Oberlin, Ohio – Early turnovers plagued the Oberlin College football team as it fell to the visiting DePauw University Tigers 54-14 on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
 
The Tigers ran their record to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC with the victory. Oberlin fell to 1-4 and 1-3 in league play.
 
The Yeomen got off on the wrong foot, going three-and-out on their first possession, and then quarterback Lucas Poggiali was intercepted on each of the next two Yeomen drives. The Tigers made them pay dearly, scoring touchdowns all three times to grab a 21-0 lead after one period.
 
Oberlin played much better in the second quarter, starting the stanza with a 2-yard touchdown run by Blake Buckhannon to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:57. Justin Cruz accounted for 45 yards as he made first-down catches of 16 and 29 yards along the way.
 
However, the Tigers answered right back, finding pay dirt for the fourth time to go up 28-7 with 12:05 left in the first half.
 
The Yeomen were able to cut the lead back down to 14 on their next drive as Poggiali connected with rookie Trace McConnell for a 27-yard touchdown. On the play Poggiali was able to escape pressure and rolled out to his right and threw a strike to McConnell along the near sideline.
 
It appeared the Yeomen scoring drive stalled out near the 50 as they lined up to punt on 4^th-and-1, but Head Coach Jay Anderson called for the fake punt, which was executed perfectly for a first down. Buckhannon, who gained three yards on the fake punt, then ripped off runs six and 15 yards to put the Yeomen in business.
 
Now trailing 28-14, the Yeomen defense came through with a big play as Gabe Edwards picked off Tigers' quarterback Matt Hunt in the end zone to give the ball back to the offense with 4:43 left in the second quarter.
 
With a chance to gain more momentum with a potential scoring drive, the Oberlin offense did not execute as Poggiali was picked off for the third time in the half to give the ball back to DePauw. They would again turn the miscue into seven points to take a 35-14 lead at the half.
 
In the second half the Tigers did not let up, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter before adding a safety and field goal. They would add one last touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete the game's scoring.
 
Poggiali finished 13-of-26 for 189 yards with four interceptions and the one TD to McConnell.  Oberlin's ground game also never really got going, totaling 79 yards on 30 attempts.
 
Spencer Conley led the Yeomen defense with 10 tackles, while Bennett Jackson and Tim Kondo added nine each.
 
The Yeomen are back in action next Saturday at Allegheny College. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.