Freshman running back Nathan Severs and senior safety Anthony Tressler-Hughes scored first-quarter touchdowns to give the Ohio Wesleyan football team the lead, but nationally-ranked DePauw rallied for 24 points during the second quarter and went on to a 53-14 North Coast Athletic Conference win on Saturday at Selby Stadium.
DePauw received the opening kickoff, but on the first play from scrimmage, a pass by Tiger quarterback Nathan McCahill was tipped and senior linebacker Bryar Ramey hauled in the loose ball at the DePauw 46-yard line.
Fifth-year quarterback Kaden Buza found junior receiver Bryan Hines Jr. for 27 yards on the Bishops’ first play, and on fourth-and-8 from the Tiger 17, Buza connected with junior wide receiver J.T. James for 15 yards and a first down at the DePauw 2. Two carries by Severs put the ball in the end zone, and freshman Collin Wehner added the point-after for a 7-0 Bishop lead.
The Tigers countered on their next possession, moving the chains on an 8-yard pickup by Caden Whitehead on third-and-3, and getting a 14-yard completion from McCahill to Lleyton Lukowski on fourth-and-5, spotting the ball on the OWU 1. Whitehead scored on the next play, and on the point-after, the Bishops were offside, moving the ball to the 1-yard line. DePauw sent its offense back on to the field, and Whitehead went over for the 2-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.
Later in the period, DePauw was set to punt from its own 26, but a high snap sailed over the head of punter Ben Gomez, and Tressler-Hughes recovered the ball in the end zone to give the lead back to the Bishops.
The visitors took the lead midway through the second quarter, assembling an 8-play, 49-yard drive that culminated in a 24-yard pass from McCahill to Lukowski. Matthew Berry’s PAT kick gave the Tigers a 15-14 lead.
After the DePauw defense forced a 3-and-out, Tiger tight end Gabe Quigley carried the ball for 32 yards, settting up completions of 14 yards and 12 yards from McCahill to Bobby Ballentine. Seth Mencer scored on a 2-yard run with 3:16 left in the half, and the PAT made it 22-14.
DePauw’s Christian Troupe intercepted a Buza pass at the Bishop 32 and returned it to the 26, and on the next play, McCahill found Ballentine open in the end zone for a score. On the Bishops’ next possession, Buza was intercepted by Nolan Tully at the Bishop 40, setting up a 29-yard field goal by Berry on the final play of the half for a 32-14 DePauw lead.
McCahill threw TD passes of 20 yards to Ballentine and 57 yards to Alex Hoover during the third quarter and a 2-yard shovel pass to Quigley during the fourth quarter.
Buza completed 6 of 13 passes for 67 yards. James and junior receiver C.T. Taylor caught 2 passes apiece. Severs led the Bishops with 44 yards on 16 rushes. Senior linebacker Seth Anderson and sophomore linebacker Grant Johnson had 10 tackles apiece, with Johnson contributing 2 tackles for loss and Anderson recording a sack.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
