The Baldwin Wallace University football program has gotten off to a scorching start, winning their first two games of the 2018 season.

The Jackets have outscored their opponents 96-24 and amassed more than double their opposition’s total yardage (977-486).

Alma (Mich.) College and the Yellow Jackets went to battle in the 41st Annual Lee Tressel Shrine Classic on August 30th, with Baldwin Wallace coming away with a 63-21 win in the non-conference duel.

The game started off with a school record 100-yard opening kickoff return by senior wide receiver Jordan Leverette and the team never looked back.

Senior quarterback Jake Hudson was named the Lee Tressel Shrine Classic Player of the Game after completing 20-28 passes with 225 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

“When the offense as a whole is firing on all cylinders, we showed we can put up some serious points and can be very difficult to stop”, said the senior captain about their season opening performance.

Freshman Jon Murray Jr. and junior Lyle Grant both had significant contributions rushing the ball, with Murray Jr. compiling 107 yards and Grant running for 57 yards and a team-high tying two touchdowns.

Senior All-OAC wide receiver Rob Wolfington reeled in five catches for a team-high 97 yards and a team-high tying two touchdowns.

Senior wide receiver Chad Steinwachs, junior wide receiver Darion Greer and senior running back Troy Colucci all found the end zone once as well.

Leverette was named the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance against the Scots.

The Yellow Jackets opened their conference slate on September 8th with a convincing 33-3 victory over Otterbein University (1-0). Before the game, the 1968 OAC Champion football team was honored.

After being shutout in the first quarter, touchdown passes from Hudson to Grant and Steinwachs helped the team head into intermission with a 16-3 lead.

In the second half, junior Deion Greer and senior Matt Lowry both had red zone touchdowns and junior Jimmy Marshall, who went 2-2 on field goals for the night, knocked in a 33-yard field goal.

The defense swarmed the Cardinal offense, containing them to 130 yards of total offense and not allowing any points for the last 53 minutes of the game after an Otterbein 29-yard field goal with 8:10 remaining in first quarter.

Senior defensive end Wezlee Spence led the team with eight tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.

After the two victories, Hudson sits at second place in the conference in completion percentage (74.6%), yards (507), completions (44) and touchdowns (six).

Second-year head coach Jim Hilvert is pleased with the way his team has started, stating that the team has “done some good things in all three phases of the game.”

On September 15th, #1 nationally ranked University of Mount Union will take on the Jackets in Community, Family, Homecoming and Past Captains Day at George Finnie Stadium.

Mount Union, the defending OAC and National Champions, comes off a bye week and a 54-0 victory over Rose-Hulman (Ind.). in week one.

For BW to extend their win streak, Coach Hilvert believes the team will have to play an all-around game and “put it all together as a team.”

He continues to say, “we have to win the turnover battle, we have to make a big play on special teams, we must sustain drives on offense and 3^rd down is a key on offense and defense. We have to be able to take their best punch and respond to it.”

Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. in Berea, Ohio.