yards in a season on Saturday. Through seven games, he has thrown for 1,447 yards, breaking his own record of 1,401 set in 2019. He still needs six touchdown passes to break his touchdown passing record of 17, also set in 2019.
– With the win over Wright State, Head Coach James Grega, Jr. is now the winningest coach in program history, moving to 18-3 overall and 18-1 in NCFA league games. He passes Darryl Payne, who went 17-11 from 2014-17.
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