GAMBIER, Ohio – An excellent defensive effort fell short Saturday at McBride Field, as the Kenyon College football team dropped a 24-3 decision to the No. 21-ranked Wabash College Little Giants. It was the first home loss of the season for the Lords.

The Kenyon defense was obviously fatigued after being on the field for nearly 20 minutes of the first half, but it never broke down. The Lords held the powerful Little Giants to 18 points under their scoring average (42.0 ppg), 130 yards under their rushing average (266.0 ypg) and 100 yards under their total offense average (421.8 ypg).

Wabash ran 42 plays and gained 225 yards in the first half of play. The Little Giants offense dominated possession, while Kenyon's offense managed just 23 plays, one first down and 61 yards. As a result, the Little Giants built up a 17-0 halftime lead.

On its third possession of the game, Wabash set up shop at the Kenyon 45-yard line. A quick five-play drive featured two passes to tight end Sammy Adams. He started the drive with a 19-yard reception from quarterback Connor Rice and he ended the drive by hauling in a 15-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone. That score came with 4:31 showing on the clock.

The Little Giants' next touchdown came on a prolonged drive, one that covered 16 plays and 93 yards. After erasing 7:16 off the clock, the Little Giants left the ball in the hands of Rice, who ran to his left to score from four yards away. He crossed the goal line with 7:55 left in the second quarter.

With five ticks left on the first-half clock, the Little Giants tacked on three more points when Andrew Tutsie booted a 39-yard field goal.

The second half of play opened with another Wabash possession. This time, the Little Giants kept the ball on the ground during an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended when Matt Penola hit pay dirt from nine yards out. Nine of those 11 plays were rushes that covered 68 of the 75 yards accumulated during the drive.

The Kenyon offense finally got things going after that. The Lords constructed a 14-play, 59-yard drive that was controlled mainly by short strikes to junior receiver Ian Bell, who ended up with four catches for 36 yards during the drive. Then, three straight incomplete passes halted things at the Wabash 10-yard line and Kenyon settled for a 27-yard field from senior Szabi Simo. That put an end to all scoring.

While the Kenyon defense did its part, the Wabash defense was a step ahead. The Little Giants restricted the Kenyon air attack by blanketing senior receiver Brian Hunca. Hunca did manage seven catches, but only covered 39 yards. Meanwhile, Kenyon's offensive line gave freshman quarterback Thomas Merkle plenty of time to thrown, but the Wabash coverage yielded a total of just 184 passing yards to the Lords, who came into the game averaging 315.0 ypg. Merkle ended up completing 24-of-46 passes with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Bell, who is still recuperating from injury, led the Lords offense with nine catches for 75 yards. On the ground, Kenyon totaled just 16 yards on 17 carries. Rob Meagher had 13 of those yards on 10 totes.

For Wabash, Rice was 16-of-21 for 185 yards and a touchdown. Adams led the receiving corps with four catches, including the touchdown, for 57 yards and Shamir Johnson led the Little Giants' rushing attack with 86 yards on 22 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kenyon's junior safety Curt Williams led all players with a dozen tackles, while linebackers Cody Keenan and Saxon Justice each had 11. Quarterback sacks were recorded by Mike Gibbons, Joe Marabito, Jamal Perkins and Jules Desroches.

The loss put Kenyon at 3-4 overall as it heads into its bye week. The win improved Wabash's record to 5-1.