Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team will welcome a large homecoming crowd on Saturday afternoon as North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon College invades the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
 
What: Oberlin College (1-0, 0-0 NCAC) vs. Kenyon College (0-1, 0-0 NCAC)
When: Saturday, September 9, 1 p.m.
Where: Oberlin, Ohio – Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex
Radio: AM-1320 WOBL – Don Vincent (p-b-p)
Online Coverage: Live Stats l Live Video l Live Audio
 
Series Information …
One of the longest running rivalries, the Yeomen first clashed with the Lords in 1892 … Oberlin leads the all-time series 42-39-6 and has won five out its last eight battles with Kenyon … Oberlin's 28-24 victory on September 24, 2015 was the team's first victory at Bailey Field … The Yeomen have taken two out of the last three against the Lords with Kenyon winning 45-16 last season in Gambier.
 
A Look back at Last Year…
The Yeomen defense surrendered 490 yards in last year's 45-16 loss as then freshman quarterback Thomas Merkle threw for 311 yards and three scores, while Nat Henry rushed for 128 yards on just 16 attempts … Oberlin trailed by just 12, 28-16, heading into the fourth quarter, but the Lords pulled away with 17 fourth-quarter points … Zach Taylor threw for 221 yards and two scores and added another 68 yards on the ground in the setback … Robby Reinheimer caught nine balls for 121 yards and two TDs.
 
Scouting the Lords …
Kenyon comes to town 0-1 after falling to Sewanee, 45-20, last week … Picked eighth in the NCAC Preseason Poll, the Lords finished 3-7 overall and 2-7 in the NCAC last year … The combination of sophomore quarterback Thomas Merkle and senior wide receiver Ian Bell is a dangerous one … Last week Merkle threw for 300 yards, but was intercepted five times … Bell snagged five balls for 193 yards in the loss … To keep defenses honest, the Lords will use a diverse ground attack that features Nat Henrey and Seamus McCurren … Defensively, they allowed 382.9 yards per game in 2016.
 
Make it Two …
The Yeomen are in search of their first 2-0 start since the 1989 campaign when they beat Thiel, 21-14, in week one and followed with an 8-7 win over Hiram the next week … Oberlin has had seven other opportunities since then to start the season with back-to-back wins, but has yet to do so … The Yeomen started 1-0 in 1989, 1990, 1997, and 2010-2013 ... … The Yeomen last won back-to-back games at any point in a season in 2012 … They defeated Hiram 39-0 on October 27 before following with a historic 31-16 win over Wabash the following week.
 
Run Stoppers …
The Yeomen defense held the Hornets to 34 yards rushing and 180 total yards in last week's 24-6 win … It was the least amount of rushing yards Oberlin has allowed since October 3, 2015 when they beat Allegheny 48-9 … The Gators had just 18 yards on the ground on that day … Overall, the last time Oberlin held an opponent to under 200 total yards in a game was on November 16, 2013 when they limited the Hiram Terriers to 184 yards in a 47-13 win.
 
A Tackling Von …
Sophomore Von Wooding had 10 tackles, two TFL's, a sack and a forced fumble in last week's win over Kalamazoo … For the Flushing, Ohio, native, it was the third time he has posted double-digit stops in the first 11 games of his career … Last season he had a career-high 15 tackles vs. Denison and two weeks prior he made 12 tackles vs. Wooster.
 
As Easy as 1-2-3 …
The Oberlin running back trio of Connor Hibbard, Kahlil Rivers, and Melvin Briggs combined to rush for 224 yards in the season-opening win last Saturday … In his collegiate debut, Hibbard had 99 yards on 18 totes of the ball, while Rivers racked up 85 yards on 10 attempts, which included a 53-yard TD … Briggs added 40 yards on 12 carries … As a team, it was the first time the Yeomen have gone over 200 yards in a game since September 12, 2015 when they had 229 yards in a 28-24 win over Kenyon … Last season, the most damage the Yeomen did on the ground in a game was 184 on November 5 at DePauw.
 
Seeing Red …
The Yeomen came up big in the red zone both offensively and defensively last week against the Hornets … Defensively, the Hornets cashed in on just one of their three trips inside the 20-yardline and that didn't come until late in the game as an errant snap set them up at the 17-yardline … Offensively, Oberlin did most of its work from long range as its three touchdowns came from 53, 28, and 29 yards away … Their one trip in close ended with a 22-yard field goal.