. Setting The Scene: At first glance, not much is riding on Saturday's football game between longtime North Coast Athletic Conference powerhouses Wittenberg and Allegheny. Squaring off in a season finale that most envisioned would have conference championship implications when it was scheduled several years ago, Wittenberg is shooting for its fourth straight second-place finish and Allegheny is simply hoping to salvage a special memory from a lost season.
But digging a little deeper, the Tigers (5-4 overall, 5-1 NCAC) and Gators (2-7 overall, 2-4 NCAC) have much to play for besides pride. Wittenberg is trying wrap up a 49th winning season in the last 51 years, best among NCAA schools that have been members the entire time. And the Tigers are attempting to round out the season with six wins in their last seven games, a finish that could serve as a valuable springboard into a promising 2006 season.
Similarly, Allegheny has a chance to end the 2005 season with some forward momentum. Winners of two of their last three games, the Gators have actually outscored their opponents overall this year, and a win in the season finale would provide a positive push into the offseason.
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. Scouting The Tiger Offense: In recent years, Wittenberg has been among the most prolific offensive teams in all of NCAA Division III, ranking among the leaders in the NCAC and NCAA Division III in 2004 with averages of 45 points and 485 yards per game.
After the first shutout in 13 years in the 2005 opener against Capital, the Tiger offense has rallied behind senior tailback Tristan Murray, who ranked third in rushing yards per game in the conference a year ago. Murray stands atop the conference in 2005 with 126.6 rushing yards, 165.1 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns, good for a 10.0 points per game averages. Murray ranks in the top 26 nationally in all three categories as well.
Senior quarterback Ryan Holmes led the NCAC and ranked among the nation's leaders in pass efficiency rating in 2003 and 2004, but he appeared in just four games this year due to injuries. Junior Geron Stokes has filled the void and played quite well, going 4-0 as a starter, including a 45-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday. Now with 991 yards and 10 touchdowns passing, Stokes ranks second in the NCAC with a pass efficiency rating of 160.7.
Senior wide receiver Jered Glover, the Tigers' leading receiver in school history, tops the team in receptions for a fourth straight year. Glover has 30 receptions for 393 yards and four touchdowns, followed by Murray with 25 catches for 283 yards and two TDs and junior Mark Harriman, who has made six straight starts, with 19 receptions, including a career-high eight against OWU on Oct. 29.
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Tristan Murray
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. In A Rush: The Tigers' leading rusher and scorer in 2004 en route to NCAC Newcomer of the Year honors, Tristan Murray has been even better in 2005. Murray, who racked up 239 yards rushing in a little over three quarters of action against Dayton's nationally ranked defense, not only leads the Tigers' rushing attack with an NCAC-best 1139 yards (126.6 yards per game), he is second on the team in receiving with 283 yards on 25 catches.
In just two seasons, encompassing 19 games (18 starts), Murray has posted some tremendous numbers, in the process moving into the top 10 in school history with 2,453 career rushing yards and 216 total points. Murray stands eighth in school history in career rushing yards and seventh in career scoring.
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Jered Glover
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. Chart-Topper: Jered Glover stands atop the Wittenberg receiving records after surpassing Michael Aljancic's previous mark of 147 receptions from 1998-2001. Glover now has 163 catches after hauling in 30 so far in 2005. For his career, Glover now has 2,274 yards and 24 touchdowns, putting him second in receiving yards and tied for third in receiving touchdowns. Rod Miller's 2,288 yards and 26 touchdowns are the current standards established between 1964-67.
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Ryan Holmes
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. It's A Wrap: Ryan Holmes capped his collegiate career with 4,560 career passing yards, the second-highest total in school history. He trails only National College Football Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Green, who threw for 5,575 yards between 1961 and 1964.
Holmes moved past his predecessor, Greg Cornett, into second place on the passing yards list with his 272 yards against Wabash. Holmes finished with 317 career completions (second in school history), 536 career attempts (third in school history) and 46 passing touchdowns (tied for second in school history). The top spots are occupied by Green with 325 completions, Rocky Alt (1967-70) with 563 attempts and Green with 61 passing touchdowns.
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. Scouting The Tiger Defense: The Tigers allowed an uncharacteristic 29 points per game in 2004, but after giving up 133 points in the first three games of 2005, they have settled down to allow just 41 points in the last six games. The Tigers went more than 11 quarters, a span of more nearly 180 minutes of game action, between first-quarter touchdowns by Denison on Oct. 1 and Wabash on Oct. 22.
