Gambier, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team earned a 35-24 road win at Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon at McBride Field.
The victory was not only the first of the season for the Yeomen, it also snapped a 13-game road losing streak that dated back October 17, 2015 when the Yeomen upended Wooster 28-23.
It was a career day on the ground for senior running back Chuck Williams as he toted the ball 38 times for 151 yards. Quarterback Zach Taylor impressed with both his arms and his legs, as he rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. In total, the Yeomen gashed the Lords' defense for 291 yards on the ground.
Through the air, Taylor was 21-of-40 for 220 yards and four touchdowns. The junior from Artesia, California, spread the wealth as five different receivers had at least 25 yards with senior Jabari Clemons leading the way with 78 yards on four catches – two of which went for touchdowns.
After coming up empty on the first drive inside the red zone, Oberlin would get on the board on its second possession as Taylor threw a perfect corner pass to the back pylon for a 15-yard touchdown to Clemons to make it 7-0 with 6:14 left in the in the opening quarter. The score capped a 7-play, 55-yard drive that took just 2:14 off the clock.
Early in the second quarter, Oberlin increased its lead to 14-0 when sophomore Miles Temoney hauled in a 4-yard TD toss from Taylor as he was left uncovered pre-snap leading to the walk-in score. The touchdown was the first of Temoney's career and capped a drive that covered 65 yards on 13 plays.
Midway through the second quarter, Oberlin would open up a 20-3 lead as senior Robby Reinheimer grabbed a 20-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to finish off a short 5-play, 69-yard drive that included 33 rushing yards by Taylor.
The Lords would answer back with their first touchdown drive of the game, but the Yeomen still carried a 20-10 lead into halftime.
The Yeomen offense would get stagnant in the third quarter, giving the Lords a chance to get back into the game. On their second possession of the period, Thomas Merkle completed three straight passes to Ian Robertson with the last going for a 38-yard touchdown to cut the Oberlin lead down to three, 20-17.
With momentum appearing to be on Kenyon's side heading into the fourth quarter, Oberlin's defense would come up big to squash a potential go-ahead scoring drive as Jabree Hason snagged his second-career interception.
Oberlin's offense would take advantage of the turnover, using Taylor's running ability to cover 71 yards on eight plays. In a drive that also featured a 15-yard personal foul on the Lords, Taylor rushed for 43 yards, which included a 11-yard scamper to the end zone to make it a two-possession game at 28-17 following a successful two-point conversion.
On the ensuing Kenyon drive, the Yeomen defense stood tall once again as they forced the Lords to turn it over on downs at the Oberlin 27-yard line with 7:03 left to play.
Oberlin would ultimately ice the game away with a 73-yard scoring drive. Following a Kenyon timeout, the Yeomen faced 3rd-and-11 from the Lords' 46-yard line, but miscommunication in the secondary allowed Clemons to break free in the seam as he snagged the ball near the 25-yard line before high-stepping his was into the end zone for the game-clinching touchdown with 4:28 left to play.
The Lords, who saw their losing streak increase to 18 straight games, did score once more down the stretch, but it was too little too late to have a bearing on the final outcome. Merkle finished the day 39-of-69 for 392 yards with Robertson catching 15 balls for 194 yards. Despite that, Oberlin still outgained Kenyon 511-410.
Junior Devin White led the defense with a career-high 11 tackles, while Hason and Luke Buck added nine each in the win.
Oberlin will open its home schedule next Saturday as No. 14 Wittenberg invades the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex for a 2:30 p.m. conference clash.
Yeomen Roll at Kenyon
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20180908_g3fu.xml
2018
Oberlin
35
Kenyon
24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin (1-1) | 7 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 35 |
| Kenyon (0-2) | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Sep 08, 2018