Celebratory touchdown dances were on display on Saturday, Oct. 19, when the Allegheny football team had a 49-0 blowout win against Kenyon College.

This win will be Head Coach Richard Nagy’s first of the 2019 football season. Allegheny welcomed Nagy as the 35th program head coach earlier this year when Head Coach B.J. Hammer resigned. Nagy brings promise to the Allegheny football program, having 32 years of previous coaching experience. Nagy also exhibits coaching levels at both Division I and Division  III levels.

The Allegheny Gators started the game strong with a tackle for a minimum gain by senior defensive lineman Austin Hoyt, ’20, and Cameron Schadl, ’21. The Gators were able to put a stop to Kenyon’s offensive line early and continue to hold steady throughout the game. Meanwhile, Allegheny’s offensive line scored touchdown after touchdown on Kenyon.

“I feel great about the win,” said wide receiver Dwaine Barber, ’20. “As a team, we executed everything in the game plan on the offense and defensive side of the ball.”

Looking to the future, receiver Alex Victor, ’20, is anticipating their next games.“I anticipate us taking (the remainder of the season) one game at a time and trying to go 1-0 every week for the rest for the season,” Victor said.  “Winning 49-0 was super fun, but I wish we could have put up 70. It’s fun being out there with your brothers playing that game that you all love.”

Kenyon was not able to keep up with Allegheny’s defense or offensive pressure throughout the game. The Gators scored 14 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, and rounded out the scoring with an additional 14 points in the third.

“It finally felt good displaying how good a team we actually are, having our offense, defense and special teams clicking together as a game plan,” Victor said. “(It) was a great feeling.”

The Gators will look to build upon this win to create a streak and gain confidence as the season progresses.

The Gators had a rocky start to their season facing position changes, playbook changes and a new coaching staff with the hiring of Nagy. The Gators are looking to be as prepared for their upcoming games as they were against Kenyon.

The blowout win has seniors confident they can finish the season off strong, especially Barber, who anticipates more wins for the Gators in coming weeks.“We plan on finishing the season off strong and try to accumulate four more wins,” Barber said.

In their remaining games of the season, the Gators will face off against DePauw University, Hiram College (homecoming game), Wooster College (senior night game) and Oberlin College. Last season, Allegheny faced DePauw and won with a close score of 20-19.

The DePauw game takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 in Greencastle, Indiana. The following week, on Saturday, Nov. 2, Allegheny will host its Homecoming game against Wooster at Frank B. Fuhrer Field. Hoyt said the win against Kenyon will help motivate and give confidence to the team in the games to come.

“Because we all believe we are well prepared, this game (against Kenyon) gave us a great amount of confidence going into our next game, but as a whole, we like to play with confidence,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt described the win as a “confidence booster.”

“(The win) really showed what we are capable of when we come together as a team and as a unit,” Hoyt said. “Right now, we are just trying to win out so the seniors can leave with a good taste in their mouths and leave the younger guys with some confidence going into the next season.”