WASHINGTON, D.C. – The
James Rosenbury coaching era commenced Saturday in tremendous fashion. The newly-hired head coach of the Kenyon College football program directed the Lords to a thrilling 32-31 double-overtime road win over the Cardinals of The Catholic University of America.
In the second overtime, Catholic took the ball first and used three plays to score a touchdown and an extra point. Kenyon then took over and produced a key 19-yard pass from quarterback
Thomas Merkle to tight end
Matt Jolliffe. That set up a one-yard
Jimmy Andrews touchdown run, making the score 31-30 in favor of Catholic.
Catholic didn't like Kenyon's extra-point formation, so it called a timeout. During the break, Rosenbury and crew decided to go for broke. They bypassed the potential game-tying point-after attempt and went for the two-point conversion and the win.
The decision, and the play call, worked to perfection. Merkle dropped back out of the shotgun and fired a quick pass near the left sideline to
Justin Bosch. Bosch hauled it on the run, spun to his left and dove over the goal line, just inside the pylon for a one-point win that brought to an end a 26-game Kenyon losing streak, one that dated back to October 1, 2016.
Kenyon trailed Catholic 7-0 after one quarter of play and 17-6 at halftime. A balanced offensive attack throughout the game was key, not only in keeping Kenyon in the game, but in igniting a rally in which the Lords scored 11 third-quarter points to knot the game at 17-17.
Merkle completed 28 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns. Andrews rushed 27 times for 120 yards and two scores, and Jolliffe hauled in eight passes for 155 yards and one more Kenyon touchdown. Overall, the Lords had 466 yards of offense, which included 28 first downs and a rather impressive .588 (10-for-17) third-down conversion rate.
On the flip side of those numbers, Catholic managed just 289 yards of total offense. The Cardinals logged 13 first downs and went 4-of-14 (.286) on third-down conversions.
Kenyon's first score came early in the second quarter when Merkle and Jolliffe connected on a 19-yard scoring strike. Catholic kept the lead, though, because it blocked the Lords' extra-point attempt.
In the third quarter, trailing 17-6, the Lords went on an eight-play, 47-yard drive that stalled at the Catholic four-yard line. Rosenbury decided the three points were valuable and sent out
Ryan Cooper to convert the 21-yard field goal and bring the Kenyon team within eight points of the Cardinals.
The Lords defense then forced a three-and-out for Catholic and the offense went right back to work, constructing an eight-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard touchdown toss from Merkle to
Andris Balodis, who finished the game with 72 receiving yards.
Merkle kept the ball on the ensuing two-point conversion and tied things up.
Kenyon's offense continued to control play and even set up a game-winning situation in the fourth quarter. Taking over possession on its own 18-yard line, the Lords put together a 15-play, 76-yard drive that chewed up the final 6:14 of regulation. The drive put the Lords on the Catholic six yard-line with four seconds left. A potential game-winning, 24-yard field goal sailed wide right, however, forcing the extra sessions.
Defensively for the Lords, linebackers
Michael Picone and
Sam Dickey led the way, combining for 25 tackles.
Tom Zaleski added seven tackles.
Nathan Fanta accounted for the team's only sack and
Trevor Brown recovered a Catholic fumble late in the third quarter.
The game was Kenyon's lone non-conference contest of the season. Next week, the Lords return to McBride Field to host Ohio Wesleyan University in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
