NCAC chooses Caress as Athlete of the Week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — After the Kenyon College football team whipped up a win against a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe for the second straight week, the Owls also earned back-to-back awards from the conference office. This week, after helping Kenyon’s defense secure a shutout, Luke Caress was chosen as the NCAC Defensive Athlete of the Week for football.

Caress was a cause for concern all day for the opposing Oberlin College Yeomen. The defensive lineman tallied five total tackles, tied for fourth-most on the team, including a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss. His defensive efforts set the opposing offense back 19 yards, and Caress created pressure with a team-leading two sacks for 14 yards. The senior’s two sacks tied a career-high, equaling the pair of quarterback takedowns that Caress notched against Oberlin last year.

With Caress helping to lead the charge along the defensive line, Kenyon clinched a 34-0 shutout to spark a two-game winning streak. The dominant defensive performance marked the program’s first shutout since 2001, a 14-0 victory over next week’s opponent, Hiram College. Caress and the Owls held Oberlin to just 113 total yards on the day, with nearly half of that total coming on a 50-yard pass play late in the game. On the season, Kenyon ranks as the second stingiest in the NCAC, allowing just 14.8 points and 235.4 yards per game. The Owls’ 15 sacks pace the conference, and Caress leads the league with 3.5 sacks while tying for second with eight tackles for loss.

Up next, Caress and the Owls will look to extend their winning streak to three for the first time since 2013 when Kenyon heads to Hiram, Ohio to take on the winless Terriers, a team Kenyon has topped for four straight seasons.