Gambier, Ohio - On the strength of a program and North Coast Athletic Conference record 537 passing yards and a defensive effort that allowed just minus-four total yards, DePauw stayed unbeaten with a 65-0 win at Kenyon. The Tigers, ranked eighth in the latest coaches' poll and 10th by D3football.com, improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in NCAC play, while Kenyon dropped to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the NCAC.
Kenyon picked up a first down on the game's opening drive, but was forced to punt and DePauw started on its own 19. In what would be the Tigers' longest drive in terms of time elapsed, they covered 81 yards in eight plays over 5:19 with Nathan McCahill teaming with Gabe Quigley for a 25-yard score with 6:56 left in the opening stanza. The Tigers forced a three-and-out and then drove to the Kenyon 9, but turned the ball over on downs and the quarter concluded with DePauw holding a 7-0 lead.
Another Kenyon punt gave DePauw the ball at its own 44 and the Tigers needed just four plays to cover 56 yards in 1:45 as McCahill found Will Kaster open for a 30-yard score.
Midway through the second the Tigers started on their own 29 and McCahill connected with Robby Ballentine for a 62-yard gain on the first play fo the drive and then Quigley hauled in a 9-yard pass on the next play to push the DePauw lead to 21-0 with 6:55 left in the half. A fifth-straight three-and-out by the DePauw defense gave the Tigers the ball on their own 40. McCahill's 4-yard pass to Robby Ballentine pushed the lead to 28-0 and that was the score when the half ended.
Kenyon recovered an onside kick to start the second half and drove to the DePauw 1 before Jonathan Bruder forced a fumble which Luke Nolan recovered at the 1. After an incomplete pass on first down, McCahill completed a 10-yard pass to Robby Ballentine and a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the DePauw 26. McCahill then connected with Quigley for a 74-yard score to make it 35-0 with 11:24 left in the third.
Caden Whitehead's 3-yard run with 6:32 remaining in the third pushed the lead to 42-0 before DePauw's Matthew Coons intercepted Kenyon's Park Penrod on the Owls' third play. The Tigers struck quickly as McCahill found Robby Ballentine for a 20-yard score on the next play to make it 49-0 with 5:29 left in the third.
McCahill's last pass of the game came late in the third with a 10-yard scoring pass to Quigley to extend the lead to 56-0.
Jake VanBooven's 25-yard run was the final touchdown of the contest and a high snap on a Kenyon punt resulted in a safety for the game's final points.
McCahill completed 26-of-37 passes for 482 yards with a school-record seven touchdowns. Scott Ballentine came off the bench to complete 5-of-7 for 55 yards. Robby Ballentine caught 10 for a career-high 181 yards with Quigley also notching a career-high with 170 yards on eight receptions and a program-record tying four touchdown catches.
Scott Ballentine rushed for 51 yards on two carries and Whitehead totaled 38 in eight attempts.
Penrod completed 8-of-17 for 47 yards with Drake Lewis rushing for 27 yards on nine carries.
DePauw's defense recorded a program-best 13 sacks with Joey Roland and Luke Nolan each finishing with 2.0. Bruder led DePauw with 10 tackles followed by Luke Marsh with eight.
Jackson Belyn and Dominic Simpson each had seven tackles for Kenyon.
DePauw outgained Kenyon 664-(-4) and limited the Owls to -51 rushing yards.
DePauw returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 9, when it travels to Hiram for a Noon NCAC contest.
NOTES
- DePauw's 537 passing yards broke the previous program mark of 502 versus Oberlin (11/6/2021) and the NCAC mark of 524 by Oberlin against Allegheny (10/3/2015)
- The Tigers' 664 total offense yards was just one yard shy of tying the program record of 665 at Anderson (9/12/2009)
- DePauw's seven touchdown passes broke the program record of six set on seven occasions
- Nathan McCahill broke the individual single-game record for touchdown passes with seven which was previously held by Spud Dick (6 at Rhodes, 10/10/2009) and Michael Engle (6 vs. Rose-Hulman, 9/11/2010)
- McCahill's seven TD passes moved his season total to 36 which broke the DePauw single-season record of 30 by Engle in 2010 and moved his career total to 77 which passed Dick's 76 and is just eight shy of Matt Hunt's 85 from 2013-16
- McCahill's 482 passing yards mark the second-highest single-game total in program history behind Jason Lee's 486-yard performance (vs. Hope, 9/16/2000)
- McCahill's 477 total offense yards ranked second in program history behind Jake Lasky's 500 (vs. Allegheny, 10/28/2017)
- Robby Ballentine has caught at least one touchdown pass in 13 straight games
- Gabe Quigley's four touchdown catches tied the program single-game record
- Kenyon's -51 rushing yards are the best defensive effort by the Tigers in program history as DePauw held Wooster to -50 (9/22/2018)
- DePauw's 13 sacks broke the previous program record of nine set three times