Yeomen Down the Big Red
Box Score l Game Highlights on The RUSH
Oberlin, Ohio – A commanding effort by the Oberlin College football team led them to a convincing 30-6 win over Denison University on Saturday afternoon at Savage Stadium.
The Yeomen welcomed the return of senior quarterback Josh Mandel as he threw for 275 yards and three scores after missing the last three games with an injury. Classmate Robin Witjes was his top target as he caught a career-high 12 balls for a career-best 222 yards and two touchdowns.
The Yeomen defense was also sensational as they had 13 tackles for a loss and totaled nine sacks on the day. Jake Danko had a career-effort with four sacks and five tackles for a loss. Clay Eaton also added three more sacks to his nation-leading total and now had 12.5 on the season. With the three tackles for a loss, Eaton now has the school record for most career tackles for a loss at 48.5.
The Yeomen's first scoring play came with 7:29 left in the first quarter when Mandel found Witjes open in the seam and he did the rest, out-running the Denison defense for an 89-yard touchdown - the longest receiving play in the history of Oberlin College.
Oberlin would take a 14-0 lead late in the second half as Mandel hooked-up with Dan Weintraub on a quick slant from 10-yards out. (Watch). However, the play of the game came with just seven seconds left in the opening half. The Big Red was attempting a 23-yard field goal attempt, but Shawn Chrapczynski came off of the edge clean and blocked the kick. Matt Richard would then scoop up the loose ball and return it 85 yards for a Yeomen touchdown to make it a 20-0 game at the half. (Watch)
The Big Red would finally break through with 5:30 left in the third quarter when Sam Fioroni capped a 6-play, 53-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. Chrapczynski would block the PAT.
However, at the end of the quarter the Yeomen would respond by covering 42 yards on just three plays. Mandel found Witjes for a 35 yard catch-and-run (Watch) down to the five and the next play he went right back to him on a slant for a five-yard TD (Watch) to make it a 27-6 Yeomen lead.
Erickson Andrews tacked on a 41-yard field goal with 3:06 left to play to complete the game's scoring. (Watch)
Oberlin finished with 347 yards of offense compared to just 243 yards for the Big Red. With the win, Oberlin snapped a four-game losing skid and improved their record to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the NCAC. Denison fell to 2-4 and 2-2 in the league.
The Yeomen will be back in action next Saturday when they host local rival Case Western Reserve at 1 p.m.
