NEW HAVEN - Yale football's two-game winning streak ended Saturday with a 41-23 loss to Rhode Island at the Yale Bowl.
The visiting Rams struck twice on long touchdown passes in the first quarter to build a 14-0 lead. Yale sophomore running back Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni answered with a 36-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but Rhode Island led 20-7 at halftime.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 10 on a 33-yard field goal by Noah Piper in the third quarter. Yale quarterback Dante Reno threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Graham Smith and Jaxton Santiago, but the Rams answered each score.
Djeumeni Kemeni led the Bulldogs' offense with 243 yards on 36 carries and one score, while Reno passed for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
Santiago had three catches for 45 yards and a score, while Smith caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown.
Yale finished with 391 yards of offense and 23 first downs, compared with Rhode Island's 395 yards and 12 first downs, but had one turnover.
The Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1 Ivy League) had won two straight after losing to Cornell, beating Merrimack and Dartmouth. The emotional win over Merrimack two weeks ago came a day after Dante Reno's father, former Yale coach Tony Reno, died.
Yale beat Dartmouth 28-7 last week.
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This article originally published at Yale football falls to Rhode Island despite Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni's 243-yard rushing game.