Denison scored 23 points in the opening quarter, en route to a dominating 44-0 victory over visiting Hiram College, under the lights at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium on Saturday evening in Granville, Ohio.  The shutout win was the first for Denison since blanking Gallaudet University 42-0 on Sept. 22, 2007.  It also marked the largest margin of victory for a Denison team since topping Hiram 53-6 in the 2005 season.

After forcing the Terriers to punt on their first possession of the game, Denison's special teams brought the crowd to its feet when freshman Nat Kell (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) blitzed off the right edge and blocked Derek Rieg's punt at the 16 yard line.  The ball hopped all the way through the back of the end zone for a safety, giving Denison a 2-0 lead 1:25 into the contest.

After the Hiram free kick the Big Red took over with excellent field possession on the 50 yard line.  On their first offensive play from scrimmage, freshman quarterback Nick Stephens (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey) went down field and found James Hall (Kenilworth, Ill./New Trier) for a 40-yard completion, getting DU to the Hiram 10-yard line.  Three Nick Krempasky (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) runs later, Denison found the end zone to take a 9-0 lead.

Krempasky's 1-yard run would be the first of three Denison touchdowns in the first quarter.  The second score would come from junior running back Dan Crawford (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) who broke free for a 23-yard gain on his second carry of the game.  The Terriers would go on to fumble the ensuing kickoff and DU took over once again with excellent field possession.

On second-and-17 from the Hiram 30 yard line, Stephens dropped back and hit Greg Jones (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) for his first career touchdown.  Stephens was outstanding in the first quarter, completing all nine of his pass attempts for 138 yards and the touchdown to Jones.

On their first possession of the second quarter, Krempasky would carry the ball on seven of the eight plays in the drive, finally capping off the series with a 2-yard scamper, giving DU a 30-0 lead with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.

In the second half, both teams would fail to score in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter would belong to Denison who got their fourth and fifth rushing touchdowns of the night from freshmen Yandy Plasencia (Miami, Fla./Ferguson) and Josh Atkins (Heath, Ohio/Lakewood), who scored on runs of 11 and 3 yards, respectively.

Denison outgained the Terriers 429-180.  DU rolled up 225 yards on the ground compared to just 48 rushing yards from Hiram while Stephens ended the day 13 of 19 for 204 yards and one touchdown in just his second career start.  He also showed a knack for spreading the ball all over the field to a number of different targets.  Nine different Denison receivers caught at least one pass from Stephens.  His favorite target was junior Shawn Eagle (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) who caught four passes for 61 yards.

The DU ground game was led by Crawford who finished with 74 yards and a touchdown off just 10 carries.  Krempasky totaled 73 yards and two scores off 19 touches.

Junior placekicker Kevin Schneider (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) was 6 for 6 on his extra point attempts and sophomore punter Matt Ring (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) boomed a 53-yard punt in the third quarter.

On defense, the shutout was a total team effort as 27 players posted at least one tackle.  The unit posted a total of 10 tackles for a loss and Adam Frudden (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mounds Park Academy), Tyler Lambert (Ranger, Ga./Gordon Central), and Drew Clanin (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) each had one interception.  Senior linebacker Bill Aukerman (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) led the team in tackles with five. He also turned in the team's lone sack.

Hiram quarterback Rendan Rehor was 14 of 24 for 78 yards and three interceptions.  His favorite target, Glenn Campbell, caught five passes for 32 yards.  Campbell also led the team in rushing with 36 yards before leaving the game with an injury late in the third quarter.

Denison (2-3, 1-2 NCAC) will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Meadville, Pa. for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Allegheny College Gators.