Football – The Oberlin Review

The Last Ohio Team to Beat OSU? Oberlin

September 20, 2019

One of the four announcers on ESPN’s Sept. 7 College Gameday segment held up a crisp hundred dollar bill and posed the question, “Who is the last team from Ohio to beat Ohio State?” He was met with silence. One announcer answered, “Miami?” The other announcers laughed, and all agreed that no Ohio team had ever beaten the football powerhouse. The Buckeyes are a legend in American football and have amassed eight national championships since their establishment in 1890. The universit...

Bonner Scholar Athletes Contribute To Oberlin, Both On And Off The Field

September 20, 2019

When imagining the typical college experience, volunteering for night shifts in churches to help care for individuals in need is not the first thing that comes to mind for most. But for College fourth-year Nae McClain, this was part of a normal day during her first two years as a Bonner Scholar at Oberlin. She balanced not only her academic and athletic responsibilities, but also dedicated 140 hours per semester to community service. Working in the church until 6:30 a.m., she would return to her r...

Competition, Athleticism, or Something Else Entirely: What Makes A Sport?

Khalid McCalla, Contributing Sports Editor

September 20, 2019

Across the globe, people are playing, watching, and interacting with sports on a daily basis. Most children are put on a sports team from an early age and, for some, that initial love of sports never fades. However, despite the fact that sports as a concept is an integral part of society, both at Oberlin and in the world, there is still no general consensus about what a sport really is. There is the mainstream list that includes football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and a few others that are legitimized as sports by the presence of high-profile major leagues and million-dollar television deals at the collegiate and professional levels. However, a larger portion of potential “sports” exist on the outskirts of the conversation...

Jenkins Rises to Occasion, Leads Yeomen to Victory

November 9, 2018

In the third quarter of Saturday’s football matchup between the Oberlin College Yeomen and the Hiram College Terriers, the crowd gasped as College junior and star quarterback Zach Taylor fell to the ground clutching his leg. Taylor, who had just become Oberlin’s career total yards leader with 7,096 yards a week earlier, broke his fibula and was unable to re-enter the game. In a crunch and desperate to take home the win, the Yeomen put in first-year backup quarterback Tommy Jenkins, who has talent c...

Faith Fuels Zach Taylor On and Off the Field

September 28, 2018

Every Saturday before the football team takes the field for warm-ups, College junior and quarterback Zach Taylor writes a new Bible verse on the towel he keeps in his back pocket throughout the game. According to Taylor, Christianity has been his driving force since arriving at Oberlin two years ago. It’s what gets him through the bad times and keeps him humble during the good times. “I grew up in a Christian household, but I think I really found my faith once I got here at Oberlin,�...

Football Earns Decisive Win During Parents Weekend

November 10, 2017

The Yeomen won their first game in nearly two months last Saturday, as they defeated the Hiram College Terriers 27–14, holding control for practically the entire game. The win, the Yeomen’s third at home this season, also put an end to their six-game losing streak. “It was great to execute consistently,” sophomore linebacker Von Wooding said. “We always find better energy when we play at home in front of our fans.” The game took place during parents weekend and featured an impressive...

Yeomen Drop Final Road Game of Year to Bishops

November 3, 2017

Despite cutting a 21-point deficit to eight in their final road game of the season, the Yeomen’s comeback attempt was too little, too late as they fell to the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops 34–26 on Saturday. After starting the season 2–0, the Yeomen are now 2–6, sitting second to last in the North Coast Athletic Conference. “We struggled early in the first quarter on both sides of the ball, but to everyone’s credit, nobody quit,” senior wide receiver Trace McConnell said. ...

Football Advances to 2–0

September 15, 2017

The Yeomen followed up a strong start to the season with a dominating 31–10 victory in their homecoming game against the Kenyon College Lords. Oberlin now commands their first 2–0 start since 1989 following the defeat of their rivals. While their previous 24–6 win over the Kalamazoo College Hornets broke their 13-game losing streak that spanned over two seasons, this win solidly indicates a transformed Yeomen team. “We had a mission at the beginning of the season,” new offensive coordinator...

Football Looks to Bounce Back in New Season

September 1, 2017

After a season in which Yeomen football failed to record a single win, the 53 members of the team have put everything else aside to focus on their sport. Nearly every morning from Aug. 11 to the start of classes, the sizable squad has been obsessed. During preseason hey woke up each morning for team practices, weightlifts, position meetings, coaching meetings, and film sessions, only breaking for meals. Each evening, they went to sleep only to do it all again the next morning. “From 7 a.m. to 9:...

Football Set to Battle Hiram in Season Finale

November 11, 2016

The Yeomen suffered a Senior Day spoiler at the hands of the DePauw University Tigers last Saturday in their ninth consecutive loss of the year, falling 50–17. Still looking for its first win, Oberlin will travel to Hiram College tomorrow to face off against the Terriers for its last matchup of the season. “The main thing with [Hiram] is they have a lot of great athletes, and they definitely have some playmakers within their wide receiver group, so that’s going to be a challenge to defend...

NCAC Powerhouses Await Yeomen

Alex McNicoll

October 28, 2016

In what was arguably the football team’s best-played game of the season, the Yeomen fell 34–30 in a heartbreaker to The College of Wooster Fighting Scots. Now the Yeomen look to regroup as they set their sights on the last three games of the season. Despite a 0–7 start, the team isn’t fretting as it approaches the final stretch of the year. “I feel like our first losses were really hard on the team,” junior wide receiver Federico Consuegra said. “[But] we’ve bounced back, and I think we were able to keep our motivation. Sometimes last year we were completely deflated after losses, and now I feel like we really haven’t done that too much.” The Yeomen will host the No. 23 Wittenberg University...

Yeomen Still Looking for First Win

September 30, 2016

The Yeomen were dealt a tough Homecoming defeat last Saturday against the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops, falling 29–16. The game, which celebrated the Yeomen’s 125th year of football, left the team in search of its first win as it dropped to 0–4 overall and 0–3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. “It was a rough loss because we were in it with them the entire time,” said first-year defensive tackle Justin Godfrey. “At any point either of us could’ve pulled ahead.” The...