Game 10: Wittenberg (9-0, 6-0 NCAC) vs. Earlham (5-3, 3-2 NCAC)
Saturday, Nov. 4, 2000 Kickoff: 1 p.m. Edwards-Maurer Field

Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers jumped all over the visiting Hiram Terriers last weekend, 66-0, to clinch at least a share of a fourth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference title. Several milestones are now within the teams grasp, as well as individual players and coaches, with a final regular season contest remaining this weekend. As many as possible are detailed in this press release.

This weeks opponent is Earlham College. The Quakers are coming off a bye week sporting a 5-3 overall record, 3-2 in the NCAC, and are already assured of their best season since 1994, when they wound up 5-3 in the conference and 7-3 overall.

Last Week: The Tigers scored on their first play from scrimmage and dominated visiting Hiram College from start to finish for a 66-0 victory on Homecoming Weekend in Springfield.

The 66 points were the most scored by the Tigers this season, topping a 62-point effort against Denison on Oct. 7. And the shutout was the first for Wittenberg this year, as the Tigers yielded just 64 total yards and five first downs.

Juan Howard has scored two touchdowns this year from his defensive tackle position

On the Tigers first offensive play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) hit junior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) on a school record-tying 83-yard touchdown pass. Senior placekicker Ryan Walker (Newark, Ohio/Newark) hit a 23-yard field goal, senior fullback Gary Henson (Columbus, Ohio/Marion-Franklin) had a career-best 39-yard TD run, senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) added a 17-yard TD burst, junior defensive lineman Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) returned an interception 10 yards for score, and junior wide receiver Steve DeGraffinreed (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) caught a pair of touchdown passes from Crane all in the first half as the Tigers built up a 45-0 lead by halftime.

In the second half, sophomore Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) scored on a pair of touchdowns from 43 and 22 yards out and junior defensive lineman Nic Black (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua) chipped in with a 35-yard fumble recovery.

Wittenberg ran up 403 yards rushing and 590 total yards of offense. Donaldson and Grove both topped 100 yards rushing, Crane posted 183 yards and three touchdowns on just eight completions in one half of work, and Aljancic finished with 111 yards on three catches.

Tim Daoust leads the Tigers with nine sacks in 2000

Defensively, junior defensive lineman Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) recorded seven tackles, including four for loss. Among them were two sacks, giving him nine for the season and 18 for his career both putting him No. 4 in Wittenberg history.

Streaks: Wittenberg has taken care of business this year, winning its first nine games by an average margin of 31.2 points per game. The Tigers now have won 30 straight regular season games, dating back to a 21-19 loss at the hands of the College of Wooster Fighting Scots.

But thats just the beginning of Wittenbergs various streaks. The Tigers havent lost a regular season game at home since 1996 and Head Coach Joe Finchams second game, a 26-14 defeat at the hands of Allegheny College. Thats a span of 28 straight home victories. Since losing three home games in 1991, the Tigers have a phenomenal home record of 46-3, with the only losses coming against Ohio Northern in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Division III playoffs, Baldwin-Wallace in the 1992 opener and the aforementioned contest against Allegheny.

In addition, Wittenberg carries a 21-game North Coast Athletic Conference win streak into todays season finale. Since 1991, when the Tigers finished 5-3 in the conference, Wittenberg is 62-4 against NCAC competition. That includes four outright NCAC titles, all of which were made possible by perfect league records, and at least a share of six championships (including 2000).

The NCAC record for consecutive conference victories (22) is currently held by Allegheny. Ironically, the Gators streak began after a 17-12 loss to Wittenberg in 1992 and ended with a 31-17 loss to the Tigers in 1995. In between, Allegheny went undefeated in the NCAC under Head Coach Ken OKeefe in 1993 and 1994.

The Series: The Wittenberg-Earlham series dates back to 1897, a game won by the Quakers, 8-6. In fact, Earlham won three of the first four meetings between the two schools. But in recent years, the Tigers have regularly gotten the better of things. In the 11 years since Wittenberg joined the NCAC and the two teams began playing every season, the Tigers have won each game, usually by a wide margin.

In their last meeting, Wittenberg defeated Earlham 62-6 in Week 3 of the 2000 season. Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont), filling in for the injured Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) threw for 231 yards on 15 completions.

Overall, the series is 20-8 in favor of Wittenberg.

The Coaches: Wittenberg University is led by Head Coach Joe Fincham, who is attempting to become the fifth man in school history to win 50 games in his career. The difference is how quickly Fincham has posted that win total.

Fincham has compiled a 49-4 overall record in nearly five complete seasons, and he has posted a regular season record of 47-2 and an NCAC mark of 34-2. The former Ohio University standout and Williamstown, W.Va. native, who was the NCAC Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, has led the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and his teams have captured at least a share of the league title each of the last four seasons.

Earlham is led by Head Coach Frank Carr, who is in his 16th season leading the Quakers. He has an overall record of 42-111, and he has been recognized as Coach of the Year by the NCAC in 1994 (the Quakers last winning season) and by the College Athletic Conference in 1987.

Senior Recognition Day: This Saturday, the winningest senior class in Wittenberg history will be honored before the game against Earlham. The Senior Class of 2001 is already has posted 38 regular season victories and 40 overall wins. The seniors can complete an amazing 39-1 four-year regular season run by defeating Earlham.

Several graduating classes can compare to the current group, but none can claim as many victories overall. Among the historical highlights:

The Senior Class of 1965 (which played 1961-64) was coached by Hall of Fame Coach Bill Edwards and compiled a four-year record of 33-1-1 and completed three consecutive seasons without a loss. That class is the only other in Wittenberg history to win four straight league titles (Ohio Athletic Conference) until the current group sewed up a fourth straight NCAC crown last week.

