Jered Glover
Greg Cornett
The Wittenberg University Tigers refused to lose last Saturday at Hanover College and were rewarded for their hard work with a thrilling 34-33 victory in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
Wittenberg rallied time and again, coming back from a 21-7 halftime deficit and a 33-28 fourth-quarter deficit and then surviving an errant 37-yard Hanover field goal attempt with just 25 seconds left. In a scene eerily reminiscent of Wittenberg's 2001 first round victory over Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, (38-35 in overtime) the Tigers survived to play another day. This time, Wittenberg earned itself a second-round match-up with undefeated North Coast Athletic Conference champion Wabash College next Saturday in Crawfordsville, Ind.
The Tigers had their share of problems in the first half as Hanover's fast-break offense wreaked havoc. The Panthers, who do not use a huddle on offense, ran out to a 21-7 halftime lead as Hanover's quarterback ran for one touchdown, passed for another and then caught a scoring pass on a halfback option. Wittenberg's only answer came on a 26-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) to junior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison).
The second half was a totally different story. Wittenberg got key interceptions by sophomore defensive tackle Jarrett Brown (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles) and senior safety John Hauser (Columbus, Ohio/Hartley) and turned them into the only two scores of the third quarter, scoring receptions of 11 and 72 yards by Ivery.
Hanover re-took the lead at the 13:09 mark of the fourth quarter but missed the conversion. Wittenberg came right back, putting together a 10-play drive keyed by a 28-yard fourth-down reception by Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis)and concluded by senior tailback Daniel Grove's (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont)two-yard sweep.
After the Tigers took a one-point lead with the extra point, Hanover responded again with a touchdown pass but failed on the conversion. Then freshman wide receiver Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) made the play of the game, breaking a short screen pass into an 80-yard touchdown play. The Tigers also failed on their two-point conversion, and with 6:59 remaining the game was 34-33.
The Panthers took a shot at the end zone in their final drive and Hauser made a big defensive play by tackling the receiver out of bounds as he made what appeared to be a game-winning catch. On fourth down, Hanover missed a 37-yard field goal attempt when its kicker lost his footing on the muddy turf.
Individually, Cornett finished with 18 completions in 30 attempts for 336 yards and four touchdowns. Glover led with five receptions for 114 yards and Ivery added four catches for 120 yards and three scores.