Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College football team scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns but it wasn't enough as the visiting Alvernia University Wolves held on for a 38-35 win over the Yeomen on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
Oberlin trailed 31-14 early in the fourth quarter but would quickly cut the deficit down to 10 as
Brandon Davies hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from
Chris Allen Jr. with 11:23 left to play. It appeared that Oberlin recovered the ensuing onside kick as
David Harris pounced on the ball along the far sideline but after discussion with the officials he was ultimately ruled to be out of bounds.
The Wolves would take advantage of the shell-shocked Yeomen scoring on the very next play as EJ Lee ripped off a 48-yard TD to swell the lead right back to 17.
Oberlin responded with a methodical 11-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by Allen Jr. TD scamper from four yards out. The senior signal caller would finish with 78 yards on the ground to go along with two rushing TDs.
After a quick three-and-out by the Oberlin defense, the Yeomen went right back to work as Allen took over with 3:55 left on the clock and finished off an 8-play, 65-yard jaunt with a 14-yard TD pass to
Brian Colarusso.
Wes Penta's extra point would trim the gap down to three but this time his on-side kick try was collared by the Wolves as they milked off the final 1:39 to preserve their first win since 2019.
Allen Jr. finished with 257 yards passing and three touchdowns, completing 23-of-40 attempts to go along with two interceptions.
Brandon Davies caught two of Allen's touchdowns as he posted 75 yards on seven catches, while big play threat
Ty Weatherspoon had 76 yards on four receptions.
Luca Friedman, who tied
Hunter Green with a team-high 13 tackles, also added 54 yards rushing on six carries.
Alvernia led 14-0 early in the second quarter until the Yeomen finally showed some signs of life as Colarusso blocked a punt that was scooped up by
Jake Russell and returned 27 yards down to the Alvernia 4-yardline. From there, Allen would run it in for the Yeomen's first score.
A 33-yard Lee TD run gave Alvernia a 21-7 edge at the half and Owen Morton's 18-yard catch-and-run TD gave the visitors a 28-7 lead with 11:08 left in the quarter but the Yeomen would respond with an 8-play, 57-yard scoring drive that ended with the first of two Davies' touchdowns to setup the thrilling fourth quarter.
Oberlin out-gained Alvernia 412-365 and had 10 more first downs than the Wolves, 27-17.
The Yeomen open up conference play next Saturday at Denison University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
