Grencastle, Ind. - DePauw, ranked 14th by D3football.com and in the latest coaches' poll, moved to 3-0 overall following a 35-14 win over Kenyon in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both schools. The Owls dropped to 0-3.
Kenyon came out quickly, picking up five first downs on its opening drive, before Ryan Dean tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to Dylan Carlquist with 8:17 left in the first.
DePauw took little time to answer as the Tigers needed just five plays to cover 65 yards with Carson Johnson scoring on a 9-yard run to even the score with 5:30 remaining in the first.
The Tigers' defense forced Kenyon to punt on its next series and the Owls pinned DePauw down at its own three. DePauw drove to the Kenyon 10, but Matthew Ehrenreich forced a fumble that Tanner Smith recovered at the Kenyon 16 ending the Tigers' threat.
Following a series of punts, DePauw took over on the Kenyon 44 with 20 seconds left. After Scott Ballentine's incomplete pass on first down, Anthony Garzolini entered and connected with Lleyton Lukowski for a 4-yard gain. Ballentine came back in but couldn't convert on a third down pass. With 4.9 seconds remaining in the half, Garzolini came back in and found Lukowski in the end zone for a 40-yard score as time expired. Matthew Berry's point-after made it 14-7 at the intermission.
Kenyon opened the second half by driving to near midfield, but Dean was hit by Dominic Seibal and Luke Nolan was there to recover the ball at the Kenyon 40 and return it to the 36.
The Tigers needed just seven plays before Scott Ballentine and Lukowski teamed for a 17-yard score to push DePauw's lead to 21-7.
DePauw stopped Kenyon at midfield on the Owls' next drive, but Dean landed a punt at the Tigers' 10. The Tigers picked up 15 yards on a first-down pass play from Scott Ballentine to Lukowski, but a fumble after a second-down completion was recovered by Kenyon at the DePauw 39.
The Owls cut the lead to 21-14 after Dean and Brendan Comerford teamed for a 7-yard score with 1:59 remaining in the third.
DePauw came right back with a 9-play possession that bridged the third and fourth quarters and was capped by Scott Ballentine's 1-yard sneak on third down with 13:04 left in the game.
The Tigers' final score came with 3:40 remaining as Scott Ballentine found his brother Robby for an 11-yard score.
Caden Whitehead rushed for 45 yards on 16 tries, while Scott Ballentine completed 28-of-38 passes for 332 yards. Lukowski had career highs of 10 catches for 136 yards, while Robby Ballentine hauled in eight for 67 yards.
Jordon Benjamin totaled 60 rushing yards on 21 attempts, while Dean completed 21-of-39 for 186 yards. Comerford had team-highs of nine catches and 65 receiving yards.
Joey Roland led DePauw's defense with seven tackles, while Holt Heldebrand had seven along with an interception. Blake Cole had DePauw's only sack for 11 yards.
Michael Kerr paced Kenyon with eight tackles with J'Sun Gardner chipping in seven.
DePauw outgained Kenyon, 437-224, and held a 23-18 edge in first downs. The Tigers also held a 376-186 advantage in passing yards.
The Tigers travel to Wittenberg on Saturday, Sept. 27, for a 1 p.m. NCAC game.
NOTES
- The win was DePauw's 27th straight regular season victory which is the third-longest active streak on all NCAA levels
- DePauw entered the game with the top rushing defense on all NCAA levels and has allowed just minus-two yards over the first three games
- Robby Ballentine's touchdown catch was the 42nd of his career and tied the DePauw record held by Alex Koors (2007-10). Ballentine's 252 points are third in program history
- Matthew Berry's five extra-points pushed his career total to 105 which now ranks third all-time at DePauw
- Today's victory was the Tigers' 21st consecutive conference win
- DePauw has won 13 straight regular season home games