GRANVILLE, Ohio - Behind a strong ground game and a stout defense, host Denison defeated Allegheny 42-0 in a North Coast Athletic Conference meeting at Deeds Field.

The Big Red (1-1, 1-0 NCAC) ran for 296 yards and four touchdowns, while limiting the Gators (2-1, 1-1 NCAC) to just 203 yards of total offense and eight first downs.

Denison took the lead on its opening possession of the first quarter, when a one-yard touchdown run from Alex Minton capped off a nine-play, 68-yard drive and put the hosts up 7-0 with just over nine minutes left in the quarter. The teams would then trade scoreless possessions over the next several minutes, before Denison's Dara Laja capped off the first quarter with a 70-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with just under a minute left in the opening stanza.

The Allegheny defense came to life on Denison's first trip of the second quarter, as Bryan Lopez and Marcus Davenport teamed up for a six-yard sack on second down, before Seth Warburton followed with a quarterback takedown of his own to knock the Big Red back inside their own 20 and force a punt.

On its next possession, Denison quarterback Canaan Gebele would complete a pair of first down passes, but the Gator defense responded yet again, with Kyle McGee and Emmanuel De La Noval teaming up for another second down sack, before Clarence Long broke up a third down pass to force another Denison punt.

Tyler Balla ran for a pair of first downs on the Gators' next trip, but the drive would stall out, and Denison would respond with a six-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off with another one-yard Minton touchown plunge that gave the hosts a 21-0 lead with 1:03 left in the half.

Gebele led the Big Red on another scoring drive to open up the third quarter, as he ran for 23 yards and passed for 26, including a 14-yard touchdown toss to David Weimar that made the score 28-0 with 12:17 remaining in the quarter.  Following another Allegheny punt, Gebele hooked up with Cody Farley for a 37-yard touchdown to push the lead to 35-0 with 8:01 left in the quarter.

Allegheny would counter with its longest drive of the afternoon. Pinned down inside their own 10 following a penalty on the kickoff, Logan Lee found Ben Bachik with an 11-yard pass, before Balla netted 32 yards on three straight runs to bring the ball to midfield. A pair of Kobe Pinkey rushes netted seven yards, but the drive would stall, and an incomplete pass would give the ball back to Denison on downs. Two plays later, Gebele scrambled 16 yards for a touchdown with just over four minutes left in the quarter.

Quinten Hunt's second interception of the season ended Denison's first drive of the fourth quarter, and the Gator offense would then embark on a lengthy drive. A pair of penalties on the Gators set up second and 25 at their own 40, but a nine-yard pass from Lee to Angel Alvarez, a nine-run scramble by Lee, and a 37-yard completion from Lee to Bachik gave Allegheny first and goal inside the Denison eight. A pair of runs would advance the ball just inside the one, but Denison's defense held, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal with 7:33 left to quash the Gators' scoring chance.

The Gator defense would yield just two yards to the Big Red over the next three plays to force a punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Denison a first down, and the hosts would then go to the ground to run out the clock and close out the win.

In his first start of the season, Lee completed 11 of 28 passes for 119 yards. Balla led the Allegheny ground game with 74 yards on 15 carries, while Bachik finished with three catches for 57 yards.

Defensively, Warburton, McGee, Davenport, and David Perez were each credited with six tackles. Warburton finished with three tackles for loss, while assisting on a pair of sacks. 

Gebele led the Denison offense, competing nine of 12 passes for 206 yards, while rushing nine times for 50 yards. He was one of four Big Red players to finish with at least 40 rushing yards, with Laja gaining 84 yards on six tries to lead the way. Ryan Hallinan topped Denison with eight tackles, while Nate Keirn had six stops and one of his team's four sacks.

Allegheny will now look to even its record when it returns home to face Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, September 22 at 1 p.m. at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.