Ohio Wesleyan 17, Denison 14
Sophomore quarterback Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.) fired a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore split end Dave Mogilnicki (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) to help Ohio Wesleyan to a 14-0 lead, and freshman kicker Miles MacKenzie (Denver, Colo./East) booted a 34-yard field goal for what proved to be deciding points as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Denison in the season opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.
Senior safety Keegan Varner (Westerville/Central) set up the first Bishop touchdown, picking off a pass by Denison's Max Paulus and returning it 64 yards to the Big Red 6-yard line. Two plays later, Espinosa found Mogilnicki on a 2-yard scoring toss, and senior kicker Nick Chilkov (Venice, Calif./New Roads) tacked on the conversion for a 7-0 Bishop lead.
Big plays aided the Bishops again later in the quarter. Ohio Wesleyan took over on its own 10-yard line, and after a sack and a couple of penalties set up a second-and-18 from the Bishop 2, Espinosa hit freshman split end Scott Jenkins (Cuyahoga Falls) for 17 yards and freshman halfback Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) picked up 5 yards, setting the stage for a 59-yard strike from Espinosa to Mogilnicki that gave the Bishops the ball on the Denison 17. After Herman gained 8 yards, Espinosa hit Mogilnicki for the final 9 yards and a 14-0 Bishop lead.
Denison answered with a 79-yard, 10-play march that featured a 10-yard connection from Paulus to Sam Fioroni on third-and-9, and a 41-yard burst by Fioroni. Paulus picked up another first down with a 13-yard connection to Greg Jones, and hit Lucas Graham for 9 yards and a score that brought the Big Red within 14-7 midway through the second quarter.
Just as Denison answered the Ohio Wesleyan score with one of its own, the Bishops returned the favor. Passes from Espinosa to Mogilnicki and senior tight end Pat Embleton (Chesterland/Gilmour Academy) moved the chains for Ohio Wesleyan, but the Bishop drive bogged down at the Denison 17 and MacKenzie came on and drilled a 34-yard field goal that extended the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 17-7.
Sophomore cornerback Leonard Gleaves (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) intercepted a pass to end one Denison threat late in the half, and the Bishop defense held on downs at the Ohio Wesleyan 29 after a lengthy Big Red drive to open the second half.
Junior defensive end James Huddleston (Pontiac, Mich./Saint Marys Preparatory) rang up a fourth-down sack to end a Denison drive at the Bishop 35-yard line late in the third period, and the Ohio Wesleyan defense held Denison on downs twice more during the fourth quarter.
The Big Red closed to within 17-14 as Paulus found Braden Layer for 30 yards and then again for 34 yards to move the ball to the Ohio Wesleyan 9-yard line, then connected with Graham for the final 9 yards with 1:11 left in regulation time.
Herman covered the ensuing onside kick, however, and the Bishops were able to run out the clock.
Espinosa completed 14 of 28 passes for 193 yards and 2 scores. Mogilnicki had 6 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Jenkins caught 3 passes for 38 yards. Herman led the Bishops with 27 yards on 10 rushes.
Freshman linebacker DaVaughn DuBose (Shaker Heights) led the Bishop defense with 10 tackles. Sophomore cornerback Chris Wilson (Atlanta, Ga./Chapel Hill) followed with 9 stops and broke up a pass, and Huddleston finished with 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss among his 8 tackles.
Fioroni ran for 97 yards on 17 carries to lead Denison. Paulus completed 21 of 41 passes for 215 yards, with Layer catching 7 of those throws for 103 yards.
Alex Sycher and Adam Frudden led the Big Red with 7 tackles apiece.
Box Score
