Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw scored 35 unanswered points and improved to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 56-21 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Ohio Wesleyan's quick offensive attack resulted in a 7-0 lead as the Battling Bishops covered 82 yards on their opening drive in just 1:58 with CJ Jackson completing a 30-yard scoring pass to Jordan Bryant.
The 25th-ranked Tigers answered on their first possession with
Kaiden Bond scoring on a 1-yard run to even the score with 10:18 left in the opening period.
Jackson's 13-yard strike to Jordyn Bailey just 3:12 later capped an 77-yard drive and gave the guests a 14-7 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the first.
Early in the second, DePauw's
Aaron Keller picked off Jackson at the Ohio Wesleyan 27 and returned it to the 2 with
Carson Johnson rushing in for the score on the next play to even the count at 14-14 with 10:57 left.
The Tigers'
Richard McIntosh recovered OWU's muffed kickoff return at the Ohio Wesleyan 16. Johnson carried for 11 and 3 yards before
Evan Pitzer reached paydirt on a 2-yard run for DePauw's first lead, 21-14, with 9:30 remaining in the half.
Ohio Wesleyan's final points of the game came on the next series as Jackson teamed with Bryant for a 27-yard score that evened the count again with 5:03 left.
Bond's 2-yard run with 37 seconds remaining wrapped up a 9-play, 65-yard possession and gave the Tigers a 28-21 advantage just before halftime.
The second half was a story of big-play scores for the Tigers as each of their four touchdowns were for over 50 yards. On the opening drive of the half, Johnson scampered 69 yards on the third play to extend the lead to 35-21.
The Battling Bishops punted on their opening series of the half, but DePauw's
Scott Ballentine was intercepted by Josiah Saunders on the second play of the Tigers' next possession. Saunders returned it to the DePauw 17 and Ohio Wesleyan picked up a first down, but DePauw's
Jack Fuller stopped Giovanni Rufus at the Tigers' 1 on fourth down.
After the Tigers punted on their next drive, the Battling Bishops turned it over on the third play as Bryant caught a pass from Jackson but fumbled with
Nehemiah Dau forcing it and
Robert Pasinato recovering at the DePauw 15. Ballentine teamed with
Carter Foran for a 62-yard score to make it 42-21 with 1:26 left in the third.Â
Jordan Ghant returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to the DePauw 22, but DePauw's defense again came up with a big stop and forced a turnover on downs.Â
A lightning delay of one hour, 19 minutes with 14.7 seconds left in the third followed, but DePauw retained the momentum coming out of the break as
Logan Shoffner scored on a 53-yard run. DePauw's defense responded again and stopped the Battling Bishops at the DePauw 13. The Tigers picked up a pair of first downs before
AJ Jobe broke free for a 64-yard run on his first collegiate carry to conclude the scoring.
Johnson led the Tigers with 133 rushing yards in 15 carries, while Shoffner finished with 88 in eight tries.
Ballentine completed 13-of-18 passes for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Foran hauled in five catches for 111 yards.
Reed Wehr led Ohio Wesleyan with 109 rushing yards in 11 attempts with Jackson completing 18-of-34 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. Bryant led the way with six catches for 101 yards.
Keller totaled nine tackles for the Tigers, followed by
Conner Kruse and Pasinato with seven apiece.
JJ Lowery finished with a team-high three pass breakups. Braydon Pavlus and Jacob Slyh paced Ohio Wesleyan with six tackles each.
DePauw returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 26, with a 1 p.m. NCAC game at Kenyon.
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