HIRAM, Ohio-- The Denison defense held Hiram College scoreless over the final 40 minutes. That gave the Big Red offense time to rattle off 26 unanswered points, resulting in a 33-19 road win over the Terriers from Henry Field.

After an inauspicious start saw Hiram recover a fumble on the second play of the game deep in Denison territory and turn it into a touchdown six plays later, Denison did not panic.  At different points in the first half, DU trailed 14-0 and 19-7 but never wavered from their game plan.

That plan centered around an aggressive, attacking defense and a healthy dose of Canaan Gebele on offense.

Trailing 19-17 at the break, the two teams started the half with a pair of possessions that resulted in punts.  With under three minutes left in the third quarter, Hiram quarterback Dominic Paolo completed a 61-yard pass to Akili Tate down the far sideline putting them deep in Denison territory.  On the next play, Denison linebacker Anthony Sernus jumped in front of Paolo's pass and returned it 19 yards to the 35-yard line.

Denison did not score on its next drive, but they did flip the field in terms of field position and on their first drive of the fourth quarter, Gebele completed a 59-yard pass to Cody Farley.  Two plays later, Gebele completed a fade pattern to David Weimar for the 5-yard touchdown pass, giving the Big Red its first lead at 23-19 with 13:20 to play in the game.

After the kickoff, Hiram took over on its own 29-yard line.  On 3rd and 5, Denison sent pressure as David Heyer and Hayden Hatten sacked Paolo for a 14 yards loss.  The three play drive took only 1:15.  A 10-yard holding penalty on the Terriers during the punt return also allowed DU to start their drive in enemy territory.  Leading by four, Denison got what it needed from the drive as Conor Dunn connected on a 32-yard field goal, putting his team on top by a touchdown with just under nine minutes to play.

Hiram's drive got started on their own 18-yard line and it started with a sack by Sernus for a loss of four yards.  On 3rd and 5, Paolo was intercepted on a pass over the middle by Ryan Zinkula.

Denison's second interception of the game set the offense up with excellent field position once again.  Gebele and the Big Red took over on the Hiram 21-yard line.  On 3rd and 4 from the 15, Gebele rushed for a 9-yard gain and a first down.  The Terriers were also flagged for a personal foul that moved the ball to the 3-yard line.  On second down, Gebele plunged into the end zone from 1-yard away.  The PAT by Dunn made it 33-19 with 5:06 remaining.

Hiram needed a pair of quick scores and they got neither as their 8-play 41-yard drive resulted in a loss of downs on 4th and 4 from the Denison 29-yard line.  DU took over with 2:20 on the clock and proceeded to run out the clock for the win.

Gebele completed 23-of-29 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns.  All three TD passes were caught by Weimar who finished with 10 grabs for 97 yards.  Gebele also led Denison in rushing with 160 yards on 30 carries.  On the year, Gebele is completing 71 percent of his passes for 1,217 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He has not thrown an interception in 144 passing attempts and he is averaging 104.6 rushing yards per game.

Farley ran the ball 13 times for 46 yards.  He also caught four passes for 75 yards.

Joel Lohoua led the defense in tackles with nine.  He also had one tackle for loss and two pass break-ups.  Andrew Baird had eight tackles and Sernus finished with six stops, a game-high two sacks and the critical interception in the third quarter.

Denison outgained Hiram, 467-364 and won the time of possession, 36:47-23:13.

For Hiram, Paolo was 14-of-32 for 255 yards and one TD.  David Perkins led the receivers with three catches for 83 yards.  Danny Robinson rushed 12 times for 66 yards.

Denison will face No. 16 Wittenberg next Saturday, October 15, at 7 p.m. inside Piper Stadium.  Both teams enter the game undefeated at 5-0.