Game 7: Wittenberg (6-0, 3-0 NCAC) vs. Wooster (4-1, 2-1 NCAC)
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2000 Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. Edwards-Maurer Field
Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers continued their winning ways last weekend, crushing Denison University, 62-7, before a Parents Weekend crowd of 3,008 at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. The Tigers improved to 6-0 overall with their 27th straight regular season victory, and 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with their 18th straight league win.
The team that last defeated Wittenberg visits Edwards-Maurer Field this weekend for a key NCAC match-up. The College of Wooster Fighting Scots, who come into Saturdays contest with a 4-1 overall record and 2-1 mark in the NCAC following last weeks 20-15 loss to Wabash College that knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten, won a hard-fought 21-19 decision over Wittenberg at John P. Papp Stadium in Wooster in the second-to-last game of the 1997 season.
Saturdays battle will go a long way toward determining the outcome of the NCAC in 2000. The Tigers are the only unbeaten team in the league as they attempt to win a third consecutive outright NCAC championship and fourth straight league title overall. No team has ever won three straight outright titles or four straight overall crowns since the conferences inception in 1984.
Last Week: Behind a balanced offensive attack and a vicious defense, Wittenberg captured a convincing 62-7 victory over visiting Denison.
The Tigers scored early and often, starting with a five-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) from senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) just 3:42 into the game. Junior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) added a second Wittenberg touchdown in the first quarter, going 34 yards with a fumble by Denison quarterback Greg Neuendorf that was set up by a Trevor Yost (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) sack. Wittenberg broke the game wide open in the second quarter. Senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Crane and followed that up just moments later with a three-yard TD jaunt. The two touchdowns, including Donaldsons first as a receiver, extended his school records for touchdowns (58) and scoring (342), both of which also broke NCAC records. Senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) added a 24-yard TD catch and junior wide receiver Steve DeGraffinreed (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) tacked on a two-yard TD reception to round out the first-half scoring. Crane wound up 14 for 20 for 190 yards and a career-best four touchdowns in the first half alone. He did not play in the second half.
The third and fourth quarters were primarily played by Wittenberg reserves, and three young Tiger players made it into the end zone for the first time in their careers. Sophomore DeAaron Long (Dayton, Ohio/Belmont) returned the Tigers' second blocked punt of the day 17 yards for his first collegiate TD; sophomore wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) caught an 11-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Chris Damico (Delaware, Ohio/Rutherford B. Hayes) and freshman Jamaal Jones (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) punched the ball in from two yards out to cap the scoring.
Donaldson was one of five running backs to gain at least 10 yards in the game for the Tigers, finishing with a team-high 75 yards in one half of football. Five receivers caught at least 30 yards worth of passes in the game.
Defensively, the Tigers held Denison, which had one of the top passing attacks in NCAA Division III, to just 183 total yards and one yard rushing. Wittenberg outgained the Big Red 408-183 in the game, and the Tigers blocked their fifth and sixth punts of the year.
Streaks: Wittenberg has taken care of business again this year, winning its first six games by an average margin of 28.2 points per game. The Tigers now have won 27 straight regular season games, dating back to a 21-19 loss at the hands of todays opponent, 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 26 straight home victories. Since losing three home games in 1991, the Tigers have a phenomenal home record of 44-2, with the only losses coming against Baldwin-Wallace in the 1992 opener and the aforementioned contest against Allegheny. That doesnt include last years loss to Ohio Northern in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
In addition, Wittenberg carries an 18-game North Coast Athletic Conference win streak into todays contest, also dating back to that 1997 defeat against Wooster. Since that same 1991 campaign, in which the Tigers finished 5-3 in the conference, Wittenberg is 57-4 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 five championships in that span.
The Series: The Wittenberg-Wooster series dates back to 1912, a game won by the Scots 12-0. The Tigers have gotten the best of things most years since then, holding an overall series advantage of 23 wins, nine losses and two ties. Since Wittenberg joined the NCAC in 1989 and the two teams began playing on an annual basis, Wittenberg holds a 10-1 advantage. The only loss was the aforementioned 1997 defeat at John P. Papp Stadium in Wooster.
Rushing: Senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) now has 4,407 yards rushing in his illustrious career, putting him No. 1 in Wittenberg history, No. 1 in NCAC history, and also unofficially at No. 19 in NCAA Division III history. Even though he had his lowest rushing total of the 2000 season in Wittenbergs 62-7 romp over visiting Denison University last weekend, Donaldson still moved up two spots on the list (as it stood prior to the season). He passed Tim Lightfoot, who played for Westfield St. from 1992-95, and Mike Hankins, who carried the ball for Wilkes from 1996-99. Next up on the list is Pete Davis of Wesley, who had 4,414 yards on 741 carries from 1991-94.
