Oberlin, Ohio – A stout defensive effort by the Oberlin College football team wasn't enough as the visiting Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops left town with a 22-13 win over the Yeomen on Senior Day at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
 
The Yeomen held the Bishops to just 209 total yards and intercepted OWU quarterback Jax Harville four times, but the Oberlin offense could not capitalize as it fell to get into rhythm until it was too late.
 
Despite multiple missed opportunities on offense, the Yeomen still finished with 393 yards and had 21 first downs compared to the Bishops' 12. Junior quarterback Zach Taylor set the school record for total offense in a career as he threw for 241 yards and added 67 more on the ground to bring his career total to 7,096, passing Greg Mangan's '09 count of 6,794.
 
The senior receiving duo of Jabari Clemons and Ryan Gleeson impressed in their final game at Bailey Field as Clemons hauled in 10 passes for 94 yards while Gleeson snagged four balls for 92 yards and a score to tie Justin Cruz '17 for second all-time in program history with 19 career TD catches. The Seattle, Washington, native has 860 yards on the year, which is fifth-best in school history with two games left on the schedule.
 
The Bishops jumped on the Yeomen from the onset, scoring less than two minutes into the game as Jesse Beachy capped a short 5-play, 49-yard drive with a 2-yard TD plunge.
 
With rain falling neither team could find much traction after the initial score. The Bishops would ultimately breakthrough in the second quarter for their second touchdown as they put together a methodical 13-play, 71-yard drive that took 7:56 off the clock. This time it was Trey Dixon who slithered in from 2-yards out to make it 14-0.
 
The two foes would trade turnovers on the next two possessions. After a Yeomen fumble, Von Wooding would get the ball right back on the next play with an interception that he returned to the Bishops' 35-yard line. However, the drive would stall out at the 14-yard line thus forcing a 31-yard field goal try by Michael Leshchyshyn that got partially blocked by Kyle Logan to force the kick to miss left.
 
OWU would tack on a field goal before the half to carry a 17-0 lead into the intermission.
 
Midway through the third quarter Luke Buck's second INT of the game put the Yeomen in business at the OWU 41-yard line and the Yeomen were able to take advantage of Harville's errant toss as Melvin Briggs ran off the left side for a 26-yard TD to cut the deficit down to 10 at 17-7 with 7:35 left to play in the quarter.
 
The Yeomen defense continued to give the offense chance after chance to make a play and they ultimately did. Taking over at their own 7-yard line with 4:25 left to play in the game, a Bishops personal foul and a 20-yard completion to Clemons gave the Yeomen some breathing room. They would then take a shot deep as the familiar combination of Taylor to Gleeson struck again as he blew past his defender for a 56-yard TD. Unfortunately, the all-important PAT to potentially make it 20-14 was blocked by Logan and picked up by Natrone Barnes, who returned it the other way for a defensive 2-point conversion to keep the Yeomen down by two scores at nine points.
 
There was still life for Oberlin after they recovered the on-side kick, but they would turn it over on downs at the Bishops 28-yard line to effectively squash any threat of a comeback.
 
Buck added a team-high 10 tackles to his two-interception performance, while Devin White matched Wooding with six tackles and an INT. Jubreel Hason led the secondary with nine stops and two pass break-ups.
 
Prior to the game Oberlin honored its nine senior members: Clemons, Tyler Garrison, Gleeson, Michael Pruchnicki, Robby Reinheimer, Chauncey Simmons, Devin Wilkins, Chuck Williams, and Kenny Williams.
 
Oberlin is back in action next Saturday at Hiram College at 1 p.m.