Box Score GAMBIER, Ohio – Sophomore quarterback Jake Bates threw for 187 yards, rushed for 48 yards, accounted for two Kenyon College touchdowns, and led the Lords football team to a thrilling 28-26 North Coast Athletic Conference victory Saturday at McBride Field. The win came at the expense of the visiting DePauw University Tigers, who threatened late in the game, but ended up paying the price for missing an earlier extra-point attempt.

With Kenyon (2-2, 2-1 NCAC) leading 21-14 in the third quarter, DePauw's Nikko Sansone split the Lords' defense and ran for a 56-yard touchdown. The extra point was misdirected and the Tigers had to settle for a one-point deficit at 21-20.

Kenyon answered Sansone's run by taking its next possession 74 yards over 10 plays. The last of those plays was a Jack Hanratty eight-year touchdown run through the right side of the DePauw defense. Szabi Simo, who was a perfect four-for-four on the day, booted home the extra point and sent the Lords into the final quarter with a 28-20 lead.

DePauw (0-3, 0-2 NCAC) missed a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and then failed to do anything against the Kenyon defense on its next possession.  At the mid-way point of the quarter, the Tigers connected on a 74-yard pass play and set up camp at the Kenyon six-yard line. The Lords defense proved worthy of the test and stopped the Tigers on four straight downs, however, they were flagged for a personal foul on a fourth-and-goal from the 22-yard line. That gave DePauw new life and eventually the Tigers connected on a two-yard touchdown from Matt Hunt to Barry Flynn.

Now trailing by two, DePauw had to compensate for the previous missed PAT and set up for the two-point conversion. Senior linebacker Kolin Sullivan sniffed out the play, stopped the Tigers in their tracks, and kept Kenyon ahead by two points with 3:59 left in the game.

Sullivan ended up making six tackles on the day. One went down as a sack and four were marked as tackles-for-losses. Senior defensive back Zach Morrow had 11 tackles for the second straight week, while linebacker Reed Franklin added ten tackles and lineman Cam Ventling recovered a fumble on DePauw's last drive, sealing victory for the Lords.  

Before the fourth-quarter fireworks, Kenyon took an early lead and never let DePauw pull ahead. At the end of the first quarter, the Lords lined up for a field goal, but the clock expired before they could attempt it. During the break between quarters, Kenyon coach Chris Monfiletto had a change of heart and went for it on a fourth-and-four from the DePauw 15. Not only did the Lords get the first down, but on the next play Bates tossed a nine-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Blake Calcei.

Late in the second quarter, sophomore Casey Beaudouin ripped through the middle of the DePauw defense for a 44-yard run. That set up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Bates to freshman receiver Jibri McLean and paved the way for a 14-14 score at halftime.

In the third quarter, Calcei tacked on a one-yard touchdown run and finished the game with 16 rushing yards, 16 receiving yards, and the two touchdowns, giving him a team-best five scores on the season. Bates ended up completing 17-of-25 attempts. Beaudouin had 90 rushing yards on 14 carries and McLean had four catches for 40 yards.

Overall, the Lords posted 398 yards of offense, while DePauw, which racked up three plays of 50 yards or more, had 381 total yards. Without the 56-yard run from Sansone, the Tigers managed just 62 rushing yards on 31 carries.