DePauw routs Oberlin 50-17; now it’s Monon Bell Week

OBERLIN, Ohio — DePauw University trailed Oberlin after the game’s first two plays from scrimmage, but the Tigers scored the next 26 on the way to a 50-17 North Coast Athletic Conference win on Saturday.

DePauw improved to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC, while Oberlin dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-8 in the conference.

Oberlin quarterback Chris Herman connected with Justin Cruz on the game’s first play for a 70-yard pass play and Kahlil Rivers followed with a 5-yard touchdown run on the next to give the hosts a 7-0 lead just 31 seconds into the contest.

The Tigers came right back as Matt Hunt scored on a 3-yard run just 3:26 later to cap a drive in which he threw for 25 yards and rushed for 21.

Following a DePauw defensive stand, The Tigers needed just four plays before Matt Hunt tossed a 23-yard scoring pass to his brother, Andy.

DePauw linebacker Thomas Gray’s interception and 44-yard return set up Matt Hunt’s 15-yard scoring pass to Ian Good and pushed the lead to 20-7 with 4:30 remaining in the first.

On the second play of Oberlin’s next possession, DePauw cornerback Brooks Hepp recorded his sixth interception of the season and gave the Tigers the ball at the Oberlin 35.

It took DePauw just seven plays before Marko Adams booted a 32-yard field goal to make it 23-7.

Early in the second Adams hit a 24-yard field goal to extend the lead to 26-7, but quarterback Zach Taylor kept it and ran up the middle 88 yards for a score on third-and-four. That closed the lead to 26-14 with 10:58 left in the half.

After a botched DePauw punt, the Yeomen gained possession at the DePauw 17. DePauw’s defense held and Michael Leshchyshyn booted a 29-yard field goal to trim the lead to 26-17.

Jason Kirchhoff’s 28-yard run just 1:14 into the second half made it 40-17 and Matt Hunt’s 30-yard pass play to Nolan Ayres pushed it to 47-17.

Adams nailed his third field goal of the game with 4:44 left to round out the scoring. That field goal was his 14th of the season which broke the DePauw single-season record.

Matt Hunt rushed for 94 yards on 10 carries, while Kirchhoff followed with 71 yards on 12 tries. Hunt also completed 32-of-46 for 294 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.Good caught 10 of those for 63 yards, while Andy Hunt had seven catches.

Taylor completed 15-of-25 for 117 yards with two interceptions and led the team with 120 rushing yards in 16 attempts. Cruz hauled in seven for 111 yards.

Will Longthorne led the DePauw defense with eight tackles, while Rocky Leffler and Pete Nelson each had six. Five different Tigers had one sack each.

Von Wooding paced Oberlin with 15 tackles, while Justin Bute added 12 and Jubreel Hason 11.

DePauw equaled a school record with 33 first downs and broke another as it ran 102 offensive plays. The Tigers held a 591-371 edge in total offense yards including 258-184 on the ground.

DePauw wraps up the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Wabash.

Kickoff in the 123rd meeting between the two schools and the 85th for possession of the Monon Bell is set for 1:09 p.m. in Crawfordsville.

The Little Giants have won the game the past seven seasons.