Delaware, Ohio - DePauw, ranked 14th in the latest coaches' poll and 16th by D3football.com, rallied from an early deficit to stay unbeaten with a 53-14 North Coast Athletic Conference win at Ohio Wesleyan. The Tigers moved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Ohio Wesleyan's Bryar Ramey picked off DePauw quarterback Nathan McCahill at the Tigers' 46 on the game's first play and the Battling Bishops needed seven plays capped by Nathan Severs' 1-yard run with 11:18 left in the opening stanza. That marked the first time DePauw trailed this season.
The Tigers responded with a 10-play drive that culminated in Caden Whitehead's 1-yard run with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter. After an offside penalty against Ohio Wesleyan on the point-after attempt, DePauw went for the two-point conversion and Whitehead successfully ran it to give DePauw an 8-7 lead.
Each team's defense recorded stops, but a high snap on a DePauw punt resulted in Ohio Wesleyan's Anthony Tressler-Hughes recovering the ball in the end zone to give the hosts a 14-8 advantage with 1:56 left in the quarter.
The team then exchanged punts before DePauw took the lead for good at 15-14 when McCahill connected with Lleyton Lukowski for 24-yard score with 8:16 left in the half. Another DePauw defensive three-and-out followed and Gabe Quigley's 32-yard run on the first play from scrimmage gave the Tigers the ball at the Ohio Wesleyan 39. Seth Mencer's 2-yard run with 3:16 left pushed the DePauw lead to 22-14.
Christian Troupe picked off Ohio Wesleyan quarterback Kaden Buza at the Battling Bishops' 32 and returned it to the 26. On DePauw's first play, McCahill and Robby Ballentine teamed for a 26-yard score with 1:42 left to give DePauw a 29-14 lead.
DePauw's Nolany Tully intercepted Buza on Ohio Wesleyan's second play of the next drive. The Tigers drove to the Bishops' 11 and Matthew Berry nailed a 29-yard field goal as time expired to extend the lead to 32-14.
McCahill's 20-yard scoring pass to Ballentine on the Tigers' opening drive of the second half gave DePauw a 39-14 lead
Troupe's second interception of the game gave the Tigers the ball at the DePauw 43. Again, the Tigers needed just one play as Alex Hoover scored on a 57-yard pass play from McCahill with 6:09 left in the third.
McCahill's 2-yard pass to Quigley with 4:48 left in the game wrapped up the scoring.
McCahill completed 23-of-37 passes for 312 yards with five touchdowns. Ballentine caught 10 for 119 yards, while Hoover's three catches totaled 100 yards.
Whitehead rushed for 52 yards on 12 carries as the Tigers totaled 169 yards on the ground.
Severs rushed for 44 yards on 16 attempts. Buza completed 6-of-13 for 67 yards with C.T. Taylor and J.T. James each hauling in two.
Jonathan Bruder and Ethan Lowry each recorded six tackles with Jake Comer and Luke Marsh each totaling 2.0 tackles for loss. Seth Anderson and Grant Johnson each had 10 tackles for Ohio Wesleyan.
DePauw outgained Ohio Wesleyan, 504-95, and held a 28-6 edge in first downs.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 19, with a 2 p.m. game at Denison.
NOTES
The win extended DePauw's program regular season win streak to 19. It also marked the Tigers' 12th consecutive road regular season victory. It also was DePauw's 15th straight conference win which equals the 10th longest active streak in Division III
With the victory, DePauw's seniors moved their four-year record to 33-6 which broke the program record of 32 set in 2010.
With five touchdown passes, Nathan McCahill pushed his career total to 62 which is third in program history.
Robby Ballentine has now caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last 10 games.