GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College football team welcomed Kalamazoo College to McBride Field for the Owls' home opener, but the visiting Hornets were a buzzkill to the excitement of a busy athletics weekend in Gambier. Kalamazoo kept Kenyon in check after a big first half as the Hornets won 48-16.

The Owls are still looking for their first victory in two tries, while Kalamazoo improved to 2-0 on the young season. Kenyon narrowly missed out on an early-season win at Kalamazoo last season, but the Hornets did not allow the 2023 iteration of the matchup to be as close.

Despite the 48 points on the scoreboard, Kenyon's defense made numerous big plays. The Owls intercepted four passes, Kenyon's most since matching the mark in the 2012 season. First-year defensive back Jackson Belyn corralled two takeaways, fellow first-year Dominic Simpson snagged one, and senior Tommy Iannuzzi initiated the other.

However, the Owls could not take advantage of their takeaways, while the Hornets made the most of a few Kenyon miscues. Seven of Kalamazoo's points came from a 60-yard fumble returned for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter, a score that sent the visitors to the locker room with a commanding 29-3 first-half lead.

Kenyon kept pace with Kalamazoo for most of the second half as the visitors only outscored the Owls by six over the second 30 minutes, but the Hornets maintained possession to control the clock. Kalamazoo punted the ball just three times compared to nine Kenyon boots, and the Hornets got the ball back after one of their punts after the Owls muffed a ball.

Kalamazoo's Josh Nichols was held in check, save for an 84-yard touchdown, as the senior was 18-35 (.514) with four interceptions and 185 yards on his other attempts. Backup Dawson Skupin boosted the Hornets' aerial attack with 76 yards and two touchdowns, completing all four of his passes.

On the other side, Kenyon's Henry Wendorf went 9-24 (.375) with 117 yards and an interception. Charlie Taylor led Owls receivers with four catches for 84 yards, including a 42-yarder.

The Owls outgained Kalamazoo 178-166 on the ground as Jordon Benjamin amassed 90 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while the Hornets' Jon Brunette rushed for 93 yards and two scores.

Kendall Weaver paced Kenyon with nine tackles, including six solo. Sam Bouchard impacted the game in many ways, finishing with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and a team-leading two pass breakups.

The game was Kenyon's final non-conference outing as the Owls start their North Coast Athletic Conference slate next week. Kenyon heads to Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday, September 16, to take on the Wittenberg University Tigers (1-0) at 6 p.m.