GAMBIER, Ohio – Saturday at McBride Field, the Kenyon College football team celebrated Senior Day and then went toe-to-toe with second-place DePauw University. The Lords (0-9, NCAC 0-8) came within inches of upsetting the Tigers (8-1, NCAC 7-1), but in the end DePauw won out 37-32.

Kenyon's passing attack flourished in a game where sophomore quarterback Thomas Merkle threw 32 completions on 60 attempts, racking up 468 yards and four touchdown passes. His 32 completions gave him 282 for the season, a new Kenyon record. Additionally, Merkle's total of 468 passing yards was a Kenyon single-game record, eclipsing the old mark of 438 which he set last year against DePauw.

Junior receiver Ian Robertson caught seven of those Merkle throws. He turned them into three touchdowns and 243 yards, the second-best single-game total in Kenyon history. His three scores gave him 12 touchdowns on the season, a single-season mark that ranks third in program history.

For DePauw, junior running back Demarco Henry scored three rushing touchdowns early in the game. Quarterback Jake Lasky struggled against the Kenyon pass rush, suffering six sacks at the hands of the Lords. He did, however, find his rhythm as the game wore on, finishing with 267 passing yards and two touchdown completions.

The teams traded touchdowns to open the first half, with Henry notching three for DePauw and Merkle and Robertson connecting for three of their own. A Tigers field goal put DePauw up 24-19 late in the second quarter.

With three minutes left in the half, Kenyon recovered a fumble on the DePauw 45 and began to march toward the end zone, looking to take a lead into halftime. DePauw linebacker Chandler Nicholson ended the threat by intercepting Merkle inside the five yard line. He returned the ball 37 yards and set up the Tigers for a final first-half scoring drive that ended when Lasky found Nolan Ayres for a 33-yard yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-3 play with just six seconds on the clock.

The Lords bounced back in the third quarter, outplaying the Tigers on both sides of the ball. Merkle pushed the Lords deep into DePauw territory to open the half, capping off a drive with a touchdown pass to senior Brandon Byrd, who finished the game with ten catches and 121 yards.

The Lords defense played one of its best games of the year and stymied the Tigers at every turn, forcing two fumbles in the quarter. Senior Jacob LaPoint recovered the second fumble at the DePauw goal line and fell forward into the end zone, putting Kenyon up 32-31 at the end of the third.

DePauw scored the eventual game-winner early in the fourth quarter, a 35-yard feed from Lasky to Andy Hunt with 11 minutes to play. The Lords fought to win back the lead, but a fumbled punt return and two intercepted throws, including one to end Kenyon's final drive of the game, cost them opportunities to score.

LaPoint finished the game with eight tackles, including two for losses and one-and-a-half quarterback sacks. He also had the fumble recovery and four quarterback hurries. Freshman Michael Picone had a team-high 17 tackles, two forced fumbles and two sacks. Senior Curt Williams added 16 tackles, running his conference-best total to 130 tackles for the season.

Saturday's game was Kenyon's final home game of the season. The Lords go on the road next week to face Denison University for the final contest on their 2017 schedule.