Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team will suit up for its 133
rd season on Saturday afternoon at Kalamazoo College under the direction of first-year Head Coach
John Pont.
What: Oberlin College (0-0) at Kalamazoo College (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 1, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Kalamazoo, MI (Angell Field)
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Inside the Series …
Saturday's meeting marks the seventh straight time the Yeomen and Hornets have kicked off the season against one another with this year's match-up happening in Kalamazoo country for the second straight season … The Hornets defended their home turf in 2016, 2018, and did so again last year in the form of 21-14 victory … The Yeomen won at home in 2017 by a score of 24-6 … The Hornets narrowly escaped the Yeomen in 2019 at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex by a score of 3-0 and did so again in 2021 as the clocked expired with Oberlin just three yards away from potentially tying the game in the 24-17 loss … Overall, this marks the 10th time the two foes have met with Kalamazoo holding a 6-3 advantage.
Scouting the Hornets …
Like the Yeomen, the Hornets have a young roster with 64 of their 96 players having a year or less of collegiate football experience … However, K'Zoo does return eight offensive starters from a team that won its first three games a season ago before dropping its final seven contests … Josh Nichols is back at QB after throwing for 2,097 yards and 18 touchdowns, as is his top target Jonah Spates, who scored three times on 51 catches while totaling 537 yards … The backfield trio of Jon Brunette, Sheldon Riley, and Conner Bell is looking to build off their combined five TDs and 733 yards … Defensively, Carson Deines returns as the team leader with 89 total tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions while adding seven tackles for loss from his linebacker spot … Blake Kelsey comes back as a mainstay on the defensive line after leading the team with 11 tackles for loss en route to finishing the season with 40 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Last Time Against the Hornets …
For the second straight the Yeomen found themselves winning the statistical battle but just finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the 21-14 loss on September 3, 2022 … Oberlin outgained the Hornets, 321-292, held them to 2-of-11 on third down, ran 13 more offensive plays and had a time of possession advantage of 10 minutes … Oberlin fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter before settling in and would trail just 14-7 at the intermission … However, a punt block early in the third setup the Hornets with a short field for them to quickly increase the lead out to two scores, which the Yeomen were unable to overcome.
Pont's Places …
First-year Head Coach
John Pont has had numerous coaching stops in his career at multiple levels across the NCAA, which made him ready for this opportunity to lead the Yeomen …. At the DIII level, Pont was the offensive coordinator at the University of Chicago from 2017-20 and prior to that spent two seasons (2015-16) on the offensive staff at nearby Case Western Reserve University … While with the Maroons, he orchestrated an offense that averaged 30.3 points per game in 2019 while ranking 12th in the country in third-down conversion percentage (.508) and 27th in rushing offense (225.4 YPG) … Pont, who most recently spent the past two seasons (2021-22) as an offensive analyst and football athletic performance assistant at Indiana University, also has experience at the University of Akron, Miami University (Ohio), Colorado State University, University of North Texas, University of North Alabama and Florida State University.
Captains Corner …
At the conclusion of preseason camp, Coach Pont named
Jake Russell,
Hunter Wilson,
Brent Larson, and
Dylan Marshall as team captains … Russell, a senior from Wadsworth is in his second year as a captain and has produced 71 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss over 20 career games … Wilson, a senior from Cape Code, Florida, has been hindered by injury throughout the last two years but is key piece to the offensive line when healthy … Larson, a junior from Loveland, Colorado, will be the leader of the line from his center spot and has played in all 20 games of his career … Marshall, a junior from Fort Myers, played in nine games last year and had five pass break-ups.
Oberlin in Openers …
The Yeomen have dropped seven out of their last eight season-opening games dating back to 2014 with their lone triumph coming against Kalamazoo in 2017 … Prior to that, the Yeomen had a nice run going, winning four straight week-one games from 2010-2013 … In 2010 the Yeomen defeated Kenyon College 29-26 in overtime and in 2011 the Yeomen took care of the Lords 42-0 … The 2012 victory came in the form of a 33-3 triumph over Earlham … The last season-opening win prior to 2017 was when the Yeomen defeated Case Western Reserve 19-2 in 2013.
