Earlham's Chris Owens caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from James Mees with 30 seconds left, capping off a fourth quarter rally which saw the Quakers score 21 unanswered points to top the Denison Big Red, 21-17 from Deeds Field-Piper Stadium.  Owens was on the receiving end of two of Mees' three touchdown passes in the final quarter.

After a Nick Krempasky (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) 2-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left in the third quarter, the Big Red appeared to have the game in hand with a 17-0 lead over the visiting Quakers, who were playing their final football contest as a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference (Earlham has accepted a bid to join the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2010-11).

On the Quakers' first drive of the fourth quarter, Mees took over for Dorian Jenkins at quarterback and marched his squad down the field in five plays.  Earlham's first touchdown of the game was scored by Kyle Ripperger on a 28-yard scoring strike from Mees.

The Big Red would be forced to punt from just inside Earlham territory on their ensuing possession.  Denison's Jake Shafer (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) sent a high kick that was caught by Earlham's Bryant Foreman at the 17-yard line.  He was hit almost immediately by the Denison coverage team and Foreman would have to be taken off the field by medical personnel after a lengthy injury stoppage.  Foreman's teammates were clearly motivated by their fallen comrade. They took over on their own 9-yard line and proceeded to gobble up yardage in bundles against a somewhat shell-shocked Denison defense.  On 3rd and 9 from their 10-yard line, Mees hit Ripperger for 17 yards.  Running back Nick Cummings followed with a 41-yard gain down to the Denison 25-yard line.  On the very next play Mees would find Owens for a 25-yard touchdown, cutting the Big Red lead to 17-14 with 7:09 to play.

Denison's next two offensive possessions would result in punts and Earlham would take over on their own 20-yard line with 2:02 left to play.  Mees would get the Quakers out near midfield with just under a minute remaining.  From their own 46-yard line, Earlham gained just one yard on their first three plays from scrimmage.  Starring a 4th and 9 situation, and their season square in the face, Mees hit Owens on a out pattern that got just enough for the first down.  On their next play Mees looked down field for Owens and the Big Red were flagged for pass interference which moved the football to the Denison 29-yard line with 36 seconds to play.  Once again, Mees let it fly for Owens who fought off a Denison defender for a 29-yard touchdown in the right corner of the end zone.

After a 36-yard kickoff return by Krempasky, Denison would get one final shot to win the football game.  With 12 seconds to play, Max Paulus (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) hit Greg Jones (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) for a 4-yard gain on 4th and 3 to have one more shot.  With the ball on the 50-yard line and 10 seconds left, Denison handed the ball to Krempasky, who fortunately was tackled just one second before time expired, giving DU a final crack at the end zone.  From the 45-yard line, Paulus looked for Andy Carpenter (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) in the right corner but pass interference was called on the Quakers as time expired.  Since the game can not end on a defensive penalty, DU moved to the 20-yard line where Paulus once again looked for Carpenter.  This time Quaker defender Jake Carr successfully batted the ball into the turf, sealing up the emotional win for the Quakers.

Mees finished the game 17-for-27 for 117 yards and three touchdown passes.  Cummings gained 127 yards rushing off 14 carries and Owens caught 10 passes for 125 yards.

The Big Red was paced by the punishing rushing style of Krempasky who tallied 118 yards off 28 carries.  Krempasky entered the day as the NCAC's leading rusher and he closed out the 2009 season with a career-high 891 yards.  Dan Crawford (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) added 72 yards off just 8 carries.  Cochran led all Big Red receivers with three receptions for 51 yards and one touchdown off a 34-yard reception in the second quarter.

Earlham linebacker Cale Gulliford led all players with 14 tackles.  He also had one of Earlham's five sacks.  Denison was paced by senior safety Jamie Mackie (Richfield, Ohio/Revere) who had 10 tackles and one tackle for a loss.  Adam Frudden (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mounds Park Academy) notched six stops and one interception for the Big Red.

The victory gives Earlham (5-5) their first .500 or better season since 2000 while the Big Red falls to 3-7 overall.