RICHMOND, Ind. — Senior Day for the Earlham College football team ended with a lot of players smiling as the Quakers posted a 21-9 victory over Kenyon College.
“Today was about the seniors,” Earlham Head Coach Gerry Keesling said. “They are an exceptional group and we are going to miss them a great deal. It is an emotional day for those guys and their families.”
Jake Carr,
Neil Collins,
Max Crumley-Effinger,
Cale Gulliford,
Adam LaFollette,
Stephen Lewis,
Mike Liby,
John Metcalf,
Alex Painter,
Chris Shaw, Jay Zevin were all honored at halftime as they made their final appearance at Darrell Beane Stadium for the Quakers.
Chris Owens, who is in his fifth year with the Quakers, was recognized last season.
Earlham started quickly as the Quakers recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff to set up their first score of the afternoon. “We’ve been on the other end of that problem,” Keesling said. “It puts you back, but it opened the door for us and we were able to create some offense in the first quarter.”
The Quakers scored on a 14-yard pass from
Dorian Jenkins to
Bryant Foreman at 10:17 of the opening stanza. Earlham overcame two penalties and a fumble on the 9-play, 31-yard scoring drive go on top 7-0.
In the first half, Earlham was able to limit Kenyon’s opportunities because of field position. Kenyon began each possession during that stretch in its own territory. “Our kicking game and what Matt Macy has done with our special teams was just huge,” Keesling said. “We kept them in the (east) end of the field.”
Earlham’s defense kept the Lords (3-6, 3-3) off the scoreboard until the final period. “Our team has played about four weeks of tremendous defense,” Keesling said. “This time, we were finally able to support them with some offense production.”
After leading 7-0 at intermission, the Quakers went on top 14-0 on their initial possession of the second half. Jenkins and Owens hooked up for a 54-yard scoring pass. “Dorian Jenkins is back,” Keesling said of his quarterback who had struggled to comeback from an injury earlier this month. “He got back on stride and obviously, everyone knows about Chris Owens.”
Kenyon started the road back in the final period with a field goal and a touchdown, but Owens and the offense put the game out of reach. With a 14-9 advantage, Owens lined up in the backfield with Jenkins moving to the receiver spot.
Owens took the snap and ran through the middle of the Kenyon defense for a 64-yard touchdown with 4:55 remaining in the contest.
Kenyon had just one possession the rest of the way as the Quakers put the game away.
Owens was the star of the day on offense with 206 all-purpose yards. He gained 90 yards in five rushing attempts to go with two catches for 97 yards. He also had a 19-yard kickoff return. Jenkins finished his afternoon 5-of-13 for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
LaFollette led the Earlham defense with 12 tackles, while Gulliford and
Chad Wertman added 11 each. Carr finished with eight tackles, while
Ben Randall had an interception.
The Quakers (4-4, 2-3) are at
Ohio Wesleyan University next Saturday. The NCAC contest gets underway at 1 p.m.
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