OBERLIN, Ohio – Trailing 28-12 in the third quarter, the Kenyon College football team made Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference football game interesting. The Lords scored 12 unanswered points and had a couple of opportunities to move ahead, but each chance came up short and the host Oberlin College Yeomen held on for a 28-24 victory at Knowloton Stadium.

Kenyon (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) started to make its move in the third quarter with an eight-play, 57-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jake Bates to John Clark. The drive was sustained by two Oberlin penalties. In back-to-back plays the Yeomen were flagged for pass interference and a personal foul. Those miscues helped the Lords pull within ten points.

On its next possession, Kenyon found pay dirt again and closed the gap to 28-24. After a short completion and a three-yard run from senior Blake Calcei, the Lords were looking at a third-and-three at their own 30-yard line. When the ball was snapped to Bates he faked a handoff to a man in motion, kept the ball and ran right up the gut of the Oberlin defense. Bates scampered all the way down the Yeomen's one-yard line where he was tripped up, completing the 69-yard gain. Three plays later Calcei ran left and pounded the ball into the end zone. The point-after attempt failed and the Oberlin lead was four as the teams headed into the fourth quarter.

Kenyon had three possessions in that final frame and the first two ended up stalling at the Oberlin 25- and 19-yard lines. On its final possession, Kenyon couldn't get past midfield and turned the ball over on downs at its own 35-yard line, effectively bringing the game to an end.

Bates and Calcei accounted for most the Lords offense. Bates was 12-of-25 for 112 yards and a touchdown through the air. On the ground, he amassed 102 yards on eight carries. Calcei logged 77 yards on 25 carries and the Lords, as a team, finished with 202 rushing yards. Junior Brian Hunca led the receiving corps with five catches for 56 yards.

Early in the game, Kenyon claimed a 3-0 lead after it blocked an Oberlin punt and set up shop at the Yeomen's 21-yard line. The offense sputtered, however, and Szabi Simo got the team on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal.

Oberlin (1-1, 1-0 NCAC) then scored three straight touchdown before the Lords could answer. John O'Brien played a big role in that next score for Kenyon. He took a short Oberlin kickoff 32 yards before being brought down at the Yeomen 37-yard line. Seven plays later, Ian Bell rushed for a nine-yard touchdown to make the score 20-10 in favor of the home team.

When Oberlin tried to punt the ball away on its ensuing possession the snap sailed high, resulting in a safety and two points for the Lords.

The Yeomen raced out to a big lead thanks to the legs of Blake Buckhannon, who scored the first touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run and then set up the next Yeomen score with a big 53-yard dash. By the end of the game, Buckhannon had 153 rushing yards on 14 carries, leading an Oberlin charge that netted a total of 229 rushing yards.

The Oberlin passing game was not much of a factor as quarterback Lucas Poggiali completed just seven of his 15 attempts for 99 yards. He did, however, throw a 32-yard touchdown strike to Justin  Cruz. That third-quarter touchdown proved to be the difference in the game.

Defensively, Kenyon got a game-high ten tackles from Mike Gibbons. Cody Keenan, Nick LaPoint and Gibbons each had a sack, while Brandon Byrd had an interception and Jamal Perkins was responsible for the blocked punt on the Yeomen's opening drive.