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Juniors Chris Schubert and Chase Palmer led Oberlin's offense and defense, respectively, against Allegheny (Pa.) |
Despite conference defeat, Yeomen rewrite football record book
November 11, 2006 -- Host Allegheny College defeated visiting Oberlin College this afternoon, 35-14, in a North Coast Athletic Conference football contest in Meadville, Pa. After trailing only 7-14 at the intermission, Oberlin couldn't keep up with an efficient Allegheny offense in the second half, falling to 5-5 on the year and 4-3 in the NCAC. The Gators improved to 6-4 overall (4-3 NCAC) with the victory. Despite the loss for the Yeomen, seven single-season records were broken after today's contest, which ends a 2006 campaign in which Oberlin shattered at least 22 school records.
While preventing the Yeomen from achieving a single first down in the first quarter, Allegheny was the first to strike on an 18-yard half-back pass from Mario Tarquinio to Dallas Robinson with 7:30 left in the period. Oberlin punted on all three of its first quarter possessions, with the period's lone highlight coming on an interception by junior Clayton Thurmer after classmate Chris Pisani hurried Allegheny's quarterback.
In the second quarter, the Yeomen evened the score at 7-7 on a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Greg Mangan to junior wide receiver Cassius Harris. The six-yard score capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive with 6:15 remaining in the period. The Gators responded on their next possession by putting together an impressive 11-play, 92-yard scoring drive to take the lead for good, 14-7. The go-ahead touchdown came on an eight-yard pass from quarterback Jimmy Savage to Robinson with just over a minute left in the first half. The Yeomen had a nice drive in the last minute, making it deep into Allegheny territory, but Mangan was picked off by Andy Toner in the end zone as time expired.
The third quarter started out well for the Yeomen, as after a nice Allegheny kick-off return courtesy of a reverse, they stopped the Gators on fourth down at Oberlin's 35-yard line. The Yeomen were forced to punt, though, and Savage connected with Jim Lieb on Allegheny's next play from scrimmage for an 83-yard touchdown pass. The score put the hosts ahead 21-7 with 9:23 left in the third quarter.
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Chris Schubert hauls in a pass this afternoon at Allegheny College |
Oberlin responded to the long Gator touchdown score by going seven plays for 63 yards, only to have another pass intercepted in the end zone (picked off by Mateo Villa) and returned to Allegheny's 31-yard line. Junior defensive back Chase Palmer, who has been solid all season for Head Coach Jeff Ramsey, recovered an Allegheny fumble on their next possession, ending a drive that had broken into the Yeomen's red zone. It took only four plays and 84 yards for Oberlin to get back into the game, 14-21, off a 35-yard touchdown pass from Mangan to junior wide receiver and co-captain Chris Schubert with 1:38 remaining in the third.
Unfortunately for the Yeomen, the Gators were up to the challenge in the final period, as they went seven plays and 71 yards for a touchdown with 13:32 left in the contest to increase their lead to 28-14. Tarquinio, who had 141 yards on the ground for the day, provided the score on a two-yard scamper.
Oberlin's next drive, which went for 74 yards on 14 plays, was stopped by yet another end zone-pick, this one coming from the Gators' J.J. Davis with 8:17 to go. The interception all but ended the Yeomen's chances in the game, as Allegheny killed the clock on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that lasted almost six minutes.
The Yeomen were led offensively today by Schubert and Harris. Schubert, who holds the Oberlin career records for punt and kick return yardage, had 88 yards in kick returns today and caught six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, while Harris grabbed six catches for 83 yards and a score. Sophomore wide receiver Michael Loll hauled in four receptions for 49 yards, while classmate R.V. Carroll caught three passes for 66 yards. Carroll, who rewrote the rushing records this season, was held to just 18 yards on 13 carries by a stingy Gator defense.
Defensively, Palmer again led the way in tackles, as he racked up a game-high 15 on the day. Junior Geoff Sirockman added 10 tackles, while Thurmer had nine tackles and an interception.
The loss prevents Oberlin from ending the season on a high note in terms of wins and losses, but the squad's .500 overall record is the first for the Yeomen since 2003. A number of offensive records were shattered in last week's 56-42 romp of Kenyon, and that trend certainly continued today, as seven single-season records were broken. With 350 passing yards today, which is the second-highest single-game total in school history (second only to his 366-yard performance earlier this season against Heidelberg), Mangan topped the season marks for passing yards (2,404) and total offensive yards (2,394). Both of those records bested quarterback James Parker's efforts in 1997. Mangan also set a new school record for single-season completion percentage, going 186 for 276 (67.5%) in 2006. His extremely efficient passing percentage breaks the 47-year-old mark of 58.2%, set by Jack Coniam.
The four other single-season records broken today were quite impressive, and all of them came in the team category. After gaining 388 yards and picking up 21 first downs this afternoon, the 2006 Yeomen own almost every team single-season school mark. The squad's 267 points this year tops the record of 262, which had stood since the 19th century (1892). Oberlin scored 37 touchdowns this season and picked up 193 first downs, which are both new school records. The previous touchdowns record of 35 was set in 1950, while the old mark of 176 first downs was established in 2004. While their running game provided most of the headlines the past few weeks, the Yeomen's air attack set a new record for yards in a season (2,431), which breaks the previous mark of 2,320 (1997).
With nearly the entire team coming back next season, good things are in store for the Oberlin football program. For today's box score and final season statistics, please follow the links below.
Box Score | 2006 Final Statistics |
