GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College defense limited the Allegheny College Gators to seven first downs and just one rushing yard, while the Lords offense ran away with a 31-7 North Coast Athletic Conference football victory during Homecoming Weekend.

The Lords' defense racked up 10 tackles-for-losses, including four quarterback sacks, and allowed the Gators to convert just 2-of-14 third-down attempts. Additionally, the Gators struggled to reach 175 yards of total offense and possessed the ball for just 23:30.

Allegheny scored its only touchdown of the game on its very first play from scrimmage. It went down as an 85-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Logan Lee to receiver Alex Victor. Following that big play, the Gators tallied just 90 yards on 51 plays throughout the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, the Kenyon offense rushed for 84 yards and passed for 270 yards. The Lords got the first score of the game by utilizing a long, 16-play, 85-yard, game-opening drive. The Purple and White kept chipping away until freshman running back Nat Henry plowed into the end zone from five yards out.



Allegheny returned fire with its one big play and then Kenyon answered with a 67-yard, second-quarter touchdown toss from quarterback Thomas Merkle to senior receiver Brian Hunca. That gave Kenyon a 14-7 edge at halftime.

The second half was more of the same from Henry, Hunca and Merkle. Henry finished the contest with 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Hunca hauled in 10 catches for 191 yards and two more touchdowns, while Merkle completed 21-of-29 pass attempts for 270 yards and the two TDs to Hunca.

Hunca's second score occurred at the end of the Lords' first drive of the second half. After starting on the Allegheny 36-yard line, the Lords faced a fourth-and-nine. They called a timeout, returned to the gridiron and watched Merkle and Hunca connect on a 35-yard scoring strike.

In just the first four games of the season, Hunca sits among the national receiving leaders with 39 catches for 644 yards and five touchdowns. He's averaging 161.0 receiving yards per game, a pace that, if maintained, would smash the Kenyon single-season record of 1,483 yards set by Jim Myers in 1974.

Before the third quarter could come to a close, senior Szabi Simo kicked a 38-yard field goal to push the Lords into the fourth quarter with a 24-7 lead.

Kenyon's final scoring drive was all about Henry, who carried the ball six times for 21 yards and caught a pass for three yards. When the Lords got down to the Allegheny 14-yard line, Henry covered the rest of the distance. Simo made the extra point, giving him 14 on the season and 67 for his career, which is a new Kenyon record.

The Lords' defensive stand was led by senior linebacker Mike Gibbons, who made nine tackles. Cody Keenan, another senior linebacker, made eight stops and defensive lineman Jamal Perkins made seven tackles.

Kenyon's 3-1 start to the season is its best since the 1984 team began with the identical record. Next up the current version of the Kenyon team is a trip to Greencastle, Indiana to take on the DePauw University Tigers (3-0, 2-0 NCAC).