Gambier, Ohio – Powered by a dominant performance by the Oberlin College offense, the Yeomen football team defeated the Kenyon College Lords 47-28 on Saturday afternoon at McBride Field.
It was a career-day for both junior quarterback Lucas Poggiali and junior running back Blake Buckhannon. Poggiali threw for 181 yards on 13-of-23 passing to go along with a career-high four touchdowns. Buckhannon carved up the Lords' defense for 127 yards on just 13 carries for his first-career 100-yard rushing game. Those yards were just a part of his 315 all-purpose yards in the game.
In total the Yeomen racked up 477 yards of offense, averaging 7.5 yards per play. Sophomore wide out Justin Cruz also had the best performance of his young Yeomen career, catching four balls for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
The victory was the first for new head coach Jay Anderson. It also snapped a two-game losing skid to the Lords and marked the Yeomen's first week-two triumph since the 2006 season.
"It was a great win for our football program," Coach Anderson said. "We did a lot of things well on offense, but still have a lot to work on both offensively and defensively moving forward. I am happy for these guys in the locker room as they worked hard all week and really earned this win."
Oberlin wasted no time in making a statement, marching 70 yards on seven plays on the first drive of the game. Senior Justin Williams, who totaled 58 yards on the ground, would finish the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Following the score the Yeomen defense would come up big, holding the Lords on fourth down from the Oberlin 4-yardline.
Later in the quarter, the Yeomen took advantage of great field position and quickly went up 14-0 as Poggiali connected with first-year receiver Corey Fussinger on a 25-yard strike.
The Lords would score early in the second quarter to cut the Oberlin lead in half, but the Yeomen would quickly answer to snatch momentum right back in their favor. A 16-yard completion to Alec Bean and a 6-yard run from Williams put the ball down at the Kenyon 14-yardline. On the very next play, Poggiali would escape free and run in for a touchdown. He finished the day with 46 yards on the ground and five total touchdowns.
With a 21-7 lead in hand the Yeomen kept their foot on the gas as Poggiali orchestrated a 10-play, 88-yard scoring drive that took 4:05 off the clock. On 3rd-and-8 from the 16-yardline, he would connect with Cruz for his first score of the day and second of the season to make it 28-7 Yeomen advantage heading into halftime.
Early in the third period the Yeomen defense would get into the scoring act as Max Schenk pinned a punt down at the Lords' two and then on second down Spencer Conley's pressure forced Kenyon quarterback Jake Bates to intentionally ground the ball in the end zone, which resulted in a safety.
Following the free kick the Yeomen would take a 37-7 lead with 5:34 left in the third quarter when Poggiali found Williams from just three yards out.
The Lords would respond with their second touchdown drive of the game to cut into the Yeomen lead, but once again the Yeomen wasted no time in answering back. On the first play from scrimmage, Cruz snuck past everyone on Kenyon's defense and Poggiali found him for a long 74-yard catch-and-run for another Yeomen touchdown to make it a 44-14 game.
In the fourth quarter the Yeomen would tack on a field goal and the Lords would score two more times, but the eventual outcome was never really in doubt.
The Yeomen defense did their part in keeping the Lords in check for much of the afternoon as they held Kenyon to just 54 yards on the ground while creating three turnovers. First-year Bennett Jackson recorded his first-collegiate interception while tying for a team-high with seven tackles. C.J. Ihle matched Jackson with seven stops, including two for a loss.
The Yeomen return home with a record of 1-1 and are set to open up their new home next Saturday night against The College of Wooster. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
Yeomen Win on the Road at Kenyon
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140913_r5d6.xml
2014
Oberlin
47
Kenyon
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin (1-1) | 14 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 47 |
| Kenyon (0-2) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Sep 13, 2014