Ohio Wesleyan's Mason Espinosa threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns. That would be enough for Battling Bishops to outlast the Big Red, 32-29 from a jam-packed Deeds Field-Piper Stadium on Saturday night.

Employing a no-huddle spread offense throughout the contest, Espinosa and the Bishops opened the game with an impressive 13-play 75-yard drive that resulted in a 6-yard keeper by Espinosa for the night's first touchdown.

Later in the first quarter, Denison's big play ability would be put on display when John Wilson caught a school-record tying 82-yard touchdown pass from senior Max Paulus. 

In the second quarter, the field position battle would turn in OWU's favor after a 47-yard punt by Miles MacKenzie backed DU up on its own five-yard line.  On 2nd-and-9 from the 6-yard line, Ohio Wesleyan sacked Paulus in the end zone for a safety.  After the free kick, Ohio Wesleyan went to work on another long drive.  This one spanning 10-plays and 70 yards and ending in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Espinosa to Dave Mogilnicki.

OWU would finish the quarter with a 20-yard field goal by MacKenzie to take a 19-7 lead into the locker room.

The first half saw OWU dominate time of possession (+8 min).  That also resulted in the Bishops running 27 more plays than the Big Red over the first 30 minutes of the contest.

In the opening seconds of the third quarter, the North Coast Athletic Conference's leading rusher from a season ago, Sam Fioroni, broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run, trimming the Bishop lead to 19-14.

With momentum beginning to shift in favor of the home team, OWU's Leonard Gleaves syphoned some of that positive energy with a 52-yard kickoff return off the ensuing kickoff.  With the drive starting on Denison's own 39-yard line, it took Espinosa just two plays to find senior Nick Ziegenbusch for a 47-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead back to 25-14.

After a 6-play Denison drive that stalled near midfield, OWU went back to work with an 11-play 71-yard drive that featured six pass completions by Espinosa with a 12-yard scoring strike to Calvin Cagney that upped the lead to 32-14.

With the game hanging in the balance, plays by Fioroni and first-year wide receiver DuShawn Brown helped DU get back into the end zone with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Big Red defense would force stops on the Bishops first three possessions and with 1:26 left in the contest, Paulus found Braden Layer on a 25-yard scoring play that capped off an 11-play 82-yard drive.

Out of options, Denison attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Ohio Wesleyan's Steven Uhler on the 50-yard line, allowing the Bishops to run out the clock and leave with a 3-point victory.

Fioroni led DU with 14 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns.  Paulus was 21-of-27 for 278 yards and two touchdowns.  He was sacked eight times by the Bishop defense, resulting in a loss of 36 yards.  Fioroni also caught seven passes for 47 yards.  Layer finished with five receptions for 87 yards while Wilson snagged two passes for 88 yards, highlighted by the record-tying catch in the first quarter.

Espinosa was 34-of-46 for 302 yards and three TD passes.  He spread his 34 completions out to eight different receivers.  His favorite target was Scott Jenkins who caught eight passes for 74 yards.  Mogilnicki caught seven passes for 52 yards while Ziegenbusch hauled in five catches for 69 yards.

On defense, Alex Sycher led the home team with 14 tackles, on tackle for a loss and one pass break-up.  Nate Scheidler and Alec Fultz each added 11 tackles apiece.

OWU was paced by Rayce Risser's 11 tackles.  Tyler Swary posted eight tackles and a game-high three sacks.

Denison will look to bounce back next Saturday against No. 8 Wabash at 1 p.m. from Piper Stadium.