Hiram, Ohio – Junior running back Melvin Briggs plowed his way into the end zone from 4-yards out in double overtime to lift the Oberlin College Yeomen to a 47-44 victory over the Hiram College Terriers on Saturday afternoon.
 
The score capped a career day for Briggs as he finished with 213 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Senior Ryan Gleeson also turned in another memorable performance as he hauled in seven passes for 118 yards and three scores to set the school record for TD catches in a season with 12. The Seattle, Washington, native bested Justin Cruz's '17 mark of 11 that he posted in 2014. With 978 yards on the year, Gleeson is just 12 yards shy of Ricky Valenzuela's single-season school-best total of 990 that he recorded in 2001.
 
Zach Taylor threw for 147 yards and two TDs while adding 39 yards and a TD on the ground before he gave way late in the game to first-year Thomas Jenkins. The rookie impressed going 6-for-8 passing for 55 yards and a TD while adding 34 yards and a rushing TD.
 
Hiram got the ball to start the first overtime and scored a touchdown, forcing the Yeomen to respond. They would answer the call as Jenkins found Gleeson on a deep post from 23 yards out to invoke another round of overtime.
 
On their second possession of extra time, the Terriers earned a 1^st-and-goal from the Oberlin 1-yard line, but the Yeomen defense stood tall as Von Wooding made back-to-back tackles for loss before forcing a 3^rd-down incompletion. Alex Warren would covert a 22-yard field goal to once again force an Oberlin response.
 
Briggs did nearly all of the work on the game-winning drive, starting off with a 10-yard rip before Jenkins added five more on the ground. Briggs would then bust his way off-tackle for 6-yards before going straight up the gut on the next play to send the Yeomen home happy.
 
Oberlin would take a 7-0 lead on their second drive of the game as the long-distance connection of Taylor to Gleeson struck once again for a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
 
The teams would alternate punts on the next five possessions before the Terriers defense came up with a big play, intercepting Taylor deep in Yeomen territory to set up their offense for the game-tying touchdown. Hiram's Isaiah Jones capped a 7-play, 25-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge to even the score with 12:37 left in the opening half.
 
Oberlin would answer back on the ensuing possession as Taylor was flushed out of the pocket and escaped up the far the sideline, weaving his way through the defense for a 48-yard TD to put the Yeomen back out in front, 13-7.
 
A big 4^th-and-1 stop by the Yeomen defense at their own 41-yard line gave the Yeomen offense another chance to capitalize with great field position and they would do just that as three plays later Briggs escaped free for a 52-yard TD run to stake Oberlin to a 20-7 halftime lead.
 
The Terriers wasted no time in getting back within one score as Jones started the second half with a 51-yard rip and would score just one play later from 7-yards out to shrink the Yeomen advantage down to six, 20-14.
 
Oberlin responded to the quick scoring strike with a 6-play, 78-yard march that took 2:11 off the clock. A 45-yard dash by Briggs put the Yeomen into the red zone and three plays later on 3^rd-and-8, Taylor found Gleeson for the second time on the afternoon to give him his record-tying 11^th TD catch of the year to make it 27-14.
 
However, it was the Terriers who controlled most of the third quarter as another 1-yard TD by Jones and a 9-yard TD catch by Tahj Lorthridge briefly put them out in front, 28-27. Thankfully for the Yeomen, the last play of the period was a 62-yard run by Briggs down to the Hiram 1-yard line and on the first play of the fourth quarter Jenkins snuck in to reclaim the Oberlin lead at 34-28.
 
The ensuing Hiram drive lasted 14 plays and took 5:13 off the clock but they had nothing to show for it as the Yeomen defense made another big stand, stopping the Terriers on four straight plays from 10-yard line.
 
After a quick 3-and-out by Oberlin, Hiram would eventually answer with the game-tying TD as Luther Fortson hauled in a 17-yard TD pass from Randy Tucker. The all-important extra point was missed by Green to keep the game even at 34.
 
Both teams would have a possession before the fourth-quarter horn would sound but neither threatened.
 
Devin White led the Yeomen defense with 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks while Wooding finished with 13 tackles, including three for a loss.
 
The Yeomen will conclude the season next Saturday at Allegheny College. The Gators will be coming off a 54-17 loss to Wabash that they suffered today.