The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Oberlin College drops home opener
The Oberlin Yeomen’s attempt to rally from a 21-point deficit to tie the game late just ran out of time as Kalamazoo College hung on for a 24-17 win in the season opener for both teams on a beautiful late summer afternoon on Bailey Field at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletic Complex.
Oberlin turned the ball over four times in the first half and found themselves trailing 24-3 early in the third quarter before mounting a furious comeback that fell just short.
Trailing 24-17 with under a minute left in the contest the Yeoman found themselves with a first-and-goal at the Kalamazoo 2-yard line. Just 72 inches from scoring a touchdown that would have left them just an extra-point from tying or a two-point conversion from winning the game the Yeomen failed to score on three cracks, before the clock ran out.
On the first play quarterback, Chris Allen Jr. couldn’t connect with freshman receiver Ty Weatherspoon on a pass to the corner of the end zone.
With no timeouts, Oberlin elected to run on second down, which resulted in a two-yard loss. With the clock tick, tick, ticking Allen Jr., tried to run the ball in but was stopped at the two-yard line.
Before Oberlin could line up for another play the clock ran out and the Kalamazoo bench raced out on the field to celebrate with its defense near the goal line.
Oberlin coach Steve Opgenorth praised his team’s effort in coming back and took the blame for the end-of-game offensive malfunctioning.
Allen Jr., struggled early, throwing two first-half interceptions. But he found his rhythm in the second half and finished the game 35-for-58 for 307 yards.
His favorite target turned out to be Bear Broyles, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior who was not even listed in the Oberlin twodeep depth chart prior to the game.
THE SCORE
KALAMAZOO 24, OBERLIN 17
That didn’t matter. He finished the game with nine catches for 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
His 30-yard touchdown grab closed the Kalamazoo lead to 24-10 with 10:02 left in the third quarter and jump-started the Oberlin comeback.
He made a sensational catch along the backline of the end zone on a 7-yard pass from Allen Jr., to bring Oberlin within a touchdown with just 1:17 left in the third. But that would be as close as Oberlin could get on the scoreboard.
“Tremendous amount of character from a group of young guys who were playing their first college football game,” Oberlin coach Steve Opgenorth said.
A point should be made here. This was Oberlin’s first football game since 2019. The school did not play in 2020 due to the pandemic. That meant Opgenorth, who was hired at the end of 2019, was also coaching his first game. He’s brought in a huge freshman class, many of who saw the field at the collegiate level for the first time.
“I think there is a lot of belief of what we are doing here and that showed. I thought our defense played a tremendous game,” Opgenorth said.
But those turnovers just can’t happen
Senior running back, Kobe Brooks finished the game with 108 yards rushing on 21 carries, but lost two fumbles in the first half.
“We had four turnovers in the first half,” Opgenorth noted. “You aren’t going to win many college football games doing that. We needed better play out of our offense and have to take better care of the football.”
The game’s final minute will be one the Oberlin coaching staff will want to watch on film over and over.
“I knew we didn’t have any timeouts. That first incompletion we’d have like to run the ball. Gave the quarterback a check with me, probably should have locked it. Then just ran out of time. Those are situations you go over and over and you just have to be better prepared so that’s on me and the staff,” said Opgenorth.
One of the freshmen who made a big impact was receiver Pierce Muthi Edwards, a slippery and quick 5-6, 141-pound receiver out of West Bloomfield, Ind. Edwards caught seven passes for 62 yards and finished with 106 yards of total offense.
“I did my part, that’s all I’m trying to do. We don’t look at it as being freshmen. We’re just trying to do our part” said Edwards after the game as mingled with family and friends, still dressed in his uniform pants and t-shirt.
As for Allen Jr., who started in 2019, and is one of two returning starters on the offense, he’ll have to start quicker next week when the Yeomen host Ohio Wesleyan.
“He’s going to be a good player. We need better play from that quarterback position early and he knows that,” Opgenorth said of his junior quarterback, who is out of Atco, NJ. “I think Chris learned a lot today. Unfortunately, we have to take it as a loss, but he’s a good player.”
The first half would best be described as an unmitigated disaster as the Yeomen fell behind 17-3.
The Yeomen’s first drive of the season resulted in a turnover and on the defensive side of the ball they gave up a 36-yard touchdown on the first live play from scrimmage, after being flagged on their first defensive play of the season for offsides.
Kalamazoo quarterback Josh Nichols connected with running back Jon Brunette for the score. Nichols dumped off a short pass that Brunette had to leap to haul in, before turning upfield and taking the ball to end zone with 10:11 left in the first quarter.
An Ian Burr 39-yard field with 91 seconds left in the first quarter extended the Kalamazoo lead to 100, which was the score after the first quarter.
Oberlin’s only points of the first half came on a Sam Bingaman field with 4:15 left in the second quarter. It capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive that stalled at the Kalamazoo 2-yard line.
Brunette’s second touchdown of the half, this a 1-yard run, increased the Kalamazoo lead to 17-3.
Kalamazoo’s stars Kalamazoo quarterback Josh Nichols finished the day 14-for-26 for 204 yards and touchdown. Jon Brunette, the Hornets running back, rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown and caught five balls for 50 yards and another score.
Getting back after COVID-19 Opgenorth welcomed getting back on the field after he and his team sat of 2020.
“I think we’ll look back and realize this is what we needed as a group… to get back to football and reality and a great Saturday afternoon for college football.
Tale of the tape The game marked the fifth straight time Kalamazoo and Oberlin opened the season. Kalamazoo won the last meeting in 2019, 3-0 at Oberlin and now leads the series 5-3.