Oberlin, Ohio – The visiting Kenyon College Owls scored 22 fourth-quarter points to stun a large homecoming crowd en route to knocking off the Oberlin College Yeomen 28-21 on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
Freshman
Connor Steele hauled in his first-career touchdown pass with 2:12 left in the third quarter to give the Yeomen a 21-6 lead but the Owls wouldn't go away quietly.
A 19-yard catch-and-run touchdown reception by Drake Lewis capped off a quick 9-play, 75-yard drive that took just 2:43 off the clock to make it a 21-13 game with 14:29 left to play in the contest.
Chris Allen Jr. was intercepted on the next Yeomen possession, setting the Owls up at the Oberlin 42-yard line and six plays later Owls QB Ryan O'Leary snuck in on 4
th-and-goal from the 1-yard line to trim the Oberlin lead down to just one at 21-20.
The Owls defense answered the call once again – forcing a quick three-and-out to get the ball right back into O'Leary's hands. He would orchestrate a 9-play, 63-yard march that ended with him connecting with Joseph Gorte from 19-yards out for the go-ahead score.
Allen Jr. and the Yeomen took over with 4:24 still left to expire but he was ultimately left facing a 4
th-and-5 and got hit as he threw to allow Darryl Sands to come down with the game-clinching interception.
Allen Jr. finished 21-of-30 with three touchdown passes but was also victimized by three interceptions and six sacks.
Pierce Muthui-Edwards was his top target, snagging seven balls for 125 yards while
Brian Colarusso made six catches for 81 yards and a score.
After neither team got on the board in the first quarter, Oberlin would strike early in the second period as
Greg Lane registered his first-career TD after slithering through the Owls defense from 5-yards out to finish off an 8-play, 86-yard jaunt by the Yeomen.
The Yeomen offense stayed in rhythm on the ensuing possession, covering 80 yards on seven plays as Allen Jr. found Colarusso in the back corner of the end zone for a 3-yard scoring strike to stake Oberlin to a 14-0 advantage.
Late in the half, Kenyon appeared to be going in for its first touchdown but
David Harris have other ideas as he picked off O'Leary's pass in the end zone to preserve Oberlin's two-touchdown lead heading into the intermission.
Kenyon would finally break through on its first possession of the second half as Lewis plodded his way to paydirt from 3-yards out to make it a 14-6 game but after the Yeomen responded with another touchdown it would all unravel from there as the Owls made their charge to complete the comeback heist.
Harris and
Hunter Green led the Yeomen defense with 11 tackles each in the loss.
Oberlin is back in action next Saturday at 4 p.m. at Wittenberg University.
