Box Score
GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College football team turned the ball over four times in the second half of Saturday's wind-swept football game at McBride Field. The miscues gave the Lords virtually no chance at catching The College of Wooster Fighting Scots, who tallied 14 points off the Kenyon turnovers and returned home with a 24-14 North Coast Athletic Conference victory.
The loss was Kenyon's third straight and dropped the Lords to 4-5 overall and 4-4 in the NCAC. Wooster moved to 6-3 overall, 6-2 in the NCAC, and clinched its first winning season since 2008.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wooster rang up the game's first points on a 33-yard touchdown run from Sean Hackel. Kenyon struck back in a hurry. On the Lords' ensuing possession, they needed just four plays to cover 75 yards and knot the score at 7-7. The two big plays in that drive were a
Brandon January reception for 19 yards and a January run for 41 yards down the right side of the field and all the way to pay dirt.
Before the half could come to a close, Wooster used the wind to its advantage and had Tyler Gerwig, who missed a 23-yard field goal in the first quarter, convert a 43-yarder with the wind at his back.
Midway through the third quarter, Wooster snared its second interception and began a drive at its own 15-yard line. When the Fighting Scots later faced a fourth-and-eight on their own 41-yard line, they executed a fake punt that saw Matt Osolinski rush for 30 yards. That set up another Hackel touchdown run and pushed the Scots' lead to 17-7.
Kenyon, again, struck back in a hurry.
Brian Hunca returned the Wooster kickoff 45 yards to the Scots' 44-yard line. On the Lords' first play of the drive, quarterback
Jake Bates connected with sophomore
Blake Calcei on a 44-yard scoring strike to pull the Lords back within three points.
That would be as close as Kenyon would get. Bates was intercepted again early in the fourth quarter and this time Brandon James returned it for a 17-yard touchdown in what held up as the final score of the game. Kenyon got the ball back four times over the remainder of the fourth quarter, but never once threatened to score.
Bates finished the forgettable game 16-of-34 through the air for 209 yards and one touchdown. January rumbled for a total of 112 yards on 20 carries and freshman receiver
Jibri McLean had four catches for 60 yards. In all, Kenyon had 362 yards of offense, while Wooster chalked up 371.
The Kenyon defense did a great job of containing Wooster quarterback Richard Barnes, who was sacked six times, but Hackel ended up running for 153 yards to complement his two touchdowns. Barnes was 19-of-33 for 198 passing yards and Keir Pace caught eight balls and carried them for 66 yards.
A host of Kenyon senior defensemen, playing in their final game at McBride, came up big. Linebackers
Reed Franklin,
Kolin Sullivan, and
Brad Couts piled up 14, 12, and 12 tackles respectively. They also combined for six tackles-for-losses and four-and-a-half sacks. Defensive back
Zach Morrow also had a dozen tackles and two pass break-ups, while lineman
Ryan Rosen notched 11 tackles, with one being a quarterback sack.
The Lords will wrap up the 2013 season next week at Denison University. That Saturday game has a 1 p.m. start time.
