GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College football team welcomed a perennially tough opponent to town in the Wittenberg University Tigers, and the Owls defense did its part to put Kenyon in position to extend its three-game winning streak. However, the Owls offense could not get going against the Tigers, who ground out a 27-7 win in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) matchup.
Kenyon's defense continued its stellar season with another solid showing, holding Wittenberg to the fewest points the Tigers have scored in a game against Kenyon since 1991 when Wittenberg was held to 22 points against the Owls. However, the Tigers' defense was also dominant, holding Kenyon to just 66 total yards of offense. Wittenberg improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in league play, while Kenyon fell to 4-3 (3-2 NCAC).
Despite forcing the Tigers into a turnover on downs on the game's first possession, the Owls faced an early 13-0 deficit after their first four possessions ended in two punts and two turnovers.
Still, Kenyon's defense did what it could to keep the Owls in the game as Trey Blazevich blocked a punt to set the offense up in the red zone to start the second quarter. The drive ended with a botched snap on a field goal attempt, and the Tigers took the ball down the field on their ensuing possession to go up by 20.
The Owls picked up some momentum before halftime after Park Penrod perfectly placed a 21-yard pass to Dylan Carlquist in the endzone. The third-down play was Kenyon's longest of the game, and it put the home team on the board, 20-7. Then, just before halftime, Kenyon stopped a Wittenberg drive and the Tigers missed a 39-yard field goal, keeping the game close at the midway point.
Unfortunately, the Tigers benefited from their day's longest play to start the second half, a 34-yard passing score on their first possession. The touchdown put the Tigers ahead 27-7, which stood as the final score after both defenses held up over the remainder of the game.
Julius Thompson led Kenyon's offense with 56 rushing yards on 17 carries, but he could not match Wittenberg's Omar Holloway, who helped the Tigers control the game with 99 yards and two touchdowns on a whopping 31 attempts.
Jayden Miller managed Wittenberg's passing game with 195 yards and a touchdown pass, adding 28 yards and a score on the ground. Miller was held to a 15-for-25 clip and was sacked twice, but Penrod faced more pressure on the other side. The Owls senior was sacked 11 times and was held to 82 yards, going 12-for-27 with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Defensively, Andrew Cooney had a monster game for the Owls. The first-year finished with a game-high 11 tackles and tied for the team-high with three tackles for loss. The linebacker also forced two fumbles and recovered one of them for his first career takeaway. Matthew Ehrenreich had 10 tackles, including three for a loss. Andy Canonico compiled seven total tackles, and he dominated the line of scrimmage as three were for a loss and two were sacks, both season-highs for the senior.
Up next, the Owls hit the road for the final time this season as they travel to take on the Wabash College Little Giants in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 26.
