BEXLEY, Ohio (September 2, 2023) – Senior quarterback Jimmy Stines threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start and senior running back Trey Fabrocini picked up where he left off from his record-breaking junior season with 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Denison University football team held off a second-half surge from Capital University to win 45-35 in its 2023 season opener.

Stines completed 18 of his 27 passes for a 66.7 completion percentage and had three touchdown passes of 76 yards or more. His 386 passing yards are good for the sixth most in a single game in program history and are the most since Canaan Gebele passed for 407 yards at Allegheny on September 16, 2017.

Stines also added nine rushes for 61 yards while Fabrocini rushed 20 times for an average of 7.7 yards per carry and sported a 77-yard touchdown run to put the Big Red in front by a score of 45-14 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

As a team, Denison (1-0 overall) gained 668 total yards of offense, the most since setting the program record with 746 total yards during the game at Allegheny in 2017. Denison also outrushed Capital 282 to 99 and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.

After Capital (0-1) scored first less than two minutes into the game, Fabrocini got Denison on the board with a seven-yard rushing touchdown with 5:54 on the clock in the first quarter.

Then with just over two minutes left in the opening period, Stines found junior Billy Guzzo for an impressive 86-yard touchdown pass, which now ranks as the longest touchdown pass in program history.

Halfway through the second quarter, an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stines to fifth-year senior Josh Aiello made it a 21-7 Denison lead before a 77-yard touchdown from Stines to sophomore Cade Nowik and a 35-yard field goal make from junior Daniel Cunningham in the final two minutes of the first half.

Up 31-7 at the break, Stines opened up the second half with a 76-yard touchdown to Guzzo to put Denison up by 31 points (38-7).

Guzzo finished with three receptions for two touchdowns and 168 yards, which was good for 56 yards per catch and ranks 11th for receiving yards in a single game in program history.

Additionally, Nowik had four catches for 111 yards and one touchdown, junior Aidan Brownlee had three catches for 49 yards, and Aiello had three catches for 27 yards and a score.

Following Fabrocini's second touchdown of the game, Capital proceeded to go on a 21-0 run to end the game and in all, outscored Denison 28-14 in the second half.

Denison's defensive effort was led by senior Jack Nimesheim with seven tackles, fellow-junior Collin Murphy with six and junior Nathan Hallenbeck with five while fifth-year senior Clay Denstorff had three tackles for loss and an eight-yard sack.

Next up on Saturday, September 9, the Big Red will host a big game under the lights against No. 7 Linfield University at 7 p.m. at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium.