Grove
Cornett
The Tigers continued their march toward a fifth consecutive NCAC championship with a 39-0 victory at Hiram on Saturday. The victory earned the Tigers at least a share of that title and also gained the team its fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
A win over Earlham this weekend would be Wittenberg's 29th consecutive NCAC victory, and would give the Tigers their unprecedented fifth straight NCAC title and fourth straight outright conference crown. In addition, the Tiger seniors would become the first group of football players in school or league history to never lose a conference game in its four years.
Junior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) continued his hot streak against Hiram with a career-high four touchdowns and 115 yards rushing, including three running scores in the first half. He added a TD on a 39-yard pass play from junior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) in the third quarter. The four TDs gave Grove an NCAC-best 18 on the season and also gave him 10 in the last three weeks.
Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) caught three passes for 25 yards to inch closer to several school receiving records. His biggest contribution to Saturday's victory came on a reverse as he took a handoff from Grove, got a huge block from Cornett and scampered 20 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
Defensively, it was a record-setting game for the Tigers. Hiram completed just one pass for a six-yard loss. The negative six yards passing tied an NCAA Division III record set by Central (Iowa) against Simpson in 1985.