Posted: Oct 25, 2003
Setting The Scene:
For the second year in a row, a midseason loss has forced the Wittenberg Tigers into a win-at-all-costs mentality. In 2002, the Tigers responded with five straight wins in the regular season to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs. A week after a surprising 41-14 defeat at Wabash, the Tigers took a step in that direction last Saturday with a 66-0 victory over Hiram. This week, the opponent is longtime rival Ohio Wesleyan and the edict is the same - win and keep alive the goal of another NCAC championship and a sixth straight berth in the postseason. Lose another game, and both goals will almost definitely not be attained.
Ohio Wesleyan comes in with a 2-4 overall record and an NCAC mark of 1-2 after last week's 21-0 shutout home loss to Wabash. The Battling Bishops feature a strong defense that is allowing less than 300 yards and 20 points per game, but OWU has struggled offensively as its traditional Wing-T has produced 229 rushing yards per game but just 9.3 points per game.
Homecoming/Athletics Hall of Honor:
This weekend's Homecoming festivities include a banquet honoring the newest inductees into Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor. Bill Beach '82, Ann Burns Tolliver '89, Jeff Connelly '70, Steve Iannarino '87, Fred Musone '66, Tim Rummins '67, Mark Sloman '84 and Joyce Weiser Leichman '49 will be honored at halftime of the football game and will be formally inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor at a banquet Saturday evening.Bill Beach was a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection in football and winner of numerous individual awards, including the Hank Critchfield Award as the OAC's top defensive back, first-team All-America and first-team Academic All-America. Ann Burns Tolliver earned eight Honorable Mention All-America designations and one All-America honor as a swimmer at Wittenberg. The team claimed 17th place in the 1989 NCAA Division III Championships, the best finish in school history. Upon graduation, she held eight school records. Jeff Connelly went unbeaten in OAC wrestling dual competition three straight years and compiled a 43-10-2 record in the Red & White. He placed third in the OAC in 1968, second in 1969 and first in 1970, a finish that helped the Tigers to the only conference team championship in school history. Steve Iannarino is the men's basketball program's leader in career scoring with 1,973 points in 117 games from 1983-87. Iannarino was a three-time All-OAC honoree, and he still ranks 12th in conference history for points in a career. He was also a two-time second-team All-America selection. Fred Musone started every football game - at three different positions - between 1962 and 1965 and helped lead the Tigers to OAC championships in 1962, 1963 and 1964 and national championships in 1962 and 1964. He was named team MVP and first-team All-OAC honors following his senior season. Tim Rummins won the first "Golden Helmet" award, handed out annually to the defensive player who displays a combination of superior athletic ability and other intangible assets since 1966. He was named a three-time All-OAC selection and a two-time All-American. Mark Sloman earned first-team All-OAC in his breakout 1982 season after he set school records for points (49), goals (20) and assists (9) in a season, two of which still stand. He was named first-team All-Ohio, first-team All-Mideast Region and second-team All-America. Sloman remains the school record-holder for career points (108) and goals (44), and he ranks third in assists (20). Joyce Weiser Leichman is a Wittenberg women's sports pioneer, excelling in numerous athletic endeavors long before the advent of Title IX. Leichman was a top player in basketball, field hockey and softball. In addition, Leichman was vice president of the Women's Athletic Association.
|
Offensive Leaders:
Junior Raymar Hampshire leads the Tigers' rushing attack with 623 yards and 12 touchdowns (including one receiving), and he is averaging a robust 6.9 yards per carry. He has been tackled for a loss just once in 90 rushing attempts.Through the air, junior quarterback Ryan Holmes has 11 touchdowns, 937 yards and three interceptions, all against Wabash. His chief targets have been senior Skip Ivery with 23 catches for 383 yards and five touchdowns and sophomore Jered Glover with 24 receptions for 311 yards and six touchdowns (including a school-record 96-yard kickoff return against Thomas More).
|
Defensive Leaders:
The Tigers, who have led the NCAC in total defense 10 of the last 11 years, have been dominant again for most of the season. The unit is holding opponents to 263 yards and 16 points per game, although the latter figure is deceiving considering that the Tigers have yielded touchdowns on a fumble return, a blocked punt and an interception return, none of which were scored on the Tiger defense.Linebacker Gary George leads the team with 46 tackles, including eight for a loss of 33 yards, and two interceptions, including one against Thomas More he returned 30 yards for a score. Safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir is second on the unit with 36 total tackles, including 15 against Urbana when he was recognized as NCAC with Player of the Week. He also has four tackles for loss and two interceptions this season.
