The Braves have an overall record of 1-1 and enter Saturday's game coming off a 35-27 victory over the University of Saint Mary at AdventHealth Field last Saturday. Ottawa out gained Saint Mary 569-440 in total offense. Edwards threw for 406 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while adding a rushing score.
Luke Edwards's 406 yards through the air are the most by a Brave quarterback since Sept. 6, 2019 when Connor Kaegi threw for a career high 432 yards in Ottawa's come from behind victory over Southwestern College.
Ottawa is averaging 367.5 yards of offense per game, 84 yards rushing and 283.5 yards passing. OU is scoring 22.5 points per game. Opponents are averaging 401 yards of offense per game, 411 yards rushing and 195.5 yards passing, and scoring 27 points per game.
OU is ranked 38th in the NAIA in scoring (45), 25th in total offense (735), 39th in yards per game (367.5), 15th in passing yards (567), 19th in passing yards per game (283.5), 41st in passing yards per attempt (6.9), 42nd in passing touchdowns (2), 31st in rushing attempts (65), 32nd in rushing touchdowns (3), 28th in first downs (41), 36th in rushing first downs (14), 14th in passing first downs (24), 38th in penalty first downs (3), 48th in first downs per game (20.5), 37th in third down conversion percentage (.420), 35th in fourth down conversion percentage (.500), 48th in kick return average (19.7), 38th in field goal percentage (.750), 40th in average per punt (37.1), 46th in tackles (112), 27th in sacks (4), 36th in penalties (10).
Luke Edwards leads OU in passing yards with 547. He is 46-for-75 through the air, completing 61.3 percent of his passes. Luke has thrown two touchdowns and is averaging 273.5 passing yards per game.
Anthony Powell is OU's leader in rushing, averaging 40.5 rushing yards per game. In 13 rushing attempts, Powell is averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
De'Anthony Curtis and
Key Long leads the team in receptions with 13 apiece. Curtis leads the team in receiving yards with 211. He is averaging 105.5 receiving yards per game.
Ethan Yinger leads the Braves in tackles with 15.
Brandon Doles is second on the team in tackles with 13. He has 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
Christian Obregon has 12 tackles, one pass break up, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble.
Saturday will be the 60th time that Ottawa University and Sterling College have played against each other. Ottawa leads the series, 31-28. OU is 13-19 against Sterling at Smisor Stadium and have lost three straight road games to Sterling. The last time OU won on the road in Sterling was on Oct. 6, 2018. The Braves defeated the Warriors, 48-47. The first ever meeting between the two teams happened on Nov. 10, 1922 in Ottawa. Sterling won the game, 13-3.
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Sterling has opened the 2025 season with a record of 0-2. The Warriors are on a four game losing streak, dating back to the 2024 season. The last time SC won a game was on Nov. 2, 2024 in Leavenworth against the University of Saint Mary. Sterling won the game 26-25.
SC enters Saturday's game coming off a 51-14 road loss at Evangel University. Sterling had 244 yards of offense, 225 yards passing and 19 yards rushing. Evangel had 679 yards of offense, 267 yards passing and 417 yards rushing. Sterling turned the ball over four times, two fumbles and two INTs.
The Warriors are averaging 253 yards of offense per game, 34 yards on the ground and 219 yards through the air. The SC offense is scoring 11.5 points per game. Sterling's defense is allowing 507 yards of offense per game, 566 yards on the ground and 224 yards through the air. Opponents are scoring 42.5 points per game.
Rocklin Baptista leads Sterling in passing. He is 22-for-48 through the air for 365 yards and one touchdown. Baptista is completing 45.8 percent of his passes and is averaging 182.5 passing yards per game. Jayden Briscoe is SC's leader in rushing. He has rushed for 42 yards on 12 attempts, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Noah Khokhar is SC's leader in receptions with nine. He has 85 receiving yards.
Blake Montgomery leads Sterling in tackles with 20, an average of 10 per game. He has 1.5 tackles for loss. Nate Criqui has 16 tackles this season He has one sack, 4.5 tackles for loss, and one recovered fumble. Ryan Morgan, Carlos Lujan, and Kristjan Goosby are averaging 6.5 tackles per game.
The Warriors are ranked 47th in the NAIA in total offense (506), 25th in passing yards (438), 38th in passing yards per game (219), 50th in rushing attempts (56), 44th in passing first downs (14), 43rd in fourth down conversions (2-10), sixth in kick return yards (14-256), 50th in punt return average (3.5), 13th in puns (no-yards) (13-462), 50th in average per punt (35.5), eighth in fumbles-lost (5-2), 15th in fumbles recovered (2), second in defensive touchdowns (1), sixth in tackles (153),
