Playing in front of a record crowd and with the Ohio State Athletic Band in attendance, the Ohio State Club Football team put up 520 yards of offense and surrendered just seven points in a 58-7 victory over Wright State on Sunday afternoon in Columbus.
The victory secures Ohio State’s spot in the Great Lakes Conference Championship Game, which is set to be played either Nov. 16 or 17. The Buckeyes will play the winner of the Great Lakes West division, which is made up of Michigan State, Loyola (Chicago), UW-Milwaukee and Oakland. Ohio State has played Michigan State in the conference championship game in each of the last two seasons, winning by a combined score of 111-21 in those two matchups.
The Buckeyes were led offensively against Wright State by quarterback Niko Pappas who completed 15-of-23 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Pappas also added 22 yards and a score on the ground as Ohio State punted just once and scored eight touchdowns on the day.
Seven different Buckeyes caught a pass from Pappas in the win, as Charles Civiletto led all players with five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, while freshman JP Naylor caught three passes for 62 yards and two scores, including a 53-yard touchdown that was the longest play of the day for Ohio State.
Ohio State’s offense also dominated on the ground, rushing for 263 yards as all four of the Buckeye running backs accumulated 40 or more yards. JR Burton accounted for 43 yards, Johnathan Thiele and Lucas Fenstermaker each had 74 yards and Ethan Young carried six times for 49 yards. Thiele posted a pair of touchdowns on the day while a third score was taken off the board due to a penalty. Fenstermaker closed the scoring on the day with a 30-yard score, his first of the season.
Ohio State carried a 35-0 lead into halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half. The Buckeye special teams forced a safety after an errant snap on a Wright State punt early in the third quarter to give Ohio State a 37-0 advantage. The Buckeyes then marched deep into Wright State territory before a fumble was recovered in the end zone by tight end Aidan Donovan for yet another OSU score. Wright State accounted for its lone touchdown late in the third quarter as Raider QB Chad Swanson plunged in from the 2-yard line to keep from getting shut out. Pappas’ touchdown to Civiletto and Fenstermaker’s scoring scamper both came in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, the Buckeyes forced a pair of turnovers as Naylor, playing both ways, secured an interception while reserve cornerback Robert “Troy” Kesterson fell on a fourth quarter fumble forced by linebacker Alex Anderson. The star of the day however for Ohio State was senior defensive lineman Matt Humphreys who put together a career day. The Robert Morris transfer tallied seven total tackles on the day, including 4.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. His 4.5 sacks are the second most in a single game in program history, just short of T-Jay Queen’s mark of 5.0 against Miami (OH) in 2013.
Overall, Ohio State posted a whopping eight sacks on the day with defensive end Trey Jones, linebacker Jackson Rittman and Donovan all collecting solo sacks while linebacker Tyler Beckman tallied a half sack to go with five total stops.
Ohio State is set for a bye week before returning to action Oct. 19 on the road against UW-Milwaukee. Wright State is scheduled to host Toledo next week. The Rockets are coming off of a thrilling 24-19 win over Michigan State, in which Toledo scored the game winning touchdown with just two seconds remaining.
Game Notes:
- The Buckeyes honored 13 seniors playing in their last regular season home game on Sunday prior to kickoff.
- Jorge Castillo Rueda
- WR/ DB Christian Wright
- WR Sam Garber
- OL Jaret Dyer
- DB Marcellas McLellan
- DL Matt Humphreys
- LB Christian Allen
- OL Zach Davis
- K/P David Rive Jr.
- WR/RB Jalen Haley
- LB/OL Jackson Rittman
- RB Johnathan Thiele
- Ohio State’s 58 points were the sixth most in a single game in program history
- Ohio State became the first team in the NCFA this season to secure a postseason berth. The Buckeyes have now qualified for the NCFA postseason every season since 2018.
- Ohio State has now won 13 of 14 games against Wright State dating back to 2012. The Buckeyes have won more games against the Raiders than any other program in team history.
- The win guarantees Ohio State its eighth straight regular season with a winning record. The last time the Buckeyes didn’t finish above .500 was in 2015 when they finished 3-3.
- One of Ohio State Club Football’s founding members, Jordan Fleischman, presented the annual Founders Scholarship to Jalen Haley and Tyler Beckman after the game.
- The Ohio State Athletic Band performed throughout the game for the first time in program history. The Ohio State Club Football program sends their sincere thanks to the band department for their support.
Ohio State Club Football 