Donaldson may not have put up particularly big numbers during the victory in part because he only played one half of football but he still managed to set a couple more records. This time, he broke the conference marks for overall touchdowns and points scored, both of which were previously owned by Alleghenys Stanley Drayton. Donaldson now has 58 touchdowns in his illustrious career, including his first one as a receiver, and 348 points. Now tied for 19th all-time in Division III history with that point total, he can move ahead of Terry Underwood of Wagner and Chad Hoiska of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with his next score.
Passing: Senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and his deep, outstanding receiving crew is serving as the perfect complement to Donaldson and the historic success of Wittenbergs rushing game. He is having his finest season as a collegian, completing 80-of-143 passes for 1183 yards and 12 touchdowns. Previously, Cranes best numbers for a season were 93-of-161 for 1,399 yards and 11 touchdowns, marks he posted in his first season as a starter in 1998.
Cranes career numbers now look like this: 251 completions in 443 attempts for 3,846 yards and 32 touchdowns. Those rank Crane fifth in completions on the Wittenberg career list and fourth in passing yardage. Charlie Green, who donned the Red & White from 1961-64, holds both records with 325 completions in 555 attempts for 5,575 yards and 61 touchdowns.
Receiving: Senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) and junior wideouts Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) and Steve DeGraffinreed (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) are all putting up big numbers in 2000 as well, with 18, 25 and 26 catches respectively.
DeGraffinreed had another big game against Denison, catching four passes for 52 yards and his third touchdown of the 2000 season. After catching just three passes as a freshman and then sitting out last season for personal reasons, DeGraffinreed has come back to post team-highs of 26 catches, 476 yards and 79.3 yards per game thus far in 2000.
Aljancic also caught four passes against Denison, and he was one of five players to post at least 31 yards receiving in the game. He now has 25 catches for 380 yards on the season, giving him 79 catches and 1,169 yards in his career. The first number places him ninth on the Wittenberg career list, just one catch behind Mark Peters, who caught 80 passes for 1,146 yards from 1991-94.
Storts got off to a slow start in 2000 after leading the team with 614 yards on 31 catches in 1999. But he has caught 14 passes in the last three games to run his season numbers to 18 receptions for 311 yards and a team-high five receiving touchdowns. Those totals give him 83 catches for 1,426 yards in his career, putting him seventh all-time in Wittenberg receiving. Next up on the list for Storts is Russ Fedyk, who played from 1995-99 and caught 84 passes and 1,307 yards.
The Coaches: Two of the best young coaches around will lead their teams onto Edwards-Maurer Field Saturday in Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and Wooster Head Coach Mike Schmitz.
Fincham, who has compiled a 46-4 overall record through the midway point of his fifth season, has posted a regular season record of 44-2 and an NCAC mark of 30-2. The former Ohio University standout, 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 three seasons.
Schmitz is in his first season at the helm after serving as offensive coordinator for five seasons under former coach Jim Barnes, who moved on to his alma mater, Augustana College, after the 1999 season. He became the third coach in school history, and the first since 1926, to win his first four games as the teams head coach.
Into the Act: Junior safety John Hauser (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) was all over the field against the Denison Big Red. He recorded four tackles in the game and made two tackles for loss that cost the opponents six yards. He also intercepted his first pass of the season one of five pickoffs for the Tigers in the game and blocked two punts.
The two blocked punts in one game would ordinarily rate as a team-best but not this year for the Wittenberg Tigers. Junior safety Andy Waddle (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) stuffed three punt attempts by the Urbana Blue Knights in the 2000 opener to set a Wittenberg record and tie the NCAA Division III mark.
Hometown Team: For two Wittenberg defensive starters, this weekends game against Wooster is an opportunity to shine against their hometown team. Senior linebacker Trevor Yost (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) is the Tigers defensive leader, accounting for a team-high 42 total tackles, including five for loss, two sacks and an interception.
Junior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) also has been a stalwart for the Tigers, standing fourth on the team in tackles with 24. He has posted four tackles for loss, including three sacks, and last week he scored his first regular season touchdown on a 34-yard fumble return. Howard also reached the end zone with a 33-yard fumble recovery in Wittenbergs 42-19 playoff win over Alma last year.