RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College football team opened the home portion of the 2013 season on Saturday with a 25-15 victory over Kenyon College in Darrell Beane Stadium.

"I really liked the fact that we played a very physical football game," Earlham Head Coach Neil Kazmierczak said. "I think that was why we were successful."

The Quakers also had several key moments in the first victory in a home opener since a 32-24 win over Anderson University in 2006.

"We had a lot of guys who made plays when they needed to make them," Kazmierczak said. "it was just a combination of stepping up in the moment, no one got too nervous or let the moment be too much for them."

"What I'm looking forward to is our guys getting better and better," Kazmierczak continued. "Our goal is to get better every week and that's what I want to see."

Good things started happening in the first period for the Quakers as they built an 11-0 advantage over the Lords (1-1).

After the Quakers stopped Kenyon on its inital possession of the game, Earlham was forced to punt after three plays on offense. A Kenyon fumble set the Quakers up to take the lead.

John Hood booted a 25-yard field goal for the Quakers and they led 3-0 with 5:33 on the clock.

On their next possession, the Quakers put together a 12-play, 56-yard drive that ended with Malik Reid scoring on a 2-yard run with 11 seconds left in the quarter. After Hood lined up to kick the PAT, a bad snap forced him to throw a pass to Reid for the 2-point conversion.

Kenyon scored early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 11-8, after the Lords had a 2-point conversion of their own.

The Quakers eventually responded with a 6-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Matt Couch tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Williams with 6:18 remaining before intermission. Earlham led 18-8 at halftime.

Neither team scored in the third period, which allowed Kenyon to make the contest close with a touchdown at the 8:56 mark of the final stanza.

Earlham was forced to punt after its next drive stalled, but a turnover helped the Quakers. This time the Quakers would get the ball just eight yards from the end zone. Couch was sacked and penalized for intentional grounding, but on the next play he found Jalen Kenner for a 15-yard scoring strike that put the game away with 4:15 left.

The Lords would only gain three yards on their final two possessions as the Quakers celebrated the win.

Couch was 16-of-29 for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Kenner was the leading receiver for the Quakers with eight grabs for 107 yards and the final score. Malcolm Williams had four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Leslie Dunlap caught three passes for 73 yards, while Adam Jolly had two catches for 43 yards.

Reid led the Quakers with 66 yards rushing, while grabbing a pair of passes for 10 yards.

Kaleb Lingg led the Quakers with eight tackles. He also had the punt that pinned down the Lords at their 5-yard line in the fourth quarter that led to Earlham's final score.

Dorian Stroud added six tackles and a quarterback sack. Justin Darden had an interception, while Nate McCormack recovered two fumbles.

Earlham (1-1) begins play in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference next Saturday at Bluffton University. The contest gets underway at 1:30 p.m.