Football
Football: Big Opening Quarter Leads OWU Past Big Red
Brandon Taylor caught a 29-yard TD pass from Mike Barnes in the third quarter vs. Ohio Wesleyan.
Date: October 13, 2007
Location: DELAWARE, Ohio
For the second consecutive week a slow start in the opening quarter would seal the Big Red’s fate on the gridiron.
Ohio Wesleyan jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and forced Denison to commit two fourth quarter turnovers to hold on for a 27-10 victory on Saturday afternoon at Selby Field in Delaware.
Last Saturday against Oberlin, the Big Red started out in a 24-7 hole and battled to within seven points of the lead before eventually falling 34-27. This week’s game had some eerie similarities.
On the game’s opening drive, Ohio Wesleyan covered 69 yards in four plays to take a quick 7-0 lead. Following a defensive stand by the Bishops, the offense returned with a clock-munching 15-play drive that covered 98 yards and was finished off by an Andy Boff 2-yard touchdown run.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bishops went into their back of tricks and converted an on-side kick, taking over with the ball on Denison’s 43-yardline. Six plays later OWU had a 20-0 lead following a 22-yard touchdown pass from Fisher to Terrance Raeford.
The DU defense would hold Ohio Wesleyan on their next three drives and 49 seconds before halftime the Big Red got on the scoreboard when Kevin Schneider (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) connected on a 32-yard field goal.
Trailing 20-3 at halftime, DU got off to a strong start in the third quarter when Caleb McFerren (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) set up Denison with decent field position thanks to a 23-yard kickoff return. Jon Berg (Washington, Pa/Trinity) carried the ball three times for a combined 29 yards setting up Mike Barnes’ (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) 29-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Taylor(Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson). Schneider’s extra-point cut the Bishop lead to 20-10 with 12:40 left in the third quarter.
The next three possessions would result in a punt but with 6:29 left in the quarter, OWU took over and Fisher orchestrated a 9-play 81-yard drive that would eventually give the Bishops a 27-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter Denison continued to fight to stay into the game. They pieced together a 13-play drive that got them down to the Ohio Wesleyan 11-yardline before a forced fumble by OWU’s Britan Tolliver ended their scoring threat.
The Big Red defense came right back when freshman cornerback Aaron Dodds (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) intercepted a pass from Boff and returned it to the OWU 42.
A Barnes completion and three Nick Krempasky (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) rushes got the ball to the Bishops 19 but Daniel DeLay interception on the 1-yardline sent the Big Red offense off the field without points. Ohio Wesleyan would get the ball back with just over eight minutes remaining and would milk the clock for a 13-play drive that would run out the game clock on the Denison 34.
Ohio Wesleyan’s Kyle Adams and Fisher combined for 163 yards rushing off 32 carries. Adams led the way with 84 yards and Fisher added 79. Berg, who toted the ball 12 times for 41 yards, paced Denison in the rushing department.Dan Crawford (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) gained 34 yards and Krempasky added 19 for the Big Red.
Barnes was 8-of-14 passing for 78 yards while Boff was 4-for-10 for 74 yards and Fisher finished 6-for-6 for 124 yards.
Big Red safety Drew Homyk (Chicago, Ill./St. Ignatius Prep) led the team with 10 tackles.Joe Ulrey (Marengo, Ohio/Highland) added eight stops.
Denison drops to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. They will be back in Granville next Saturday (October 20) when they host Hiram College at 1 p.m.
See the full game statistics