Springfield, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team put forth a strong effort against No. 15 Wittenberg, but in the end, it wasn't enough as the Tigers prevailed, 34-0, over the Yeomen on Saturday afternoon at Edwards-Maurer Field.
 
It was the first loss of the season for the Yeomen, who dropped back to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC. The Tigers moved to 2-0 and 1-0 in the conference.
 
Oberlin sophomore quarterback Zach Taylor was impressive as he completed 19-of-27 passes for 213 yards. Junior Robby Reinheimer was on the receiving end of eight of Taylor's passes as he finished with 113 yards. Ryan Gleeson added 67 yards on six catches, while sophomore running back Melvin Briggs led the ground attack with 54 yards on 14 carries.
 
The Tigers scored on the game's first possession, going 72 yards in just 1:59 to take an early 7-0 lead.
 
Oberlin's second drive of the game started at their own 2-yardline and they worked their way down to the Tigers' 32, but would come up empty on 3^rd-and-2 and again on 4^th-and-2. It was a reoccurring theme the rest of the way as the Yeomen were 0-for-9 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down tries in the game.
 
Late in the second half, the Tigers would grab a 14-0 lead as DeShawn Sarley capped a 9-play, 95-yard drive with a 2-yard TD plunge.
 
Trailing 14-0 at the half, Oberlin was clearly still in the game, but despite moving the ball well, they could not muster any points.
 
Sarley would add his second score with 16 ticks left in the third quarter to make it a 21-0 Wittenberg advantage.
 
The Yeomen would string together another promising drive in the fourth quarter as a 35-yard hook-up between Taylor and Reinheimer was followed by another 30-yard connection to Gleeson that put the ball at the Wittenberg 30-yardline. Three plays later, Taylor went deep in the end zone to Reinheimer, who appeared to catch the ball for a touchdown, but Michael Ford also had his hands around the ball and ripped it away for an interception.
 
With the final outcome never in doubt, the Tigers would go on to add two more touchdowns to complete the game's scoring.
 
Oberlin finished with 300 yards of offense, but the Tigers were much more efficient as they racked up 534 yards in the win.
 
Penalties also played a large role in the game on both sides as there was 16 flags in the game, with 10 going against the Yeomen for 87 yards.
 
Defensively, Von Wooding led the Yeomen with eight tackles, including one tackle-for-loss. Jubreel Hason added seven stops, while his brother Jabree Hason had five tackles and an interception.
 
The Yeomen are back in action next Saturday at Denison University. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.