GRANVILLE, Ohio (October 1, 2022) – The Denison University football team had a chance on its final drive of the game, but in the end, the speed of the No. 23-ranked DePauw University defense and quarterback Wally Renie were too much as the Big Red suffered their first loss in North Coast Athletic Conference action so far this season, 17-13, during Big Red Weekend inside Deeds Field-Piper Stadium.

It was a battle between the last two undefeated teams in the NCAC as after DePauw took it 65 yards downfield and scored in nine plays on the first possession of the game, Roshaune Downie came up with an interception on the Tigers' second drive, and then after DePauw's third drive, Jaylin Epps put together one of the more entertaining 14-yard punt returns you will ever see to set the Big Red up past midfield at the DePauw 48.

On fourth-and-14 from the DePauw 29-yard line on the ensuing Denison drive, Head Coach Jack Hatem elected to go for it on fourth down instead of opting for the 46-yard field goal, and the decision paid off as Drew Dawkins found DJ Johnson for 24 yards down to the Tigers' five-yard line. Three straight runs by Trey Fabrocini then got it into the endzone with 12:43 to go in the second quarter, but a miss on the extra point made it 7-6.

DePauw added a 35-yard field goal on its next drive to go up 10-6, and then it became a battle of the defenses until late in the third quarter when a 19-yard touchdown pass by Renie was answered by Dawkins. On the next Denison drive after falling behind 17-6 with 1:45 left in the third quarter, Dawkins got his confidence going with a quick two-play, 75-yard drive starting with a 27-yard pass downfield to Billy Guzzo to get past midfield, followed by a 48-yard touchdown pass on a simple play-action slant to Johnson.

On the next three DePauw drives and with the home crowd roaring behind its team, the Denison defense forced a trio of three-and-outs as both offenses stalled to start the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest differences of the game was the legs of Renie, who outrushed the entire Denison team 115-62 by himself, but on a 16-yard rush from Denison's 32-yard line, Renie was chased down from behind by Clay Denstorff, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Anthony Rooney to give the Big Red a final chance with 3:01 left to play.

On the final drive starting at the Big Red 16-yard line, Denison picked up a first down on back-to-back passes to Mack Marston, and then an 11-yard run by Dawkins moved the chains again to the Denison 38-yard line. Unfortunately, an incredible catch by Johnson down the sideline on the next play in DePauw territory was ruled an illegal tough, which led to a loss of down and put the Big Red behind the chains. On fourth-and-11 and with the game on the line, a huge 17-yard sack by the Tigers sealed it.

The other huge difference in the game apart from Renie was Depauw's nine sacks by six different players compared to only one sack for Denison. Leading the way for the Tigers with four sacks for 30 yards was Brevon Gude.

Denison drops to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the NCAC while DePauw, which entered the game with three consecutive shutouts while outscoring its opponents 43.75-3.50 on the season, improved to 5-0 and 3-0. Despite the loss, the Big Red defense did manage to keep the Tigers well below their average of 487.5 yards per game with 303 yards in this one, and kept them 100 yards under their season-average rushing total.

Denison will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 8.