HIRAM, Ohio – October 14, 2023 – The Terriers played their best game of the season on Saturday afternoon, playing well in all facets of the game and coming within one yard of taking a fourth-quarter lead in a 19-18 loss to Ohio Wesleyan at Henry Field.

Jairus Green caught his second touchdown pass of the game with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it an 18-17 deficit. The Terriers opted to go for a two-point conversion following the TD, with Egya Quaison-Sackey bursting toward the right pylon before he was brought down just short of the goal line.

It ended a remarkable effort for the Terriers, who limited a Battling Bishops team that had scored at least 35 points in three different games this season. Hiram won the time of possession battle (32:47 to 27:13) and scored on all three of its trips to the red zone.

Quarterback Sean Tejeda went 21-36 for 200 yards and 2 passing touchdowns in the game, while Green reached the end zone twice for the second time in his career (2 Rec TD vs Bethany in 2021). Gavin Cruser recorded his first career safety and second interception in the game, while Chris Miller made a 39-yard field goal and had a 58-yard punt.

Both defenses were in sync in the first quarter, with neither offense making it to the opposing red zone for the first 15 minutes. Miller drew a roughing the punter call and later would run for a first down on a fake punt in the final drive of the quarter, which set Hiram up for a scoring opportunity to start the second quarter.

Tejeda and Green would capitalize on that opportunity, as they connected on a six-yard pass to give the Terriers a 7-0 lead. Moments later, Dylan Baliker recovered a fumble that was forced by Kevin Dycks to give the home team a chance to make it a two-possession game.

Ohio Wesleyan would fight back by forcing a punt and following it up with an eight-play scoring drive that ended with a game-tying touchdown. Hiram was unable answer on its next drive, but Miller pinned the opposition deep on a punt and Cruser sacked quarterback Kaden Buza in the end zone to give the Terriers their first safety since the 2019 season. Another late scoring drive would set up a field goal for Miller, who gave Hiram a 5-point advantage heading into halftime.

The Battling Bishops scored on their first drive of the third quarter, but the Hiram defense stopped a two-point conversion attempt to keep it a one-point game, 13-12. The teams traded defensive stops for the remainder of the quarter.

In the fourth, the Battling Bishops finished off a 15-play drive with a touchdown before missing an extra point that was taken from a further distance due to unsportsmanlike conduct. A few drives later, Hiram would regain the momentum on a 14-yard interception return from Cruser, which gave the Hiram offense the ball with just a 7-point deficit late into the fourth quarter.

The Terriers answered the call with a 46-yard drive that ended on an 8-yard touchdown pass to Green on 4^th-and-goal. Quaison-Sackey would attempt to score the go-ahead two-point conversion, but a tackle at the one-yard line sealed the conference clash.

Hiram now heads into its Week 8 matchup with plenty of optimism; the team will host Oberlin next Saturday at 1 p.m. as part of the Homecoming/Hollinger Hall of Fame Weekend festivities.