Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team racked up 394 yards of offense and the defense was equally impressive in a 24-6 season-opening win over the visiting Kalamazoo College Hornets on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
Coming into the season, fourth-year Head Coach Jay Anderson said the Yeomen were going to run the ball and today they lived up to his proclamation as Oberlin used a three-headed attack to total 202 yards on the ground. First-year Connor Hibbard spearheaded the trio with 99 yards on 18 carries, while senior Khalil Rivers registered 85 yards on 10 rushes, which included a 53-yard touchdown. Sophomore Melvin Briggs added 40 yards on 12 attempts.
Sophomore quarterback Zach Taylor threw for 192 yards and two scores. He completed 18-of-35 attempts and did not throw an interception. Returning to the lineup for the first time since week one of 2016, junior Ryan Gleeson made his presence felt with a career-high 11 catches for 75 yards.
With heavy rain falling throughout the first half, both offenses had their shortcomings, but Oberlin was able to cash in on two of its eight possessions in the opening 30 minutes of action. On the second drive of the game a 26-yard pass play from Taylor to Gleeson got the Yeomen out to their own 41-yardline. Following two short runs by Rivers, they would go to him again and he would reward the coaches for their trust in him as he snuck through a hole in the middle and raced 53 yards down the middle of the field to make it 7-0 with 9:37 left on the clock.
With neither team doing much of anything in the second quarter, the Yeomen would put together a strong 7-play, 45-yard drive in the closing minutes to take a 14-0 lead into the halftime intermission. A 4-yard rush by Rivers on 4th-and-1 from the Kalamazoo 36-yardline kept the drive alive and three plays later Taylor would connect with Robby Reinheimer on a 29-yard post play for a touchdown. Reinheimer finished the game with 43 yards on two catches.
Early in the third quarter, the Yeomen would take over at the Kalamazoo 49-yardline and take advantage of the short field. They would need just five plays and 1:44 to take a 21-0 lead as Taylor found senior Corey Fussinger for a 28-yard scoring strike. The Florence, Kentucky, native finished with 61 yards on three catches. Setting up the touchdown was a key 14-yard completion to Reinheimer on 3rd-and-8.
With a three-score lead in hand, the Yeomen defense continued to fluster the Hornets and quarterback Alex White who finished with just 146 yards on 19-of-39 passing. In the 2016 battle, he threw for 406 yards against the Yeomen, but revenge was had on this day.
After driving deep into Oberlin territory, a 22-yard sack by Von Wooding short-circuited the threat as the Yeomen defense pitched a shutout through three quarters.
A 22-yard field goal by Michael Leshchyshyn had the Yeomen on top 24-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final frame started with Greg Kearns missing a 29-yard field goal try for the Hornets, but they would ultimately get on the board thanks to a Yeomen miscue. An errant snap on a punt attempt gave the Hornets the ball on the Yeomen 17-yardline and just four plays later White would find Dylan Padget in the flat for a 3-yard TD. The Hornets would go for two, but come up empty.
Midway through the fourth, the Hornets would threaten again, setting up a 1st-and-goal-to-go, but a tackle-for-loss by Brendan Mapes and Anthony Allen was followed by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by the Hornets to effectively thwart the scoring opportunity.
The Yeomen defense held the Hornets to just 180 yards (34 rushing) and had 10 tackles-for-loss, totaling 53 yards. Wooding led the charge with nine stops and a sack, while senior co-captain Bennett Jackson added eight tackles, including three for a loss.
The victory snapped a 13-game losing skid for the Yeomen that dated back to the 2015 season. It was the team's first week-one win since 2013 when they beat Case Western Reserve 19-2.
The Yeomen will be back in action at home next Saturday as they host North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon College during Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.