Landmark Season:
Starting in 1892, the Wittenberg football program has played at least three games every year except 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. Entering the 2003 season, Wittenberg has played 992 games on the gridiron, meaning that the eighth game of this season, on Nov. 1 at Allegheny College, will be No. 1,000 in school history.The Rankings:
Wittenberg nearly fell out of the American Football Coaches Association poll for the first time since the Division III rankings began in 2000. The Tigers were previously No. 8 in the nation before losing to Wabash on Oct. 11 and dropping to No. 25, where they remain this week. In addition, Wittenberg fell into the "others receiving votes" category of the d3football.com poll after ranking as high as No. 10, and No. 26 in National Football Gazette after ranking as high as No. 6. The latter ranks 40 teams each week.Wittenberg and Mount Union are the only Division III programs to earn a national ranking from the AFCA every week the last three years.
No Shutouts:
One has to go back 11 years to find the last shutout that Wittenberg has suffered. Baldwin-Wallace did the honors in the opening game of the 1992 season, which also is the last time that Wittenberg lost back-to-back games (the Tigers lost their 2001 season finale to Ohio Wesleyan as well). Since the defeat to B-W, Wittenberg has played 127 games without either being shutout or suffering two consecutive losses. During that span, Wittenberg has recorded 25 shutouts of its own. Not only has Wittenberg not been shutout in 127 games, the Tigers have been held below 10 points in a game on just one occasion during that span - against Mercyhurst in a 7-6 victory in 1993.Series History:
Wittenberg leads the all-time series with Ohio Wesleyan 39-33-6, although the recent history has been far more one-sided. Since the Bishops posted four straight wins over Wittenberg between 1987 and 1991, including the first three meetings as members of the NCAC, the Tigers have rattled off 11 straight wins.
|
|
Skip Ivery
|
Up The Charts:
Senior wide receiver Skip Ivery leads the Tigers with 23 receptions for 383 yards and five touchdowns, bringing his career totals to 111 receptions for 1,611 yards and 17 touchdowns. He ranks No. 4, No. 5 and No. 3 on those respective school record lists. Ivery needs just five receptions to catch Jim Collins (1984-87) and one yard to pass Labon Storts (1997-200).
|
On Target:
The kicking game is crucial to a team's success, and senior Conrad Hindert has been close to perfect this season. He has made all four of his field goals this season and 31 of his 32 extra points. For his career, Hindert now has made 73-of-77 extra points and 8-of-15 field goals. Presently, he has made 22 straight extra points, dating back to a blocked PAT in the first quarter of the win over Thomas More, and he is on pace to break the school record for extra point percentage, a mark set by Steve Jefferies in 1978 when he converted 33-of-34. The record for consecutive extra points made is 33, a mark set by Jimmy Watts in 1995.
|
|
Ryan Holmes
|
How They Stack Up:
Quarterback Ryan Holmes leads the NCAC and ranks 12th in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 158.2. Wide receiver Jered Glover ranks first in the NCAC and 14th in the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 29.0. Tailback Raymar Hampshire is averaging 12.0 points per game to rank tied for seventh nationally and second in the conference in scoring.As a team, Wittenberg ranks 24th in total offense (430.7), 22nd in rush offense (244.2), tied for 28th in turnover margin (+1.2), 37th in pass efficiency defense (93.8), tied for 27th in total defense (263.2) and fifth in scoring offense (44.7) in the national statistical rankings.
