SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Playing its first game of the season on the road and under the lights, the Kenyon College football team fell Saturday night, 45-3, to the No. 11-ranked Tigers of Wittenberg University.

Wittenberg racked up 543 yards of offense and capitalized on a pair of Kenyon turnovers to improve its records to 3-0 overall and 2-0 within the North Coast Athletic Conference. Kenyon, which had 240 yards of offense, fell to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in NCAC play.

The Tigers did most of their damage on the ground, where they amassed 336 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns. Jaheem Washington led the charge with 123 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while Nick Kendall added 113 yards and two more touchdowns on 11 carries.

Kenyon's rushing game was not as productive. The Lords had 68 yards on 29 carries. Jimmy Andrews ran for 47 yards on eight totes and Rob Meagher tacked on 30 yards on 15 carries.

The Lords' air attack, which averaged 290 yards per game coming into Saturday's contest, managed 172 yards on a 17-of-42 performance. Junior quarterback Thomas Merkle was 14-of-35 for 139 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His top target was senior Ian Robertson, who hauled in eight balls for 82 yards.

Wittenberg's starting quarterback Jake Kennedy was 15-of-19 for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers. Jeff Tiffner had two catches for 46 yards and touchdown, while Bryce Bailey had a team-high four snags for 43 yards.  

The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play. Kendall ran in the team's first score from two yards out on the first possession of the game. Two possessions later, Kennedy connected with Liam Duncan for 23-yard scoring strike.

Kenyon then marched all the way down to the Tigers' goal line at the end of the quarter, but a pass interference call followed by a failed fourth-down attempt resulted in no points.

Wittenberg went the other way in a hurry, as Kendall broke off a 75-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 21-0 advantage.

The Lords again responded by marching the ball inside the Wittenberg 10-yard line. This time, however, the team settled for a 23-yard field goal from Ryan Cooper.

Wittenberg matched Kenyon's field goal on its next possession and then followed up with a touchdown to take a 31-3 lead into the break. The Tigers put the game away with another field goal in the third quarter and one final touchdown in the fourth.