RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College football team dropped a 54-20 decision Saturday afternoon to Capital University in Darrell Beane Stadium.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Crusaders held a 20-6 advantage by halftime.

A 54-yard touchdown pass from Brennen Laird to Wesley Hundley was Earlham's score before the intermission.

Earlham bounced back with a pair of touchdowns in the third period. Down 34-6, Laird led the way to both scores.

Laird tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to Jason Nguyen at the 9:20 mark. Laird ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter to close the gap to 34-20.
Capital (1-0) finished the contest with three scores in the final stanza.

Laird was 27-of-43 for 336 yards with one interception. Marcaus Cooper led the Quakers with eight catches for 83 yards.

Jalen Kenner had seven grabs for 99 yards, while Hundley caught five passes for a team-high 104yards.

Defensively, the Quakers had three players top the squad with six tackles each. Mason Davis, Lajay Kelly and Ishmael MacNeil led the way.

Allen Eugene, Denis Caulley, David Dyer and James Johnson had five tackles apiece.

The Quakers (0-2) open their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule next Saturday at Manchester University. The contest gets underway at 1:30 p.m.