Box Score Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw opened its 137th season of gridiron play by scoring on all six first-half possessions on the way to a 57-14 win over visiting Rose-Hulman in the Tigers' Nick Mourouzis Memorial Game at Blackstock Stadium.

After stopping Rose-Hulman on the first possession of the game, the Tigers struck first as Nathan McCahill's 31-yard scoring pass to Gabe Quigley with 7:34 left on the clock in the first quarter and Matthew Berry's point-after gave DePauw a 7-0 lead.

DePauw linebacker Joey Roland picked off a Rose-Hulman pass at the Engineer's 44 on the guests' second series and returned it to the Engineers' 9-yard line. McCahill teamed with Jaylon Smith for a touchdown on the Tigers' first play of the drive. A pair of Rose-Hulman penalties on the extra-point attempt moved the ball inside the 1, DePauw then converted a two-point try as Caden Whitehead scored on a run to make it 15-0.

A three-and-out by the DePauw defense followed and the Tigers started on their own 41. DePauw kept the ball on the ground with six straight rushing plays including Whitehead's 5-yard run on the first play of the second period which pushed the lead to 22-0.

A pair of incomplete passes on Rose-Hulman's next drive were followed by Ethan Lowry's sack. The Tigers started on their own 30 and needed eight plays to cover 70 yards with McCahill tossing his third touchdown pass of the game with a 9-yard connection with Carson Johnson to push the lead to 29-0 with 8:31 left in the half.

The Engineers crossed midfield for the first time on their next possession, but turned the ball over on downs. Whitehead scampered, untouched, 57 yards, on DePauw's first play to expand the lead to 36-0. 

DePauw's final score of the half was set up by a Rose-Hulman mishandled punt snap which resulted in a 12-yard loss and the Tigers taking over on the Engineers' 28. The Tigers needed just on play as McCahill and Quigley teamed for a 28-yard score which made it 43-0.

McCahill's 12-yard scoring pass to Robby Ballentine with 3:42 left in the third extended DePauw's lead to 50-0.

Rose-Hulman reached the board with 12:09 left in the game on Rick Easterwood's 14-yard pass to Daniel Huery before Easterwood connected with Kolton Nanko for a 38-yard score with 5:06 left.

The Tigers' final score came on Luke Russo's 4-yard run which capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive.

McCahill completed 13-of-16 passes for 187 yards and five touchdowns with six going to Quigley for 99 yards and two scores. Whitehead rushed for 110 yards on 11 carries.

Easterwood completed 20-of-30 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Nanko caught seven for 112 yards, while Huery also had seven catches for 33 yards. Jay Smith rushed for 103 yards on 24 carries.

Luke Marsh led the DePauw defense with eight tackles with Will Cooke totaling seven. The Tigers totaled five sacks totaling 50 yards with David Guhl finishing with two for 15 yards in losses. 

Antonio Barnes led Rose-Hulman with 10 tackles with Austin Hastings totaling seven.

DePauw outgained Rose-Hulman, 469-266, including 243-89 on the ground.

DePauw returns to play on Saturday, Sept. 14, when it travels to Berry for the first-ever meeting with the Vikings. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.


NOTES

• Nathan McCahill's five touchdown passes matched a career high previously established at Oberlin on Sept. 9, 2023. His 4,056 career passing yards rank eighth in school history and his 46 touchdown passes are fifth
• Caden Whitehead's 101-yard rushing performance marked the third time he's surpassed the century mark in a game
• Jaylon Smith is eighth in program history with 2,100 career receiving yards and fifth with 25 touchdown catches.
• Robby Ballentine is seventh with 19 touchdown receptions.
• The win was DePauw's 15 straight regular season victory which broke the school record of 14 set in 1932-33
• The win marked DePauw's third straight season-opening win and its fifth straight home-opening victory
• DePauw had three drives in which it scored on the first play