The Kenyon College football team won its second straight game on Saturday, defeating the Allegheny College Gators, 27-13, in a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) battle at Frank Fuhrer Field.
After an 0-3 start to the year, the Lords have gained momentum and look like a more complete football team than they were in week one. Saturday’s win improved the team’s record to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in NCAC competition. Allegheny has now lost four straight, dropping its records to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
The road game started auspiciously for the Lords, who scored on their first drive by methodically working the ball up the field before quarterback Ryan O’Leary capped off an eight-play, 44-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Gators struck back with two scores to go up 13-7 before the end of the first quarter. But it was all Lords after that, as their defense clamped down for the remainder of the contest. The Kenyon defense was led by Jason Kessler, who had 10 tackles, and Andy Canonico, who had seven tackles, including two quarterback sacks. As a unit, the Lords recorded four quarterback sacks, with the other two coming from Nathan Fanta and Jimi Bello.
Offensively, the Lords pulled ahead with 6:15 left in the first half. A 4 1/2-minute drive was capped by a 21-yard pass from O’Leary to Andrew Schnarre, with kicker Rocco Danese’s extra point giving Kenyon the 14-13 advantage. For the game, Schnarre had four receptions and a team-high 105 yards through the air.
The Lords added two insurance touchdowns in the third quarter. In a tricky third-and-7 situation, O’Leary found Schnarre for a 57-yard reception, setting up an easy 5-yard rushing touchdown for the quarterback. A 15-yard pass to Christian Scotto with 3:23 left in the quarter brought the score to 27-13, a margin large enough to ensure the Lords back-to-back victories.
O’Leary had a strong game, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for two more. He racked up a total of 190 passing yards with no interceptions in 24 attempts.
On the ground, Drake Lewis rumbled for 73 yards on 11 carries, while Sean Goodman and Jack Provenza added 50 and 43 yards, respectively.
Correction: An earlier version of this story was published with the incorrect byline.
