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Braden Freeman

The Wittenberg football team has shown flashes of its traditional form, the form that has brought the program to the top of NCAA Division III's all-time win list and earned five North Coast Athletic Conference championships in the last seven years. Now comes the big test, playing to the high level expected of the Tigers for a full 60 minutes on Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field when the Wabash Little Giants come calling on Homecoming Weekend.

Wittenberg, ranked 23rd in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll, is now 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC, and the Tigers must capture a victory over the visiting Little Giants to keep pace with undefeated Wooster in the conference race. Wabash, ranked 24th nationally, sports a 5-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the NCAC after dropping a 33-30 decision to Wooster a week ago.

Wittenberg extended its win streak to five straight with wins over Earlham and Hiram in the last two weeks by scores of 56-14 and 74-0 respectively.

Against Earlham on Oct. 9, the Tigers scored 43 points before halftime and played perhaps its most tenacious defense of the season. The Tigers spread things around as 11 different players recorded at least one rushing attempt, four different players took snaps at quarterback and nine different players caught passes. Junior tailback Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) led the Tigers on the ground with 82 yards on 12 carries, junior wide receiver Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) topped the team with eight receptions for 121 yards and senior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) was solid with 230 yards on 15-of-20 passing.

Freshman kicker Mark Porter (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) had three field goals in the game to go along with two touchdowns each from Glover and junior wide receiver Braden Freeman (Prospect, Ohio/Marion Pleasant). Also getting into the end zone were senior defensive end Chris Vennefron (Edgewood, Ohio/Somerville), freshman fullback Andy Vanover (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe)and Murray.

Defensively, 26 different players recorded statistics for Wittenberg, and none of them managed more than five total tackles. Leading the way were junior defensive end Dave Fleck (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) with five tackles, including 1.5 for a loss of four yards, and sophomore linebacker Joe Swanson (Germantown, Ohio/Valley View) with five tackles. Vennefron was credited with four assisted tackles, including one for a three-yard loss, and the fumble recovery.

The Tigers made short work of the Hiram Terriers on Oct. 16, needing just five minutes to build an insurmountable 20-0 lead. Sophomore fullback Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) scored three touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Chris Clark (Springfield, Ohio/South) scored a pair of touchdowns, and freshman linebacker Wade Laughrey (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon), Murray, Freeman, junior wide receiver Dymond McDonald (Troy, Ohio/Troy), Vanover and freshman wide receiver Jason Alonso (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) all had one score.

Junior tailback Will Block finished with a career-high 143 yards on 20 carries to lead Wittenberg to 442 rushing yards in the game. Eleven different Wittenberg players recorded at least one rushing attempt in the game, and six different players shared the eight receptions. Leading the way was junior tight end Nate Cherry (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) with two catches for 23 yards.