Hiram, Ohio – Oberlin College got off to a quick start, but cooled off quickly as the Hiram College Terriers defeated the Yeomen, 36-14, on Saturday afternoon in the season finale for both teams.

The disappointing season for the Yeomen came to end with them finishing 0-10, marking the first time since 2000 Oberlin has had a winless season. The Terriers celebrated their Senior Day with a win to finish the year at 3-7, which included a 3-6 record in North Coast Athletic Conference Play.

The first drive of the game was one of the best of the season for the Yeomen as quarterback Zach Taylor went a perfect 6-for-6 passing before he ended the 15-play, 75-yard jaunt with a 1-yard TD run. On the march he connected with Justin Cruz for a 23-yard gain and later found Trace McConnell on a nice back-shoulder fade that got Oberlin down to the one. Two plays later, Taylor would get in on 4^th-and-1 to cap the 6:02 drive to start the game.

However, after the hot start the Yeomen offense bogged down as the next four possessions ended with them alternating between two punts and two fumbles. After registering five first downs on the opening drive, Oberlin had just eight more the rest of the game and gained just an additional 143 yards.

While the Yeomen stalled out, Hiram was just getting going – especially sophomore quarterback Randy Tucker and senior wide out Joshua Philander. The duo would connect for four touchdowns on the day as Tucker threw five in all to go along with 294 yards on 26-of-44 passing. Philander snagged 12 balls for 136 yards and the four scores. They would connect twice in the second quarter to make it a 13-7 Terriers lead.

With the second-quarter clock nearing expiration, Tucker would throw his third TD pass of the stanza, finding Akili Tate from 10 yards out to make it a 19-7 Hiram advantage at the half.

The Terriers would take the ball to start the second half and immediately put together a 12-play, 69-yard drive that took 6:33 off the clock as Tucker and Philander hooked up from six yards out to make it 26-7.

Later trailing 29-7, the Yeomen defense came up with a big play as sophomore linebacker Brendan Mapes stepped in front of a Tucker toss – intercepting the ball at the Hiram 24-yardline and returning it down to the five to setup 1^st-and-goal for Oberlin.

After rushing down to the goal line on first down, the Yeomen lost yards on their next two plays, setting up a 4^th-and-3 situation to start the fourth quarter. Thankfully, Cruz was able to escape open to secure the TD toss from Taylor to get the Yeomen back within striking distance at 29-14 with nearly a full quarter left to play.

Unfortunately, the Oberlin defense couldn't hold the Terriers as they needed just seven plays to go 74 yards on the ensuing drive with Tucker finding Philander for the final time to leave no doubt in the eventual outcome.

Cruz finished with 103 yards on 11 catches as he ends his illustrious career with 2,259 yards, placing him third on the school's all-time list behind Felix Brooks-Church who had 2,264 yards between 1995-98. He also ends third in all-time receptions with 187.

Taylor saw his promising rookie season end on an 18-of-24 effort for 149 yards. On the season he compiled 1,866 yards, which ranks as the sixth-best single-season performance in school history. The Artesia, California, native threw for 12 TDs, ran for three more, caught one and finished with 12 interceptions.

Playing in his final game, senior Justin Bute led the team with 11 tackles – moving his career total to 259, which ranks third all-time in school history. Junior Bennett Jackson added 10 stops on the day to finish with a team-high 74 on the season.

The Yeomen will say goodbye to their nine senior members and begin preparations for the 2017 season this spring.