Tabor College enjoyed a dominant win in its first road game of the season Saturday with a 41-10 showing at Ottawa University.
The Bluejays started slowly, giving up a field goal on Ottawa’s opening possession. Tabor’s offense finally posted points on the scoreboard at the 2:43 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Curry Parham completed a six-play, 47-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge for the touchdown. Parham also contributed a 23-yard run earlier in the drive.
Tabor scored again early in the second quarter when DiMitri Bowie, a 6-foot-2, 265-pound defensive lineman, scooped up an Ottawa fumble around the Braves’ 9-yard line and rumbled the length of the field for a touchdown, chaperoned by three or four Bluejays. The extra-point kick gave Tabor a 14-3 lead with 11:49 left in the first half.
Undaunted, Ottawa narrowed the lead to 14-10 on its next possession, driving 62 yards in 13 plays with the Braves’ quarterback scoring from two yards out with 7:07 remaining in the half. It appeared the game could be a challenge for the Bluejays.
But the complexion changed dramatically in the final 4 minutes of the half, when Tabor scored a pair of touchdowns — the first on a 2-yard run by Jason Logologo at the 4:01 mark, then on a 10-yard pass from Parham to Zach Johnson in the end zone. Johnson secured the pass as an Ottawa defender caught him in mid-flight and literally carried the Bluejay standout out of bounds. Suddenly, Tabor was up, 27-10 with 1:02 left in the half. The big play of the drive was 32-yard deep ball completion to Skylar Valencia that put Tabor at the 10-yard line.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was that Ottawa didn’t mount a serious threat in the second half. Instead, Tabor added two more scores. The first came on a 3-yard run by Parham to climax a 62-yard, 13-play drive, and was fueled by a 30-yard run by Johnson to the Ottawa 23. The final touchdown came on a 25-yard pick-six by Adrian Rodriguez with 4:08 left in the game.
With the win, Tabor improved to 2-1 for the season and 2-0 in KCAC play. Ottawa slipped to 1-3 and 1-1. The Bluejays will host the University of Saint Mary next Saturday with a 7 p.m. kickoff.