One note of special significance to the Class of 1965 was Wittenbergs total defensive domination. The Tigers outscored their 35 opponents by a total of 1,210-290. Only once in the four years did Wittenberg yield more than 100 points in a season.

The Senior Class of 1977 (which played 1973-76) was coached by Hall of Fame Coach Dave Maurer and compiled a four-year mark of 39-4-2, including a sparkling 5-0 in the playoffs. This group is particularly distinguished by two national titles (1973 and 1975), four OAC divisional titles and three overall OAC crowns (the Tigers were defeated by Muskingum in the OAC championship game in 1975 before embarking on the playoff run that resulted in a 28-0 victory over Ithaca in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl).

The Senior Class of 2002, the current group of juniors, will have the opportunity to exceed the 2001 Class total next year and set a new standard with four straight perfect regular seasons.

The current senior class has given up a lot of points in comparison to previous Wittenberg graduating classes, but todays Tigers have also posted some tremendous offensive numbers. In the last four years, Wittenberg has outscored its 43 opponents (regular and postseason) by a total of 1,682-496 with one game remaining. The Tigers can set a new school standard for points in a regular season with 60 against Earlham. The current record is held by the 1995 squad that posted 456 points in the regular season before dropping a 61-43 decision to Wheaton in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Matt Gallatin is one of the best punters in Wittenberg history

Among the individual highlights: Placekicker Ryan Walker (Newark, Ohio/Newark) has broken the Wittenberg school record for points by kicking (237) in his career. With 71 points this year, Walker is 13 short of the Wittenberg season record set by Jimmy Watts in 1995 and 15 points short of the NCAC career mark set by Chris Merski of Allegheny in 1994...Quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) has 1,719 yards passing in 2000 and 4,362 in his career. The first total puts him fourth in school history, just 150 yards out of the No. 2 position, and the latter puts him second in school history behind Charlie Green (1961-64)...Matt Gallatin (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) is one of the most consistent punters in school history with a career punting average of 37.6. His averages during the three years he started are 37.9, 37.7 and 37.5 this year...Wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) added one catch against Hiram to give him 26 on the season and 91 in his career, tying him for fourth on the Wittenberg career list with junior teammate Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville).

Also on the Charts: Aljancic had a game-high three catches for 111 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Hiram to move his season total to 37 and his career total to 91, seventh-best on the Wittenberg career list. Aljancics 37 receptions ties his season best set a year ago, tied for the eighth-best in school history.

Reunion Weekend: Wittenberg is welcoming members of the 1975 national championship football team for a reunion this weekend. The Tigers went 12-1 overall in 1975 and 4-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference Blue Division. Ironically, the Tigers dropped a 9-0 decision to Red Division champion Muskingum in the OAC title game before recovering with three straight NCAA Division III playoff victories over Indiana Central, 17-13, Millsaps, 55-22, and Ithaca, 28-0, in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Hall of Fame Head Coach Dave Maurer earned College Division Coach of the Year honors as he led the Tigers to their second national title in three years. Assistant coaches were Bob Rosencrans, Dick Fahrney and Ron Murphy.

Captains of the 1975 squad were Brian Aschenbrenner (offense) and Karl Lee (defense). The teams MVP was Bob Foster, who also was one of three players to make the Little All-America team, joining Doug Peck and Dean Caven. All-OAC selections included Rick Dill, Doug Moore, Gary Sitler, Caven, Dave Biddlestone, Foster, Jim Wymer and George Keen.

The Casey Donaldson watch:

Casey Donaldson is just 43 yards short of 5,000 for his career

Donaldsons rushing total is up to 1,241 yards this year and 4,957 yards in his career after picking up 141 against Hiram in just one half of action. He is second in the NCAC in rushing and scoring behind Alleghenys Shane Ream in 2000, but he is first in career yards, rushing touchdowns and scoring by wide margins.

Based on statistics compiled prior to the 2000 season, Donaldson would rank No. 11 all-time in NCAA Division III history in rushing yardage. He is approaching the yardage total of Terry Underwood of Wagner (1985-88), who had 5,010 yards in his career and stood 10th.

Donaldson is also moving up the all-time rushing yardage list that disregards divisions. He is one yard shy of former South Carolina University Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers (1977-80), who was ranked No. 41.

Donaldson holds the Wittenberg scoring and rushing touchdowns records by a wide margin after breaking the marks at the end of last season. Donaldson now has 19 touchdowns this year 18 rushing and one receiving and 65 touchdowns in his career. That puts him on top of the NCAC in both categories as well, surpassing the totals that Alleghenys Stanley Drayton posted in the early 1990s. Donaldson also has moved up to eighth all-time in Division III in points scored (again, based on statistics compiled prior to the 2000 season). He has 388 points scored in his career.

Donaldson is the all-time leader in rushing attempts at Wittenberg with 817 in his career. He stands No. 2 in the category in NCAC annals behind Brian Grandison of Wooster (1988-91) with 889.

Donaldson has the most 100-yard rushing games in his career of any Wittenberg rusher. He has posted seven such outings in 2000 to run his career total to 23. That doesnt include Donaldsons four 100-yard rushing days in the playoffs over the last two years.

In addition, Donaldson also has five 200-yard rushing games, including this years 262-yard effort against Wooster in Week 7. Jon Warga (1987-90) holds the record with seven 200-yard games, including the season record of six in the 1990 campaign.

Finally, Donaldson ranks second in Wittenberg history with 5,254 yards of total offense (yards from scrimmage only).