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Football Quakers Beat Anderson 32-24 in Home Opener For Immediate Release
RICHMOND, Ind. — A week’s worth of preparation made the difference for the Earlham College football team Saturday afternoon as the Quakers defeated Anderson University 32-24 on M.O. Ross Field. Earlham Head Coach Gerry Keesling was smiling as the Quakers went to 2-1 on the season with their second straight victory. “I’m feeling excited because I didn’t think we played as well as we could have, but we came with a win,” he said. “I was pleased with our coaching staff because they worked really hard this week and put a tremendous game plan together. Our defensive coordinator, Tom Parkevich, had a great defensive strategy and held one of the premier running backs in Division III to under 100 yards rushing.” Anderson senior running back Denny Kimmel, who was a high school teammate Quakers quarterback Justin Rummell (Ingalls, IN/Pendleton Heights), managed just 79 yards and one touchdown in 15 carries. In his last two games against the Quakers, he ran for 480 yards and seven scores. The Quakers seemed in control through out the contest, but Anderson (1-2) was within eight points when the Ravens converted an onsides kick with 55 seconds remaining. Earlham, however, stopped the drive in four plays when senior Brandon Mock (Winchester, IN/Winchester) stopped Kimmel for no gain on fourth down to seal the win for the Quakers. Earlham got on the scoreboard first with Rummell tossing a 5-yard scoring pass to junior Joe White (Richmond, IN/Richmond) with 6:19 left in the first period. Anderson tied the contest early in the second quarter before Earlham added a safety credited to senior Brandon Warner (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) and a 29-yard field goal by first-year Max Crumley-Effinger (Richmond, IN/Richmond) gave the Quakers a 12-7 halftime advantage. “We could have put it away early but we let them stay in the game with some dropped passes.” Keesling said. “Justin Rummell got a little frustrated but I loved his composure and he was able to keep everything together. With all of the blitzes that Anderson was bringing, our offensive line did a really good job.” The Quakers started the third quarter with the ball, but as offense sputtered the Ravens helped the cause on the opening possession with a pair of personal fouls for roughing first-year punter Ben Seibert (Ft. Thomas, KY/Highlands). “We weren’t jelling offensively,” Keesling said. “To go three and out two times then get the ball back twice, while we got things going was huge. Ben stood in there on the punts when they brought eight guys and took the brunt of it.” The drive ended with Rummell and White hooking up for a 3-yard touchdown pass to make it 19-7. Another important sequence occurred after Anderson added a field goal to make it 19-10. Rummell found White for a 16-yard touchdown with 14:49 left in the final period. Crumley-Effinger, who struggled with his footing on kicks missed the PAT and it was 25-10. On the ensuing kickoff, Crumley-Effinger booted what became an onside kick. “Max missed the kick and it hit Anderson’s front guy and we fell on it,” Keesling said. “You don’t plan on those things and a lot of times that type of thing has happened against us.” Three plays later, Rummell threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Chris Owens (Ft. Thomas, KY/Highlands) to make it 32-10. Anderson added a pair of scores to close the gap to set up its opportunity for a tie, but Earlham’s defense made sure that didn’t happen. Rummell finished his afternoon with 23 completions in 43 attempts for 286 yards and four touchdowns. White had seven grabs for 100 yards and three scores, while Owens caught six passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, junior Manny Myers (Fairmount, IN/Madison-Grant) had 57 yards on 14 carries, while Warner rushed for 42 yards in eight attempts. Senior Jordan Thompson (Riverview, FL/East Bay) led the Earlham defense with 10½ tackles and an interception. Mock added five tackles including two behind the line of scrimmage that totaled 20 yards. Earlham is idle next week before entertaining Wabash College on Sept. 30. The NCAC affair begins at 1 p.m. “I’m really proud of our guys,” Keesling said. “I’m looking forward to the bye week and getting ready for Wabash.” Box Score. —EC — Contact: |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |