Football
Football: Denison wins annual shootout with Kenyon
Mike Barnes accounted for 313 yards of total offense and 5 TD's as Denison outlasted Kenyon 51-41 on Saturday.
Date: October 27, 2007
Location: GAMBIER, Ohio
Mike Barnes (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) rushed for 190 yard and passed for 123 while accounting for five touchdowns as he led Denison past Kenyon College 51-41 on Saturday afternoon in Gambier.
Entering Saturday's contest the two teams had racked up 5,485 yards since 2001. That's an average of 914 total yards of offense per game and Saturday's game in no way, shape or form, lowered that gaudy average.
The Big Red went into halftime leading 37-21 after Barnes scored on runs of 72 and 46 yards while passing for scores to Nick Krempasky (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) for 18 yards and Peter Jarowey (Newton, Mass./Newton South) from 29 yards out.
In the third quarter Kenyon accounted for the only points as Joey Konicezny scored on a 1-yard run. A two point conversion by Rafael Sanchez got the Lords to within eight.
Still trailing by eight, Sanchez orchestrated an impressive 9-play, 99-yard drive that was capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass to Harry von Kann with 10:47 left in the quarter. The Lords went for another two-point conversion to tie the game but a Sanchez pass failed.
Denison took over on their next possession and delivered a knockout blow thanks to a 41-yard Dan Crawford (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) touchdown run which put the Big Red up 44-35 with nine minutes left in the game.
On Kenyon's next possession Sanchez got the lords into Denison territory but was intercepted by Jason Wright (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) who returned the pick 28 yards to the Kenyon 24-yardline. The interception was the third of what would be four picks on the day. All three of the other Kenyon interceptions were nabbed by freshman cornerback Tyler Lambert ( Ranger, Ga./Gordon Central) who became the first DU player to record three interceptions in a game since Andrew Terlecky against Wanyesburg in 2005.
After the Wright interception, Barnes found Nick Thompson (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) for his third TD pass of the day, putting Denison up 51-35 with 5:56 left to play. Sanchez would score on a 4-yard run with 2:06 left and would recover the ensuing onside kick but Lambert's third pick would seal the victory for Denison with 51 seconds left.
In all, the team's combined for 1,091 yards of total offense with Denison out rushing the Lords 418-159. Last year, in a 41-35 victory over Kenyon, Denison had two players rush for over 200 yards in the game for the first time in school history. This year the Big Red did not quite accomplish that feat, but three individuals did rush for over 100 yards. Led by Barnes' 190 yards off 16 carries, junior Jon Berg (Washington, Pa./Trinity) followed with 103 yards off 19 carries. Crawford added 101 yards off just 11 touches.
Through the air, Barnes was 10-of-14 for 123 yards and three touchdown passes. Jarowey was his favorite target, catching three passes for 53 yards and one score.
The turnover margin was the story of the game as Kenyon was picked off four times and Denison did not commit a turnover. Wright led DU with 11 tackles and one interception. Freshman Nick Weiss (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) also posted 11 tackles and Bert Bathiany (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Ft. Thomas) chipped in 10 tackles.
Sanchez led Kenyon with 201 yards passing and 59 yards rushing. Vonn Kann and Mike Sanchez both went over the 100-yard receiving plateau as they combined for seven receptions.
The win is Denison's second straight North Coast Athletic Conference victory and moves them to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Kenyon drops to 2-6 on the year and 1-4 in the NCAC. DU will take on first-place Wabash College next Saturday in Crawfordsville, Ind. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.