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Kenyon College Athletics

Jordon Benjamin
Graham Stokes
35
Kenyon KENF 0-1
51
Winner Bluffton BLUF 1-0
Kenyon KENF
0-1
35
Final
51
Bluffton BLUF
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
KENF Kenyon 8 0 14 13 35
BLUF Bluffton 14 21 0 16 51

Game Recap: Football |

Owls fall short in high-scoring season opener

BLUFFTON, Ohio -- The Kenyon College Owls opened the 2023 football season by making a second-half push that included four touchdowns Saturday night at Salzman Stadium. The surge was not enough, however, as the host Bluffton University Beavers utilized a 35-8 halftime lead to record a 51-35 non-conference win.

The Owls got off to a decent start and used their second offensive possession to post the first points of the game. Fueled by a 31-yard run from Jordon Benjamin, the Kenyon team drove 82 yards in eight plays. The drive ended on a play in which quarterback Henry Wendorf connected with Dylan Carlquist for a 31-yard scoring pass and catch. Wendorf then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Owls an 8-0 lead.

From there, things went south for Kenyon. Bluffton quarterback Xavier Reyero went on a tear, whipping up five touchdown passes over the remainder of the first half while launching the Beavers to a 27-point advantage at the intermission..

In the third quarter, the Kenyon defense stopped Bluffton deep in its own territory. When the Owls offense took over, it needed just three plays to score again. The last of those three plays saw running back Drake Lewis dart into the endzone from seven yards out.

The Kenyon defense stopped Bluffton again on its next possession, albeit deep in Kenyon territory this time. Again, the offense fed off the defense and exchanged the turnover on downs for more points. The Owls pieced together an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Wendorf plunging over the goal line from one yard away. During the drive, which made the score 35-22, Wendorf completed four passes for 46 yards. Three of those passes went to David Livington who racked up 33 receiving yards on the march down the field.

The teams then traded touchdowns, putting the score at 42-29 with a little more than 13 minutes left in the game. Kenyon's touchdown came on a 28-yard pass from Wendorf to Diego Luna.

Bluffton then put the game away with a safety and another Reyero passing touchdown. Reyero ended the game 24-of-38 for 404 yards and a Bluffton single-game record seven passing touchdowns. 

Kenyon got one more touchdown, a three-yard run from Julius Thompson, to put a cap on all scoring with 42 seconds remaining on the clock.

In his first collegiate start, Wendorf went 25-of- 40 for 282 yards and two touchdowns for the Owls. His top target was Livingston, who hauled in 11 passes for 77 yards. Carlquist had four catches for 96 yards.

On the ground, Kenyon had 144 yards with Benjamin accounting for 91. He ran the ball 16 times, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

Next up for the Owls is their home opener Saturday, September 9 against Kalamazoo College.
 
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