Football's Offense Still Struggling.

The Yeomen returned from Indiana this past Saturday, after having lost their fifth game of the season to Wabash 34-0. This brings the Yeomen's record to 0-5 at the halfway point of the season.

The game started with Oberlin kicking off to Wabash, and, after a 26-yard return Wabash's offense took the field. Four plays later first-year Kurt Baumgardner intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards to the 15 yard-line. The great defensive play put Oberlin's offense right where they have struggled most, the red zone. Oberlin advanced the ball to the seven yard-line, where sophomore Martin Mitchell attempted a 29-yard field goal, but unfortunatly missed.

On the following drive, Wabash drove the ball 80 yards for their first score of the game, making it 7-0. Wabash would go on to score 27 more points in the next three quarters, despite one of Oberlin's better played games on the defensive side.

Coach Jeff Ramsey said, "The defense played well, we took some chances, but they didn't always pay off."

Field position, both offensively and defensively, has been a continuing problem this season, and plagued Oberlin again on Saturday. For the game, Wabash's offense had an average starting field position near the 50 yard-line, while Oberlin's average start was at their own 30.

On the day Oberlin's offense amassed a total of 60 yards, with a bleak negative 19 yards rushing due to the high amount of sacks. Ramsey was not pleased, to say the least, when he said, "It was the offense's worst game of the year. We had nine dropped passes." Ramsey continued, saying, "Without those drops we could have moved the ball. We played down a level on a day that we should have played up a level.

First-year tight end Brian Senne felt the same, saying, "We played like shit. We had too many three and outs." Taking a more positive view, he continued, saying "[I have] good teammates, and the intensity among the team is increasing."

Even though the Yeomen lost by 34, they still had some great individual performances, including those of Baumgardner and first-year linebacker Sam Hobi. Hobi racked up 17 tackles, including one for a loss.

With poor offensive outputs such as last week's, the Yeomen need to take full advantage of this week off. Without a game this week, the team can focus on fundamentals to prepare better for their next game, which is home against Hiram College, on Saturday, Oct. 14.

This Oberlin team, uncharacteristically high in numbers, is also uncharacteristically high in youth. All season this has posed as a problem for the Yeomen, however, it is more of an immediate than permanent problem. The team's youth is a long term benefit, considering the fact that around 35 first-year players are getting significant playing time and the team will be returning 47 players and 19 starters for next season. With a season of experience, a hardworking off-season, and another large first-year class, this team will be much improved next season.

Athletic director Michael Muska offered a few positive words about the team, saying, "This season is about building for the future, its not about wins and losses. You can already see great improvement in the defense. Anyone that looks at their record only is not looking toward the future."

However, this season is not over yet. With five games remaining this season, and a bye-week this week, the team has time to regroup and rest for games versus 0-4 Kenyon and 1-4 Hiram. Hiram's only win of the season was an eight point victory over Kenyon.

The teams Oberlin has played thus far have a combined record of 13 wins and eight losses. The teams the Yeomen have yet to play have a combined record of eight wins and 13 losses. Except for Wooster, this is a very favorable schedule for the close of the Yeomen's season.

This extra week will allow more time for injuries to heal for these very important upcoming games. First-year cornerback Quammie Semper is scheduled to return for the Hiram game in two weeks, which will give a boost to the jinxed defensive backfield, which has endured three fairly serious arm injuries this season.