C.J. Powell must like the sight of a John Carroll uniform.
Catch after catch, run after run, the Heidelberg receiver ripped the Blue Streaks defense Saturday at Mayer Field.
It wasn't the first time.
No. 17 Heidelberg defeated John Carroll 31-10, and Powell's prints were all over it.
He had 10 catches for 192 yards, a career high. He also had a 23-yard touchdown reception.
"I just knew I had to come out and be ready today because it was gonna be a tough game," Powell said. "I came out with my 'A' game."
Powell has a history of doing that against the Blue Streaks.
In three games against John Carroll, Powell has 17 receptions for 466 yards and four touchdowns.
"C.J. was making stuff happen after the catch that was really great to see," said Heidelberg coach Mike Hallett. "It was kind of a one-sided affair where we kind of hit (Powell) a bunch; it wasn't necessarily the intention, but it kind of worked out that way."
John Carroll scored first on a 46-yard field goal by Brad Marchese. Heidelberg answered about halfway through the second quarter.
On a second and seven from the JCU 23, quarterback Michael Mees tossed a screen to Powell, who navigated through the Streaks' defense and found the end zone.
"When I caught the ball, I saw people in front of me," Powell said. "I just trusted my blockers, lineman to come out and block for me," Powell said. "All I have to do is have faith in my team."
Three plays after Powell's TD, the Student Princes got the ball back. John Carroll's Sean Kuenzig took a handoff and ran 10 yards to his 45, but was stripped of the ball by HU's Justin Suddeth. Defensive back Tim Littles recovered the ball at the JCU 43.
What followed was a 10-play Heidelberg drive in which star running back Cartel Brooks carried the ball six times. His two-yard touchdown run capped the trek and put his team up 14-3 with 2:31 left in the half.
"Coach Hallett noticed that the running game was going really well," said Brooks, who finished with 134 rushing yards, and 176 yards of total offense. "We just tried to keep pounding it and pounding it."
The Princes added 17 more points for good measure. Brooks ran for another TD on the first drive of the second half, then Mees hit Robert Gray on a 15-yard catch and run score. Dan Kilger added a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
It was more than enough for Heidelberg's ferocious defense.
John Carroll (5-3) came into Mayer Field on a five game winning streak, and were ranked 24th in Division III in total offense (Heidelberg is 18th). Quarterback Mark Myers was averaging more than 340 yards a game passing.
But Saturday, the Streaks managed just one touchdown drive, and their field goal was set up by field possession from a Mees interception.
As for Myers, who threw for 228 yards, he was intercepted twice and had a completion percentage of less than 50 percent (23 of 48).
"That definitely is the best quarterback we've seen all year," said Heidelberg outside linebacker Adam Cepik, who had a key interception of Myers late in the second quarter that thwarted a potential scoring drive. "(It was) just staying on our assignments and covering everybody up."
"It was all the DBs," said Heidelberg defensive tackle Will Nunnally. "The DBs played great today."
Cepik finished with a team-best 12 tackles, one for a loss. Nunnally finished with two tackles for a loss and a sack, helping to stuff the John Carroll running game. The Blue Streaks managed just 68 yards on the ground.
The defense played well despite missing some key players, including linebacker Dawson Gore, who was injured last week against Mount Union after playing a fabulous game.
"We did have some guys who were banged up, but our motto is 'next man up,'" Hallett said. "We lose a guy, and the next guy's gonna step in, and they've been trained and they're prepared."
Andy Kujawa and Shane Byrne filled in for Gore, combining to make five tackles.
Suddeth also had a big day. Aside from forcing a fumble, he had seven tackles, a pass break up and a 54-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
The HU win came in the program's 1,000th game, and also came on a day when the school honored its 1972 Stagg Bowl championship team, who were honored at halftime.
If Heidelberg wins next week in the regular season finale against Baldwin Wallace, it will finish 9-1 and have a chance to play beyond week 10.
"This team has an opportunity to play in the postseason for the first time since '72," Hallett said. "We're gonna have our hands full, but I think BW's gonna have their hands full with us as well."
