Oberlin College Football made a definite bang this past weekend in a glorious home victory against Heidelberg College with an exciting score of 48-34.

The Yeomen’s victory was particularly sweet after the Sept. 2 heartbreaker against Case Western Reserve University when the Yeomen came up short 29-23 in overtime.

Head Coach Jeff Ramsey compared the two games: “We played much better this past week than we did against Case. We physically and mentally finished the game against Heidelberg, which is something we did not accomplish versus Case. Our team rose to this challenge, and performed admirably.”

There were strong performances on both sides of the football field against Heidelberg, including Oberlin’s sophomore quarterback Greg Mangan who completed 28 passes in 37 attempts for 366 yards. This breaks the school record for most passing yardage in a game. The previous mark was 349 yards, set in 2005. In addition, he had five touchdowns and three rushes for 38 yards.

Mangan was assisted by an impressive offensive and defensive effort. As junior co-captain and wide-receiver Chris Schubert put it, “The offense was clicking on every cylinder, and the defense played well too.”

The tough offensive line consisting of juniors Caleb Buck, Mark Miller, junior Tony Miller and Justin Catalano and sophomore Max Roessler hammered the Heidelberg defense. They worked together for a total of 597 yards of total offense and allowed no sacks in 41 passing plays. Their great game led them to national recognition this past week as they were named www.D3Football.com offensive line of the week.

According to Mangan, “They didn’t allow any sacks and paved the way for a very good running attack as well. They work very well as a unit and should take the true credit for our production this past game.”

Other notable offensive performances included sophomore running back R.V. Carroll who ran for an impressive 170 yards rushing and had a touchdown. Schubert and junior wide receiver Cassius Harris each had excellent games as well. They notched a collective 100 yards receiving and each had a pair of touchdowns.

On the defense, sophomore linebacker Zach Warner had five solo tackles, four assisted tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception. Warner’s performance earned him North Coast Athletic Conference defensive player of the week. Junior linebacker R.J Parker also had a tremendous game of tackles with five solo, four assisted tackles, and one tackle for loss. Junior free safety Chase Palmer had three solo tackles, four assisted tackles, one pass break-up and had an interception.

The Yeomen are excited for the rest of the season despite looking for ways to improve their ballgame. Schubert offered this: “Luckily, that’s why football has a week in between games, so we can improve on things from the week before and get ready for the next game.”

Mangan presented a similar thought. “We’ll continue to take one game and, more importantly, one practice at a time and pay attention to the details that ultimately will dictate the outcome of the 2006 season.”

The Yeomen are now 1-1 with plenty of football left in the season. The team will continue to practice hard as they prepare for their first conference match-up against Hiram at the end of the month, hoping to improve on last year’s record of 3-7. They return 18 starters and have four all-conference players returning for a promising season.

As Ramsey explained it, “Our other team goals remain as they have been since 1999: outstanding academic performance, demonstrate outstanding character in all facets of our life, and represent Oberlin College with excellence.”

The Yeomen play Pennsylvania’s Washington and Jefferson College at home on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. on Dill Field.