The Wittenberg University Tigers return home this weekend to open up North Coast Athletic Conference action against Denison University. The Tigers have not played a home game in nearly a month - Sept. 7 to be exact - when Wittenberg handled Albion 44-7 in the season-opener. Since then, the Tigers have traveled to Urbana for a 37-10 victory and Thomas More for a 31-6 romp and enjoyed a bye week.

The Tigers are off to their customary start - for the fifth time in seven years under Head Coach Joe Fincham Wittenberg is 3-0 out of the gates. Coming off an outstanding 2001 season that included a fifth consecutive NCAC championship and fourth straight perfect run through the conference, Wittenberg is ranked No. 4 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. They have played fairly well to this point, putting all the elements together against Albion before struggling against a youthful, athletic Urbana team. Last week on a muddy field at Thomas More, the Tigers leaped in front 28-0 by early in the second quarter and put it on cruise control in the second half.

The Tigers have their usual high hopes in 2002 as 17 starters are back in the fold, including nine on offense. A 33-game regular season winning streak may have been snapped a year ago at Alma, but Wittenberg still has won 60 of its last 63 regular season games since Joe Fincham took the reins in 1996, including its last 10. Three of the last six regular seasons have resulted in perfect 10-0 records, and the Tigers are riding a conference record 29-game NCAC win streak, dating back to the second-to-last game of the 1997 season.

Denison is off to an 0-3 start, but the Big Red did play better in its most recent outing, a 38-20 loss to Ohio Wesleyan in a non-conference game on Sept. 21. Playing without record-setting quarterback Greg Neuendorf, who opted not to play his senior season, the Big Red is without its primary offensive weapon and has struggled to score enough points to cover an inexperienced defense. In losses to Waynesburg, Case Western and OWU, the Big Red has been outscored 108-40.

Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2002, as Marty Bannister heads things up for a 10th straight year. He can be found on the radio dial in the same location, 1600 AM, but with new call letters. Formerly WBLY, the radio home for the Tigers is now WULM.

Bannister is joined in the booth by former Tiger All-American offensive lineman Xan Smith, who provides color commentary, while Scott Leo patrols the sidelines to provide insight and commentary for a third consecutive season.

All season long, WULM hosts weekly radio shows that focus on local sports and even Wittenberg athletic teams specifically. On Wednesdays, Leo hosts a sports show that includes interviews and analysis on high school and college sports teams other than football. On Thursdays, following a high school football show, Bannister hosts Tiger Talk, which includes interviews and analysis with Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and his players and assistant coaches.

Dustin Goldsbury

Senior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury had another big game against the Thomas More College Saints and he was rewarded for his efforts by the North Coast Athletic Conference. Goldsbury was named NCAC Defensive Player of the Week after he made three tackles, two of which were sacks for a loss of 14 yards, and his second interception of the season.

Wittenberg opened the 2002 season at No. 4 in the American Football Coaches Association poll, released on Sept. 17, and the Tigers remain in that position two weeks later. Don Hansen's National Football Gazette ranks the Tigers No. 5 currently.

Prior to the season, Wittenberg was ranked No. 7 in three preseason polls (Street & Smith's, Lindy's and Don Hansen's National Football Gazette) and No. 5 by d3football.com. The Tigers finished the 2001 season ranked No. 7 in the AFCA poll.

This is the 68th meeting between the Tigers and Denison, formerly Ohio Athletic Conference rivals who both made the jump to the NCAC during the 1980's. Wittenberg holds a commanding 42-23-2 edge in the series and has outscored the Big Red 1,282-901.

The Wittenberg advantage is more pronounced in recent years. The Tigers have won the last 12 games between the two by an average score of 42-6. Since Denison captured a 21-14 home victory over the Tigers in 1989 - Wittenberg's first season in the NCAC - the Big Red have been shutout six times and have only reached double-figures on offense three times. Last year, Wittenberg won 72-14 at Granville.

Wittenberg heads into the 2002 season riding a 29-game NCAC winning streak, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997 at Wooster. Since that loss, which forced a three-way split of the conference title between Wooster, Wittenberg and Allegheny, the Tigers have claimed four straight NCAC crowns without a loss. No player on the current roster has ever lost an NCAC game.

That's not the only active streak Wittenberg carries into the 2002 campaign. The Tigers' regular season home win streak has reached 35 straight games, dating back to the second game of the 1996 season against Allegheny. In addition, Wittenberg has gone 10 years since losing back-to-back games. At the end of the 1991 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then Baldwin-Wallace defeated the Tigers to open the '92 campaign. Since then, Wittenberg has played 111 games without losing two straight. The Tigers' record in that time is 99-11-1, including an incredible 94-6-1 during the regular season.

Wittenberg is spreading it around almost perfectly on offense this year. The Tigers are averaging 212.0 yards per game through the air and 220.3 yards per game on the ground. Wittenberg has 128 rushing attempts this season and 77 passing attempts, but the difference in the average per attempt - 5.2 versus 8.3.

Jacob Thomas

As a team, Wittenberg leads the NCAC in scoring defense (7.7 yards per game) and pass defense (128.3 yards per game), and the Tigers rank second in scoring offense (37.3 points per game), pass offense (212.0 yards per game), kickoff returns (22.5 yards per return), rushing defense (88.7 yards per game), total offense (432.3 yards per game) and total defense (217.0 yards per game).

