Kenyon College Athletics

GRANVILLE, Ohio – Denison University outscored Kenyon College 20-0 in the third quarter and pulled away for a 51-20 victory in North Coast Athletic Conference action at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium on Saturday.
 
The Big Red controlled both lines of scrimmage as they rushed for 362 yards and five touchdowns while holding the Lords to just 38 yards on the ground for a 1.7 average. Additionally, Denison rang up 10 tackles-for-loss including five sacks.
 
Kenyon (0-10, 0-9 NCAC) started the game well and took a first-quarter lead. A 17-play, 90-yard drive orchestrated by Thomas Merkle was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ian Robertson, his 13th scoring grab of the season. That grab tied for the second-best single-season total in Kenyon history. Seniors Ian Bell and Brandon Byrd assisted Merkle on that drive as they both hauled in multiple passes.
 
On the ensuing Denison (7-3, 6-3 NCAC) possession, the home team responded. A six-play drive, all running plays, covered 67 yards and ended with a three-yard touchdown run from Alex Minton. Pat Kramer's kick followed tying the game at 7-7 with 3:35 on the clock.
 
The Lords looked primed to score again as Byrd returned the next kickoff into Denison territory. A few plays after the 46-yard return, Merkle found Robertson for a 10-yard, first-down catch to the 16-yard line. However, four straight incompletions ended the drive.
 
Kenyon's defense rose up to hold Denison on the next possession giving the ball back to the Lords' offense early in the second stanza. On the third play of the drive, though, Francis Fay picked off Merkle's pass near the Denison sideline and returned it 42 yards untouched into the end zone.
 
Over the next few possessions, the Lords did not find the rhythm offensively they had attained earlier and the score remained 14-7. On the other side, Kenyon's defense stepped up and halted a pair of Big Red drives including a 4th-and-one attempt from Minton on the Lords' 23-yard line.
 
The 14-7 score was then broken late in the second. After a blocked punt by Denison, the home team had a six-play, 30-yard drive with Minton scoring again from one yard out. That pushed the halftime score to 21-7.
 
In the third, Kenyon was close to cutting the deficit to a touchdown as it reached Denison's 27-yard line. But a couple of incompletions on third and fourth down handed the ball back to the Big Red.
 
The home team got the ball back with about 10 minutes left of the third-quarter clock and watched as Minton went 73 yards to the house.
 
After the Lords went three and out on the next possession, Denison hit another big run. A punt from Bell reached the 46-yard line and on the next play, Canaan Gebele scampered 56 yards and helped moved the score to 34-7.
 
The Lords did add a pair of touchdowns late as Sam Appel hit Bell for eight and 12-yard touchdown passes. That helped bring the final tally to 51-20.
 
Curt Williams once again led the Lords with 13 stops against the Big Red while Chris Nehasil registered nine and a sack. Senior Jacob LaPoint tallied an interception.