Head Coach James Hilvert said it was going to be important for the Yellow Jackets to bounce back as soon as possible after losing to Mount Union. On the following weekend, BW did just that in front of their home crowd.

The fans packed Finnie Stadium and the Yellow Jackets overcame injuries and an early deficit to shock the Heidelberg Student Princes, who came into the game undefeated.

Just four plays into the game, senior Academic All-OAC quarterback AJ Miller left the game with an injury, opening the door for true freshman Keagan Armitage to throw for 229 yards, and four touchdowns on his way to being named the Lee Tressel Shrine Classic Player of the Game.

The Jackets fell behind early, facing a 10-0 deficit heading into the second quarter, but managed to outscore Heidelberg 34-23 the rest of the way, capitalizing on a goal line stand with 1:37 left in the game to preserve the 34-33 victory.

“I think as a team we showed a lot of resilience and fought back from a lot of adversity in that game,” Hilvert said. “We were fighting injuries, and Heidelberg is a really good team who did some really good things. And then at the end of the game, one of our seniors, Jordyn Johnson, made a heck of a play to beat a really good Heidelberg team.”

After opening the season with three road games, the Yellow Jackets were home for two straight games. After taking down Heidelberg, BW played host to Capital University on Community Day and Homecoming.

Hilvert said building off the Heidelberg win would be a key to beating Capital.

“I think it gave us more confidence as a football team to come back, and not give up no matter what,” Hilvert said. “I thought we did some really good things, and guys stepped up, Keagan gained some confidence and guys made some really important plays.”

Armitage earned his first career win in his first start and was named the Frank Ropollo Offensive Player of the Game, his second accolade in as many weeks. Armitage passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns on the way to beating Capital 37-7.

However, even with a 29-point victory, Hilvert said there’s always room to improve. “There’s still some things we need to clean up that really hurt us,” Hilvert said. “We had 15 penalties, which is unacceptable. And there were some little things that could have made that game a lot worse for us and we need to make sure we improve every week.”

In the game against Capital, Sekou Imani was named the Dick Miller Defensive Player of the Game, with a blocked field goal, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a safety in the victory. The performance also earned him his first career OAC Player of the Week honors.

The Yellow Jackets won’t be in action until Oct. 19, due to their bye week. But, Hilvert said the timing couldn’t have been better. “I think the bye week came at the perfect time for us, we’re kind of banged up, and we need to get healthy for the home stretch that begins with Muskingum,” Hilvert said. “Every game is important to us.

On Oct. 19, the team will travel to New Concord for another OAC matchup, this one against Muskingum University, but Hilvert knows even at 2-3 the Yellow Jackets can’t take Muskingum lightly. “Playing at their place is a very tough task, and they’re a very physical football team,” Hilvert said. “Offensively they do a great job of running the ball at you and on defense they’re very physical. They’re going to come out ready to go and knock us off and we know that.”