GAMBIER, OH – Oberlin College improves to 1-1, (1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference) after knocking off Kenyon on a rainy Saturday in Gambier, (OH). That snaps a 13-game road losing streak for the Yeomen dating back to 2015 when they beat Wooster.
How’s this for setting the table? Oberlin tore up the line of scrimmage for 291-yards rushing. Senior running back Chuck Williams (at right) – out of Louisville, Kentucky – led with 151 yards on 38 carries. Junior quarterback Zach Taylor (Artesia, CA) was good for 109 yards on the ground – including a touchdown – while also throwing for another 220 yards and four touchdown passes.
Five different receivers had at least 25-yards for the Yeomen. Jabari Clemons (Montgomery, NJ) had a team high 78 yards on four catches – two of them touchdowns – for the first and final Yeomen scores on the day.
After having only 35 tackles in all of 2017, junior linebacker Devin White (Nutley, NJ – left) stepped up to lead Oberlin’s defense with a career-high 11 tackles – eight of them solo. Junior cornerback Jabree Hason (Sicklerville, NJ) sophomore linebacker Luke Buck each with nine tackles.
Hason had the lone Oberlin interception of Kenyon QB Thomas Merkle who was a busy guy. With his team playing catch-up the entire game, Merkle attempted 69 passes, completing 39, with 392 yards. The Lords relied so heavily on the junior signal-caller they attempted only 16 total running plays.
Oberlin will open the home portion of its season this Saturday, (9/15) against the top ranked team in the NCAC – Wittenberg University. The Tigers (1-0) opened their 14th consecutive season with a win, 34-21 over visiting Westminster (Pa.) on September 1st. The passing game lead the way in that contest, three receivers finished with 50+ yards, set up by two completions of over 40 yards. They had a bye in Week 2.
