Granville, Ohio - A new season of optimism and opportunity kicked off Saturday for the Denison football team, but the Big Red came up on the losing end in its season opener, as No. 19 Hope College won a hard-fought contest 28-14. Denison begins the season 0-1 following its lone non-conference game of the season.
Hope College opened the game with fireworks, starting with a 52-yard pass on the opening snap from scrimmage, capping a 74-yard touchdown drive with a one-yard rushing score.
Denison would settle in after the opening shock to the game defensively, stuffing the Flying Dutchmen on their next two series, one that ended with a punt and one that resulted in a
Thomas Hansen interception.
While the defense found its mark, the offense continued to develop a rhythm under first-time starter
Brian Rager at quarterback. The Big Red's first series of the game ended in a quick punt, but on the second, Rager and the offense ate up 8 minutes on the clock on a 15-play drive. The series would see an untimely halt early in the second quarter as the team flipped ends of the field, with a sack derailing the momentum.
Hansen's interception gave the Big Red an opportunity in Hope territory, and a Rager connection to
Luke Reed of 24 yards moved the team into the red zone, but once again, the offense would stall, turning it over on downs. Hope would answer its defensive stand with a touchdown drive, finding the end zone on a 15-play series to take a 14-0 lead. Rager and the Denison offense attempted to answer, as a connection between the quarterback and
AJ Winders of 37 yards drove the team to field goal range, but the 42-yard attempt from
Sean Brechbill missed right, ending the half with the home team behind 14-0.
Denison received the opening kickoff to the second half and again showed promise as three different plays of 15 yards or more pushed the Big Red deep in the red zone, but the drive would stall at the nine as the ball went over downs. A 65-yard pass would punctuate Hope's answer to its defensive stand, as they drove 91 yards in response to extend their lead to 20-0.
Gaining poise on each drive, Denison marched right back at the Flying Dutchmen, using a combination of
Brian Rager's arm and
Blayton Reid's legs to march inside the five as the fourth quarter started. As the final stanza began, an early fumble by Rager spoiled a promising drive, as he lost the ball while reaching for the end zone. After coughing up the ball, the defense made up for the gaff, taking the ball back as Nick Pellicciota recovered a loose ball in the end zone, scoring Denison's first touchdown of the young season.
After the fumble recovery for a score, the Big Red Defense forced another stop as Hope would punt the ball back to Denison, but the ensuing drive came up empty in attempting to make things a one-score game. Another fumble by Denison with 6:54 remaining in the final quarter dampened a 54-yard drive, and Hope capitalized with a game-sealing 46-yard touchdown run by Brody Schuiteman.
Denison would score a touchdown on its final drive of the game, as the offense got on the board with 1:17 remaining behind a
Blayton Reid one-yard run. The Big Red failed to recover the onside kick attempt, with two kneel-downs washing out the final minute of play in Denison's season-opening 28-14 loss.
Despite the loss, Denison won several phases of the game, leading in time of possession and number of third and fourth downs converted in the game. Denison also had 21 first downs to Hope's 16, but were out-gained on the day 410-390.
Quarterback
Brian Rager made the most of his first collegiate start, passing for 278 yards while running for another 68, finishing as the team's leading rusher.
Blayton Reid had 30 yards on nine carries, scoring the offense's lone touchdown of the game.
AJ Winders finished the day as the top pass catcher with nine snags for 92 yards, while Grayson Kersher had seven receptions for 59 yards.
Luke Reed finished the game with 43 yards on three catches, and also punted twice with an average of 37 yards per kick.
Defensively,
Rory Ralston was the leading tackler for Denison, making nine stops while forcing a fumble that was recovered by
Nick Pellicciotta for six. The senior defensive back made six tackles and had a pass breakup, while
Thomas Hansen made two tackles along with recording the first Big Red interception of the season.
Up Next: It will be a quick turnaround for Denison, who return to Deeds Field-Piper Stadium on Thursday night, September 10, to host Oberlin College. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m., marking the second consecutive home game to open the season, coming just one year after playing the first three away from home.
