The underdog Wildcats received the opening kickoff and put together an impressive 11-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock, but it ended in disaster for the hosts when Jack Sawyer hit scrambling quarterback Jack Lausch from behind and knocked the ball free. It bounced right to Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun, who returned the fumble 17 yards to the Ohio State 33.
After forcing a punt, the Wildcats got the ball back at their 8 and put together an even better drive. This time they went 92 yards, and Lausch finished it with an 8-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw.
He got the march moving with a pair of explosive pass plays — 21 yards to Bryce Kirtz and 22 yards to A.J. Henning — before getting the whole unit into a rhythm the Buckeyes could not disrupt.
The Buckeyes responded with an impressive drive that covered 85 yards in 12 plays and included a key fourth-and-3 pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith.
Quinshon Judkins finished it with a 1-yard run out of the Full House formation, following a lead block from fullback Pat Gurd.
The OSU offense then got it right back at the Northwestern 1 after a bad punt snap led to a blocked punt that went out of bounds before crossing the goal line.
Judkins cashed it in again from a yard out two plays later to put Ohio State on top for the first time, 14-7 with 4:19 left in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes doubled their lead before the end of the half when Howard hit Chicago native Carnell Tate for a diving 25-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left. That capped a quick six-play, 77-yard drive that took less than two minutes.
The Wildcats outgained Ohio State 118-30 in the first quarter, but the Buckeyes had the upper hand in the second with a 163-49 advantage.
Ohio State got the opening kickoff to start the second half and went right back to work.
A 68-yard catch-and-run by Smith put the Buckeyes in scoring position, and they finished it with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Tate.
Jayden Fielding then got into the act late in the third quarter with a 28-yard field goal that made it 31-7 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
Howard finished 15-for-24 passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He did not take part in the running game, but he didn’t need to as Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 150 yards on 26 carries.
Smith led Ohio State with four catches for 100 yards while Tate had four grabs for 52.
Arvell Reese and Jack Sawyer led the defense with seven tackles apiece, and Sonny Styles had two sacks.
Alter grad C.J. Hicks had 1/2 a sack, as did Reese, Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
Lakota West grad Joshua Fussell had seven tackles and pass breakup for the Wildcats while matching up with Ohio State’s talented receiving crew all afternoon.
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