Box Score

Cleveland, Ohio – The home Spartans of Case Western Reserve got off to a hot start and never looked back as they defeated the Oberlin College Yeomen 47-21 on Saturday night at Case Field.

The Yeomen, playing in their one and only night game of the season, got off to a very sluggish start as the Spartans put up 17 first-quarter points. Oberlin's five possessions in the session resulted in three punts and two interceptions. 

Oberlin broke through with 7:16 left in the second quarter as Drew Mixter capped off a 9-play, 75-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown run off a reverse. On the play Moses Richardson took the handoff from Mandel and then ran to his right before tossing it back to Mixter who cleared the left side and broke one tackle on his way to the endzone.

Unfortunately, the Spartans responded to the Yeomen score by marching right down the field on their ensuing drive, covering 62 yards on nine plays. The drive ended with an 8-yard strike from Erik Olsen to Rob Lajeunesse on a beautifully designed roll-out.

With the Yeomen looking to add to some points before the half, things took a dramatic turn for the worse as Dan Calabrese picked off Mandel not once, but twice in the final 3:09 and returned both of them for touchdowns. The first covered 55 yards while the second went 56 yards.  Case went into the locker room with a 37-7 lead.

In the second half things didn't get any better for the Yeomen as the Spartans tacked on 10 points right out of the gates.

Oberlin continued to fight, mounting a 12-play 60-yard drive that resulted in a 3-yard TD toss from Mandel to Cory Kidd. The big play of the drive came just two plays earlier as Robin Witjes connected with Adam Niec on a 31-yard pass play down the far side on 4th-and-9 to setup the goal-to-go situation.

In the closing moments of the game Oberlin would add another score as Mandel found Witjes on a quick out that he turned up the field for a 17-yard TD. The score capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive.

Mandel finished 15-of-25 for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but he was picked off four times. Justin Williams led the ground game with 55 yards on 13 carries, while Witjes was the top pass-catcher, snagging six balls for 56 yards to go along with that late score.

Matt Misorski led the defense with 11 tackles, while Derrick Dennis and Clay Eaton added nine stops a piece.

Oberlin returns to action to next week when the Wabash College Little Giants invade Savage Stadium. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.