|
Last Time Out:
Sticking to the script established long ago in the series between Wittenberg and Hiram, the Tigers walloped the Terriers 66-0 Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field. Wittenberg leads the all-time series between the two schools 5-0 and has outscored Hiram by a whopping 330-7 in those five games.The scoring started with a one-yard jaunt by tailback Raymar Hampshire, followed by a five-yard scoring pass from quarterback Ryan Holmes to wide receiver Jered Glover, a four-yard touchdown run by freshman fullback Tyler Harmon and an 18-yard TD burst by Hampshire to make the score 28-0 at the close of the first quarter. In the second quarter, wide receiver Skip Ivery scored on a 14-yard pass from Holmes, Glover added a 22-yard scoring reception and Hampshire capped his day with a nifty 56-yard scoring run.
In the second half, sophomore wide receiver Ryan Stafford and freshman tailback Joe Brumfield scored touchdowns and sophomore kicker Justin Bockbrader hit a 32-yard field goal. For the game, Wittenberg gained 30 first downs to eight for Hiram, and the total yardage wound up 552-133 in favor of the Tigers.
Individually, Wittenberg was paced by Hampshire's 134 rushing yards on just 13 carries, while Brumfield finished with 104 yards on 18 carries. Holmes finished 9-of-11 for 105 yards. Ivery finished with five receptions for 62 yards to lead the receiving corps. Defensively, senior linebacker Gary George finished with seven tackles, including one for a four-yard loss and freshman linebacker Devon Combs added a career-high six tackles.
|
|
Greg Cornett
|
Last Meeting (Oct. 26, 2002):
The Tigers made a second straight statement on an opponents' Homecoming Weekend by trouncing Ohio Wesleyan 58-17. The scoring started on a 28-yard field goal by kicker Jacob Thomas in the first quarter, a score set up by a 55-yard pass play between quarterback Greg Cornett and wide receiver Skip Ivery on the game's first play from scrimmage. After an interception by safety John Hauser, tailback Alex Smith scored from nine yards out. Then Wittenberg scored on its first three possessions of the second stanza as tight end Erich Schoeneberger, wide receiver Adrian Crane and wide receiver Josh McCoy did the honors. Cornett capped the first half by nailing Crane with another scoring pass with just 11 seconds left in the half. In the second half, fullback Raymar Hampshire had a one-yard scoring plunge, Smith added a five-yard burst and Adam Hewitt rounded things out with a 17-yard scoring jaunt in the fourth quarter.Individually, it may have been Cornett's finest game under center - 16-of-19 for 262 yards and four touchdowns. Ivery had 111 yards on six receptions. Hampshire was the leading rusher with 42 yards on eight carries. Defensive end Jim Lackmeyer posted 10 total tackles, including 5.5 for a whopping loss of 21 yards. He was one of three Wittenberg players to finish in double-digits in tackles.
|
|
Joe Fincham
|
The Coaches:
Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his eighth season at the helm, Fincham has a 78-10 overall record, including a mark of 50-4 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 72-6. His teams have claimed five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records from 1998-2001. 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 four times.Ohio Wesleyan is led by Mike Hollway, a 1974 graduate of the University of Michigan who has a 16-year record of 107-58-1 with the Battling Bishops. He has an overall record of 118-85-2 in 21 years, including four seasons at Marietta.
Tigers on the Radio:
Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2003, as Marty Bannister heads things up for an 11th straight year on 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.All season long, WULM also hosts Tiger Talk on Thursdays from 8-9 p.m. The show includes interviews and analysis with Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and his players and assistant coaches.
Internet Broadcasts:
Wittenberg has partnered with Stretch Internet to make selected sporting events available around the world. Wittenberg fans will not have to pay to listen to broadcasts, and anyone with a computer and an Internet connection will be able to log in and listen without risk of getting bumped off due to listener limitations. Stretch Internet utilizes QuickTime, so prospective listeners need only to download the free QuickTime Player and they're ready to listen to Wittenberg games live.