GAMBIER, Ohio - November 13, 2021 – Hiram College football fell to the Kenyon College Lords in their 2021 season finale, 21-16, on Saturday at McBride Field.
 
After Hiram won the coin toss and deferred, and Kenyon punted on their opening drive, the Terriers put together the makings of a scoring drive. Driving 62 yards over 14 plays, the Terriers marched into the red zone on a 20-yard pass from Jacob Simmons to Trystan Mollohan and set up first-and-goal with Malcolm Rogers' five-yard rush on third down.
 
But on second-and-goal for the Kenyon nine-yard line, Simmons' pass was intercepted in the end zone, and the Lords' defense kept Hiram off the scoreboard.
 
The Lords then looked to drive the other way, but on fourth-and-two from the Terrier 27-yard line, Delanoe Harris intercepted AJ Allen's pass, giving the ball back to the Terriers.
 
And this time, the Terriers came away with points. Starting from their four-yard line, the Terriers capitalized with a 15-play, 83-yard drive, capped off with a 30-yard field goal by Chris Miller to give Hiram a 3-0 lead.
 
Neither team was able to get much going offensively, the rest of the first half, and the Terriers headed into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.
 
But after Hiram went three-and-out on their opening drive of the third quarter, Kenyon answered with an eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive, taking a 7-3 lead on Allen's 33-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Schnarre.
 
And while Marcus Freeman took the ensuing kickoff 52 yards from the Hiram 10-yard line into Kenyon territory, a fumble on third-and-three gave the ball right back to the Lords.
 
And the Lords would take advantage, capping an 11-play scoring drive with another touchdown pass from Allen to Schnarre, this time from 16 yards out, to extend their lead to 14-3 with just under two and a half minutes remaining in the third.
 
Hiram though, had an answer this time. A 14-yard completion from Simmons to Freeman on second-and-seven moved the sticks before Simmons found Davis-Hereford for a 47-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10 to cut Kenyon's lead to 14-10, heading to the fourth.
 
Kenyon's opening drive of the fourth quarter sputtered just outside field goal range, and Hiram's defense forced a punt. But after a three-and-out and a short punt, Hiram gave the ball right back to Kenyon inside plus-territory, with a chance to extend their lead.
 
And the Lords did just that, with four-straight rushes for a total of 48 yards, finished off by Jack Provenza's 28-yard rushing touchdown to extend their lead to 21-10 with 9:02 to play.
 
The Terriers weren't done just yet though, and Hiram's offense answered with an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive of their own. Starting from their 29-yard line, Simmons connected with Davis-Hereford for 17, 12 and seven yards, marching the Terriers into Kenyon territory.
 
A four-yard completion to Rogers on third-and-12 brought up fourth-and-seven, and Simmons found Mollohan for a 23-yard score, cutting Kenyon's lead to 21-16 after a failed two-point conversion.
 
Hiram then tried an onside kick, but couldn't recover, and the Lords drove down to the goal-line as they looked to whittle away the clock. But on fourth-and-goal from the Hiram one-yard line, JaByron Webb scooped up Ryan O'Leary's fumble, giving the Terriers one last chance with 40 seconds left.
 
Two quick passes brought the Terriers outside their end zone, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kenyon gave Hiram 15 more yards. But Simmons' last gasps fell incomplete, and the Terriers came up just short against the Lords by the final score of 21-16.
 
Offensively, Simmons completed 20 of his 40 attempts for 267 yards and two scores, while Gabriel Hoskins led the Terriers on the ground, rushing for 54 yards on 16 carries.
 
Through the air, Davis-Hereford led the Terriers with 11 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown, the eighth-most receiving yards in a game in program history, while Mollohan caught seven passes for 76 yards and a score.
 
As a team, the Terriers outgained the Lords, 378-367 and converted 12-of-20 third downs, but just one-of-two red zone opportunities.
 
Defensively, Dylan Baliker led the Terriers with 13 tackles, while Alfred Pedro added eight tackles and a tackle for a loss. Harris recorded the Terriers' lone turnover of the day with an interception, while Brock Mancini notched Hiram's lone sack.
 
With the loss, Hiram wraps up the year at 1-9 (0-9 NCAC) in their first season under Head Coach Jack Mrozinski, while the Lords finish the year 3-7 (3-6 NCAC).