Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 33, Kenyon 14
Sophomore kicker Miles MacKenzie (Denver, Colo./East) posted the second-highest single-game kick-scoring total in Ohio Wesleyan history, and the Battling Bishop defense contributed a pair of touchdowns as Ohio Wesleyan remained atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with a win over Kenyon on Saturday at Selby Stadium.
Ohio Wesleyan goes to 4-0 in the conference with the victory, while the Kenyon loss was the Lords' first in 3 conference outings. Allegheny, which defeated DePauw, 22-20, on Saturday, is right behind the Bishops at 3-0 in the league. The win also moved the Bishops' overall record to 6-0, Ohio Wesleyan's first 6-0 start since 2001.
Junior cornerback Leonard Gleaves (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) set up the first Ohio Wesleyan score, picking off a Dan Shannon pass and returning it 23 yards to the Kenyon 36-yard line. Ohio Wesleyan moved closer with an 11-yard run from sophomore tight end Calvin Cagney (Indialantic, Fla./Melbourne) and an 11-yard connection from junior quarterback Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.) to junior wide receiver Dave Mogilnicki (Middleburg Heights/Midpark), but facing a fourth-and-3 from the Kenyon 18, the Bishops turned to MacKenzie, who drilled the 35-yard field goal try for a 3-0 advantage.
Senior defensive end James Huddleston (Pontiac, Mich./Saint Marys Preparatory) played a part in extending the lead later in the quarter. With Kenyon on the move just over the midfield stripe, Huddleston crushed Shannon as he was throwing, and the ball was picked off by junior safety Seth Swary (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa) and returned 67 yards for a score. MacKenzie's conversion kick gave the Bishops a 10-0 lead with 3:25 left in the first quarter.
Kenyon's defense kept the game close, with Luke Bissinger intercepting a tipped Espinosa pass late in the first quarter, and Will Clements picking off an Espinosa throw at the Kenyon 24 early in the second period.
The Lords took advantage of the latter turnover, getting a pair of key completions from Shannon to Carl Gagliardo, first for 7 yards on third-and-3 from the Kenyon 33, then a 19-yard strike on fourth-and-4 from the Bishop 39. Casey Beaudouin, the Lords' 5-4 speedster who had earlier run for 10 yards and a first down on a third-and-5 call, carried 3 straight times from the Ohio Wesleyan 10, going over from one yard out on third-and-goal to make it a 10-7 game.
Ohio Wesleyan answered quickly, however, with Espinosa finding Mogilnicki down the left sideline for 46 yards and a score to extend the margin to 17-7.
With Kenyon looking to answer in the closing minutes of the half, Shannon threw to Tyler Smith near midfield, but sophomore cornerback Quinten Wright (Columbus/Whetstone) ripped the ball away from Smith and returned the fumble 47 yards for a score that gave the Bishops a 24-7 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
Kenyon did counter on its opening possession of the second half, with Shannon finding Gagliardo for a 43-yard scoring play to bring the Lords within 24-14.
That would be as close as Kenyon would come, however. Espinosa's 42-yard bomb to sophomore wide receiver Steven Uhler (Brunswick) on Ohio Wesleyan's ensuing possession set up a MacKenzie field goal, and MacKenzie would kick fielders of 41 and 23 yards to increase the Bishop lead to 33-14.
MacKenzie finished with 4 field goals, matching the second-highest single-game figure in school history, and his 15 points scored by kicking also was the second-highest single-game effort in the Bishop record book. The 15 points also moved his season total to 63, breaking the Ohio Wesleyan single-season kick scoring record of 59 points set by Pete Billington in 1968.
Espinosa completed 25 of 39 passes for 277 yards and a score. Sophomore running back Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) caught a team-high 7 passes for 48 yards and led Bishop rushers with 65 yards on 11 carries, while senior wide receiver Nick Ziegenbusch (Sugarcreek/Garaway) had 6 catches for 68 yards and Mogilnicki added 5 receptions for 87 yards.
Junior linebacker Justin Segal (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) collected a team-high 14 tackles, including a sack and 1½ for loss, and forced a fumble. Wright finished with 8 stops and a forced fumble; senior linebacker Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township), sophomore linebacker DaVaughn DuBose (Shaker Heights), and junior nose guard George Newcomb (Chardon) also made 8 stops apiece; and Huddleston recorded 7 tackles, including 2 sacks and 3½ tackles for loss.
Shannon completed 21 of 36 throws for 178 yards. Gagliardo had 10 catches for 127 yards and Brett Williams led Kenyon rushers with 78 yards on 19 carries. Kolin Sullivan, Bradley Couts, and Reed Franklin shared the Kenyon lead with 10 tackles apiece.
Box Score
