The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Oberlin gets roughed up
Minutes before the start of the second half with his team trailing 38-0, Oberlin senior running back Kobe Brooks, who had rushed for minus-one yard on four carries in the first two quarters, walked toward the Oberlin bench and asked a reporter seated there: “How is your night going, sir?”
The reporter’s retort: “A lot better than yours.”
A week after playing well in a close loss to Kalamazoo Oberlin was totally overwhelmed in its second outing of the season as Ohio Wesleyan walloped the Yeomen 62-6 on Sept. 11 in a rare night game on Bailey Field at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
The game was over in the first quarter when the Bishops sprinted out to 21-0 lead with a little more than 10 minutes off of the game clock. The Yeomen were torched early by Eastlake North High-product Kenny Streb, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster, who opened the scoring with a 49-yard punt turn for a score to give OWU an early 7-0 lead just 120 seconds into the contest. He added a 26-yard touchdown catch later in the quarter.
Ohio Wesleyan’s starting quarterback Zane Ries finished the night 10-for-13 for 94 yards and a TD and a pick. Michael Craider, a Padua grad, caught five balls for 71 yards and a 32yard touchdown.
Oberlin had no answer for a dominant Ohio Wesleyan defense, which held the Yeomen to minus 22 yards rushing for the game.
Ohio Wesleyan outgained Oberlin 445-195 on the night.
The contest was the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both schools. Oberlin dropped to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in the NCAC and Ohio Wesleyan improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in the NCAC.
Oberlin junior quarterback Chris Allen Jr., will want to repress all memories of this one. He was yanked in the third quarter with his team down 450. Forced to run for his life, he was 9-for-22 for 54 yards in the first half and was picked off once and sacked three times. He finished the game 11-for-27 for 86 yards with two interceptions, and a fumble lost.
He was lectured by Oberlin head coach Steve Opgenorth after he fumbled deep in his own territory in the third quarter.
Allen played well in Oberlin’s opening-week loss to Kalamazoo in which he completed 35-of-58 for 307 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. But he did not come close to duplicating that effort against Ohio Wesleyan.
Oberlin didn’t score until 13:03 remained in the fourth quarter. That touchdown came courtesy of a pretty 16-yard pass from freshman backup quarterback Eric Smith-Rooks who hooked up with sophomore Jack Diskin on a nifty 16-yard fade route to the corner of the end zone. It capped a 10-play, 92-yard drive for the Yeomen. In a relief effort Smith-Rooks finished 9-of-14 for 131 yards.
If anybody flashed on the Oberlin defense it would have to be freshman safety David Harris, who registered nine total tackles including a tackle for loss in the first two quarters.
Oberlin turned the ball over three times in the first half and was 1-for-10 on third-down conversions as the Yeomen fell behind 380. They trailed 59-0 after three quarters.
Amherst product Ty Weatherspoon, a freshman, got some reps late in the game. The first catch of his college career was a 7-yard gain on a throw from Smith-Rooks. It was a sideline route and came on a third-and-three.
But that was just a footnote in an ugly Oberlin loss.
Ohio Wesleyan now leads the season season series 5821-1.
It’s last loss to Oberlin came on Nov. 6, 2010, when the Bishops dropped a 16-12 verdict. The win improved Ohio Wesleyan coach Tom Watts career record vs. Oberlin to 9-0.
Oberlin hosts Denison University on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.