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Kenyon College Athletics

17
Kenyon KENYON 0-1
20
Winner Bluffton BLUFFTON 1-0
Kenyon KENYON
0-1
17
Final
20
Bluffton BLUFFTON
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
KENYON Kenyon 3 14 0 0 17
BLUFFTON Bluffton 0 3 10 7 20
Andrew Cooney
Sejin Kim

Game Recap: Football |

Owls fade in second half, can’t beat Beavers

BLUFFTON, Ohio – Looking to start 1-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Kenyon College football team made the trip to Bluffton University on Saturday night, kicking off the 2025 season under the lights against the Beavers.


Despite taking a 17-3 lead after 30 minutes and controlling both sides of the ball, the Owls could not carry over their success to the second half, getting outscored 17-0 and eventually falling on a last-second touchdown. 

In the first quarter, first-year quarterback Ryan Dean started the game by orchestrating a 10-play, 68-yard drive that led to a field goal from Tyler Bell, getting the Owls on the board 3-0 early. 

The next time Kenyon got the ball, Dean again drove the team into a goal to go situation. Despite an errant pitch that led to a third and goal from the 24, the first-year remained composed and delivered a perfect ball to Luca Rumberg, who leaped over his defender to make the catch for the improbable score, putting the Owls up 10-0 at 11:09 in the second.

Later in the second, the Beavers got on the board and nearly turned the tide of the game. After a field goal at 6:23, the Bluffton defense recovered a fumble from Dean on the ensuing possession, threatening to tie the game and completely shift the momentum. However, Kenyon's defense responded with perhaps the best sequence of the night. 

Two Owls tipped Tywuan Clark's pass on the next possession right into the hands of junior Dominic Simpson for his first interception of the young season. Just two plays later, Dean aired out a nice pass to Tyler Gladden, who took the rock 38 yards for the score, putting his team up 17-3 just before the two minute warning, a lead they would take to halftime. 

After being held to 60 yards of offense in the first half, Bluffton (1-0) came out of the break energized and hungry, and started the second half with a lengthy field goal drive to cut the Kenyon lead to 11. The Beavers immediately got the ball back on a pooch kickoff which bounced off of an Owls player. Just six plays later, the Beavers capitalized with a touchdown, setting the score to 17-13 and bringing any Kenyon momentum to a halt at 6:38 in the third.

The game slowed down in the latter half of the third and into the fourth quarter, as each team exchanged two scoreless possessions apiece. Bluffton got the ball back after an interception at its own 22 yard line with just over two minutes to play. Facing a third and 18 at the two minute warning, the Beavers completed a 43-yard strike to enter Kenyon territory. 

Bluffton continued its drive as the clock ticked under a minute, converting a third and long with 49 seconds to play at the Kenyon 28. Two plays later, the Beavers pushed the ball to the seven yard line with 30 seconds left. After the Owls made two good stops to stop the run, a roughing the passer call pulled the ball even closer to the endzone, now spotted at the six with 15 seconds to play and a fresh set of downs. One play later, the Beavers converted for the game-winning touchdown. 

Dean finished the game 20-of-32 with 283 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense to 340 total yards. Jordan Benjamin made his return to the team with 13 carries for 44 yards to lead the team in rushing. Rumberg headlined the receiving efforts with four catches for 63 yards and a score, while Gladden and Charlie Taylor were not far behind with 54 and 51 yards, respectively. 

On the other side of the ball, sophomore linebacker Andrew Cooney made a team-high nine tackles, and Alex Knight and Tanner Smith made two and a half and two sacks individually. J'Sun Gardner had two pass break ups to lead the defensive backs. As a unit, the defense allowed 286 yards and recorded six sacks. 

Up next, Kenyon will return to McBride Field for its home opener against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which kicks off at 12:00 pm on Saturday, September 13 from Gambier.


 
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter KENYON BLUFFTON
KENYON
02:11 - KENYON - Tyler Bell 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 68 yards, TOP 6:13
3 0
2nd Quarter KENYON BLUFFTON
KENYON
11:09 - KENYON - Luca Rumberg 24 yd pass from Ryan Dean (Tyler Bell kick) 6 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:38
10 0
BLUFFTON
06:23 - BLUFFTON - Colton Yugovich 44 yd field goal 6 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:46
10 3
KENYON
02:06 - KENYON - Tyler Gladden 38 yd pass from Ryan Dean (Tyler Bell kick) 2 plays, 38 yards, TOP 0:15
17 3
3rd Quarter KENYON BLUFFTON
BLUFFTON
09:56 - BLUFFTON - Colton Yugovich 35 yd field goal 8 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:06
17 6
BLUFFTON
06:38 - BLUFFTON - Tywuan Clark 1 yd run (Colton Yugovich kick), 6 plays, 35 yards, TOP 3:18
17 13
4th Quarter KENYON BLUFFTON
BLUFFTON
00:11 - BLUFFTON - Jaivon Hudson 6 yd pass from Tywuan Clark (Colton Yugovich kick) 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:26
17 20

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