GAMBIER, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University football team (6-4, 5-4 NCAC) concluded the season with a winning record thanks to a 27-21 victory at Kenyon (3-7, 2-7 NCAC) on Saturday afternoon. The winning season is the Battling Bishops' first since they went 6-4 in 2022. The Red and Black cracked the top five in the conference standings, finishing fifth with five NCAC wins.
Following opening-drive punts by both teams, Kenyon got on the board first. The Owls ended a seven-play 52-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Brendan Comerford to Drew Morgan to take a 7-0 lead.
It took the Bishops a pair of drives to even the score, being forced to punt on the first but getting the ball back with a three-and-out on defense. An even mix of rushing and passing pushed OWU to the Kenyon 27 yard line before
Jordan Bryant took it the rest of the way on a pitch-and-catch from
C.J. Jackson, tying the game at 7-7.
The second quarter was a quiet one, featuring two turnovers on downs by the Owls, a pair of punts by the Bishops, and an interception for each side. The closest either team got to a score was Kenyon on the OWU 12 at the beginning of the period. Kenyon completed a pass on fourth down with 23 to go but was stopped short by
Tyler Thornton, forcing the turnover on downs.
Scoring picked back up after halftime as Ohio Wesleyan scored on their opening drive of the second half. It took just 2:14 and five plays for the Battling Bishops to go 46 yards to paydirt. Jackson finished the drive with a 19-yard scamper to take a 14-7 lead.
Kenyon tied the game back up at 14-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter after an eight-play 50-yard drive, ending with a 12-yard run by Drew Morgan.
OWU was unsuccessful in their next two drives – one ending in a fumble on the Kenyon 25 and the other ending in a three-and-out – giving the Owls a chance to take a 21-14 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, capping off a five-play 52-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Red and Black responded immediately, tying the game back up at 21-21 just 18 seconds later. It took just one play: a 74-yard pass from Jackson to Bryant for the duo's second touchdown connection of the day.
Ohio Wesleyan's defense shut the Owls down on their ensuing drive, stopping Kenyon on their own 44 with 13 to go on fourth down, and getting the ball back for the Bishops with 6:05 to play.
OWU ran the clock down to 1:56 before going ahead 27-21 with a 12-yard touchdown run by
Dorian Hamilton. The eight-play 44-yard drive took 4:09 off the clock and culminated in a mishandled snap on the extra point, leaving the Battling Bishops ahead by six.
Kenyon had one chance remaining to steal the game with a touchdown and a made extra point, starting on their own 37 after
Stanly Scandell's kickoff. The Owls did not make it far, going just three yards in four plays, ending in an interception by
Braydon Pavlus.
It took just one first down for the Red and Black to cancel out Kenyon's remaining timeouts. Jackson came up with the clutch play, going for 11 yards on third down with seven to go. A few plays later, senior quarterback
Maxton Brunner kneeled the game out at 27-21.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
The Battling Bishops moved the ball for 367 yards of total offense, rushing with 183 and passing for 184. Quarterback
C.J. Jackson was 15-for-23 for 184 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also ran the ball 10 times for 56 yards and one touchdown.
Freshman
Jordan Bryant led the receiving corps with a season-high 104 yards and two touchdowns on four catches.
Kenny Thompson Jr. finished with 41 yards on five catches.
Quin Schroeder recorded four receptions for 26 yards.
Dorian Hamilton ran for a game-high 84 yards on 21 attempts, scoring one touchdown.
Giovanni Rufus finished with 43 yards on 12 carries.
Mysaun Sanders had 17 yards on three rushes.
Stanly Scandell was 3-for-3 on extra points.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
Ohio Wesleyan's defense held Kenyon to 290 yards of total offense – 102 rushing and 188 passing. The Bishops came up with two interceptions, both courtesy of
Braydon Pavlus.
Connor Stephens and
Collin Wehner led the Red and Black with five tackles each. Pavlus and
Miles Theetge were next with four apiece.
Nadir Langston,
Jordan Mills,
Roman Morrison,
Jacob Slyh, and
Grant Johnson all finished with three.
The Battling Bishops dropped the Kenyon quarterback four times, one sack each for Mills,
Braxton Ross,
Carson Rust, and
Ya'Va Harris.