Individually, junior wide receiver Skip Ivery leads the conference in receiving yards per game (80.0), senior tailback Daniel Grove leads in scoring (20.0 points per game) and sophomore kicker Jacob Thomas leads in points by kicking (7.3 per game) and field goal percentage (100 percent on 3-of-3).

As a team, Wittenberg ranks No. 33 in total offense (432.3 yards per game), No. 12 in rushing offense (220.3 yards per game), No. 38 in rushing defense (88.7 yards per game), No. 4 in pass efficiency defense (63.5 rating), No. 8 in scoring defense (7.7 yards per game) and No. 21 in scoring offense (37.3 points per game).

Individually, Daniel Grove ranks No. 8 in rushing at 151.3 yards per game, No. 33 in all-purpose yards (165.7 per game) and No. 1 in scoring (20.0 points per game).

In addition, Grove's 233-yard rushing day against Albion was the eighth-best in NCAA Division III so far this year.

No more Michael Aljancic in the receiving corps. No problem. The 2002 group apparently has a motto that senior quarterback Greg Cornett has bought into as well. Share, and share alike.

No receiver has more than 11 catches this season, and four different players have at least four receptions. Eleven different receivers, including running backs, have hauled in at least one pass through three games.

Leading the charge is junior Skip Ivery, who has 11 catches for 240 yards for a whopping 21.8 yards per catch average. It doesn't hurt that his first catch of the 2002 season was a school-record 94-yard touchdown reception against Albion.

Leading the charge is junior Skip Ivery, who has five catches for 145 yards for a whopping 29.4 yards per catch average. It doesn't hurt that his first catch of the 2002 season was a school record 94-yard touchdown reception against Albion.

Senior tailback Daniel Grove has shown no rust in the 2002, picking up where he left off a year ago by rambling for 457 yards on 64 carries in the first three games of the season.

Grove's 1,260 yards rushing last year ranks eighth in Wittenberg history for rushing yards in a season and moved his career totals to 1,942 yards on 329 carries. In combination with his performance thus far in 2002, Grove has moved into the top 10 in school history in both rushing yards and scoring.

Career Rushing Att. Yds. YPC TD
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 836 5,112 6.1 67
2. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 685 3,759 5.5 38
3. Marlon Perryman (1990-93) 644 3,567 5.5 27
4. Jon Warga (1987-90) 525 3,250 6.2 28
5. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 520 3,122 6.0 38
6. Marcus Booker (1993-96) 490 2,991 6.8 36
7. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 563 2,837 5.0 35
8. Daniel Grove (1999- ) 393 2,399 6.1 41
9. Dana Williams (1979-82) 440 2,209 5.0 16
10. Glenn Hendrix (1971-74) 405 2,085 5.1 5

At Grove's current 151-yard per game rushing average, he is on pace to reach No. 4 on this list.

...Is quite a familiar refrain. Grove has scored 10 touchdowns so far in 2002 to lead the NCAC by a wide margin and first in NCAA Division III. He is now moving into some select company on the career scoring lists at Wittenberg.

Career Scoring TP TD PAT FG
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 408 68 - -
2. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 254 42 *1 -
3. Ryan Walker (1997-00) 247 - 160-178 29-42
4. Daniel Grove (1999- ) 246 41 - -
5. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 228 38 - -
Marcus Booker (1993-96) 228 38 - -
7. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 212 31 26 -
8. Ron Murphy (1956-59) 210 34 *3 -
9. Greg Brame (1990-93) 187 31 - -
10. Jimmy Watts (1993-96) 181 - 115-128 22-35
* 2-point conversions

Grove is now just two scores away from No. 2 on the all-time scoring list, and should reach that place soon. He has already leapfrogged four Wittenberg greats, Gene Urbanski, Greg Brame, Dave Merritt and Marcus Booker, since the season started.

Daniel Grove

Grove equalled a Wittenberg record against Urbana when he topped the 100-yard plateau for a sixth straight regular season game. That mark had been held solely by Aaron Powers, who went for more than 100 six straight weeks in the 1996 season. His string of 100-yard rushing games came to an end in the muck and mire of Thomas More College Stadium last weekend.

Grove's string of 100-yard rushing games actually covered nine straight, including three playoff games last year that the NCAA does not recognize when figuring official statistics. Since running wild on Wooster for 161 yards on 17 carries on Oct. 13, 2001, Grove put up 1,689 yards in his last 10 games. The school record for rushing yards in a 10-game season, to put things in perspective, is 1,836 yards by Jon Warga in 1990.

Week 5 of the 2002 season features nine NCAC teams in action. One o'clock games include Denison at Wittenberg, Earlham at Kenyon and Wooster at Ohio Wesleyan in head-to-head conference match-ups. Frostburg State travels to Oberlin in a non-conference game, also at 1 p.m. Rounding things out is a crucial early-season game between Allegheny and Wabash in Crawfordsville, Ind. at 2 p.m. EST.

Joe Fincham

Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. Entering his seventh season at the helm, Fincham has a 66-7 overall record, including a mark of 42-2 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 60-3. His teams have claimed the last five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records. Fincham, who ranks second in winning percentage in NCAA Division III history among coaches with five or more seasons, has been named NCAC Coach of the Year each of the last four seasons.

Denison is led by Nick Fletcher, a 1976 graduate of Johns Hopkins University. After becoming the Big Red's 19th head coach in school history in 2000, Fletcher has led Denison to back-to-back 2-8 seasons. Prior to his arrival in Granville, Fletcher was a two-time Illini-Badger Conference Coach of the Year (1995 and '97) during his five seasons at the helm of Eureka College.