GAMBIER, Ohio - September 28, 2019 – Up 6-0 at the half, the Hiram Terriers football team couldn't overcome Kenyon College's 15-point third quarter and fell to the Lords, 15-12 on Saturday at McBride Field.
After a slow start for both sides, the Lords put together the makings of a scoring drive. Starting from their own 20, Kenyon drove 67 yards over 12 plays, putting themselves in field goal range. But Ryan Cooper missed wide right, and the Terriers and Lords remained scoreless.
On the following play, the Lords intercepted Collin McNamara, again putting themselves in prime position to score. But the Terrier defense held strong, sacking Thomas Merkle on third down and forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down.
After two more scoreless drives, the Terriers got their offense going with 9:30 left in the first half. After a personal foul gave the Terriers the ball in Kenyon territory, Rodney Myers Jr. converted two big third-and-longs over the 14-play, 85-yard drive, connecting with Jaris Foreman on third-and-seven and rushing for 11 yards on third-and-two.
Myers Jr. then found Tahj Lorthridge on third-and-goal from the Kenyon five-yard line for the score, giving Hiram a 6-0 lead after the missed extra point.
The Lords answered Hiram's scoring drive with an 11-play 56-yard drive, but the Terriers' defense again stood firm, forcing two incomplete passes and a turnover on downs just outside the red zone to send the Terriers into halftime up 6-0.
Hiram got the ball to start the second half, and Bryson Butler's 22-yard rush put Hiram just a few yards from midfield. But the Terriers went three-and-out over the next three plays, giving Kenyon their first chance of the second half.
Kenyon drove into Hiram territory, but Floyd Shackelford strip sacked Merkle on third-and-10, and Brandon Turner recovered the fumble, giving the Terriers the football just beyond midfield.
Once again though, Hiram's offense sputtered and the Lords responded with an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-6 lead.
And after another three-and-out, the Lords scored again, as Merkle plunged in from one-yard out to cap a six-play, 29-yard drive and give Kenyon a 15-6 lead after the two-point conversion.
The two sides again traded punts to end the third and open the fourth quarter, before Hiram again found pay dirt to cut the Lords' lead.
Starting at their own 41, Myers Jr. led the Terriers on a seven-play, 59-yard scoring drive, capped off by Butler's six-yard touchdown rush to cut Kenyon's lead to 15-12. But Myers Jr. couldn't convert the two-point conversion, and the Lords' lead remained at three.
Hiram's defense though, came up with a big stop, forcing another three-and-out to give the Terriers' offense a chance to tie the game. However, the Terriers couldn't capitalize, giving the ball right back with a three-and-out.
Again though, Hiram's defense stood strong. The Lords drove into the red zone, looking for a score to put the game out of reach with under two minutes to play. But the Terriers forced another turnover on downs, stopping Gage Anzulavich way short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-eight to give Hiram on more chance.
However, the Terriers turned the ball over on downs after a trio of incompletions and sack, giving the Lords the 15-12 victory.
With the loss, Hiram falls to 0-4 (0-3 NCAC) on the season, while the Lords move to 2-2 (1-2 NCAC) on the year.
Myers Jr. completed 6-of-12 passes for 39 yards and a touchdown, while McNamara went 5-of-6 for 35 yards and an interception. On the ground, Butler rushed for a team-high 82 yards and a touchdown.
Foreman again led the Terriers in receiving, catching three passes for 31 yards.
Defensively, Knowledge Wallace led the Terriers with 10 tackles, a tackle for a loss and two pass breakups. Shackelford also put together a terrific game, recording a team-high two sacks, two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup, while Turner recovered the lone turnover of the afternoon.
Following a bye week, the Terriers will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 12 when they host DePauw University at 1 p.m. at Charles A. Henry Field in Hiram's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