The linebacking corps is led by junior Tyler Harmon, a former all-conference fullback who slid into the middle spot after freshman Lance Phillips went down with an injury against Alma on Sept. 17. Harmon ranks second on the team with 60 total tackles despite missing two games early this season. He established career highs for tackles (16) and solo tackles (8) in a sparkling effort against Ohio Wesleyan, which along with a pass broken up and a tackle for loss earned Harmon NCAC Player of the Week honors.
Senior defensive tackle Matt Stechschulte leads a veteran defensive line, which features four senior starters and a total of six seniors in the eight-man two-deep. Stechschulte tops the Tigers in tackles for loss with nine and ranks among the team leaders with 3.5 sacks and 40 total tackles. Also of note has been the standout play in recent weeks of senior defensive tackle Tyler Jenkins, who now ranks third on the team with 44 tackles, second on the team in tackles for loss with seven and first in sacks with five.
Junior safety Mitch Fonseca has been a force in the secondary. After leading the Tigers with 68 tackles a year ago, Fonseca topped the team with double figure tackle totals in each of the first three games, including a career-high 18 stops in the season opener. Fonseca leads the Tigers with 66 total tackles, 44 solos and three interceptions, including two he returned a combined 60 yards in the win over Earlham. He also has two tackles for loss, two passes broken up, and he returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown against Wooster.
. Scouting The Gators: It's been a tough, injury-plagued season for Allegheny, and a strange one statistically as well. Six of the Gators' seven losses this season have been by a touchdown or less, with a 45-21 defeat against nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson the only exception.
Offensively, Allegheny has junior tailback Mario Tarquinio back in the lineup and he ranks third in the NCAC with 104.6 yards per game. Junior quarterback Jimmy Savage has been respectable in his second season under center, with season numbers of 1303 yards and six touchdowns that include five games over 200 yards passing.
Defensively, the Gators have six players with 40 or more tackles, led by Brad Stotsky with 50. He ranks among the NCAC leaders with four interceptions for 116 return yards.
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. On The Mark: Sophomore kicker Mark Porter drilled a career-long 43 yard field goal into a stiff wind and he just pushed a 42-yarder wide left with the wind against Wooster, pushing his season total to 9-of-12 on field goals, best in the NCAC and 11th in NCAA Division III at 1.1 per game (Porter did not play in the season opener).
For his career, Porter now holds the school record for career field goal percentage at .760 (19-of-25). Ryan Walker, the school record-holder for points by kicking, currently has the career mark of .690 (29-of-42). Porter, who already has 137 points in his career, is on pace to break Walker's career points by kicking record of 247.
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. Just Off The Pace: Senior punter Jacob Thomas is first in the NCAC and sixth in NCAA Division III with a 42.1 yards per punt average currently. Thomas, who broke the school and NCAC records with a 42.3 average a year ago, will need a big season finale to better his mark and move back to the top of the national standings.
As a team, Wittenberg leads the NCAC and the nation in net punting. The NCAC numbers do not take into account touchbacks, resulting in an average of 38.5 yards per punt. The NCAA numbers add in a single touchback this season, resulting in a net yardage of 37.95.
. Tigers on the Radio: All Wittenberg athletic broadcasts can be heard locally on WUSO 89.1-FM, the university's student-operated station. They can also be heard around the world on the Internet thanks to Wittenberg's partnership with Stretch Internet. Wittenberg fans do not have to pay to listen to broadcasts, and anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can log in and listen.
Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2005 as Marty Bannister heads things up for a 13th straight year. Bannister is joined in the booth each week by Wittenberg senior Sean Golden, who has provided on-field insights and postgame interviews for home games the last two years. Scott Leo, the play-by-play announcer for the Tiger men's and women's basketball teams that last two years, is coordinating the broadcasts and handling pre-game duties each week.
. Coaches Show: Tiger Talk is back and better than ever in 2005 at Joe's Route 40 Grill in Springfield. It can be heard locally on WUSO 89.1-FM and on the Internet from 8:10-9 p.m. every Thursday. Bannister and Leo host the show, which features interviews with players and coaches, highlights and analysis of the Wittenberg Tigers and their season to date.
. Series History: Wittenberg leads the all-time series 9-7, with wins in seven of the last eight meetings. Allegheny's only win since 1996 against Wittenberg came two years ago in Meadville. That win, which sealed the Gators' 2003 NCAC championship, was earned by a 27-21 count as the Allegheny defense forced a controversial turnover at its own 10-yard-line late in the fourth quarter.
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. Last Meeting: Wittenberg put together its most complete game of the 2004 season and cruised to a 42-21 victory over the visiting Allegheny on Nov. 13, 2004.
The Tigers exploded for 35 points in the first half of Senior Recognition Day. Wide receivers Braden Freeman and Jered Glover and tailback Tristan Murray all scored twice in the game as the Tigers ran out to a 42-7 lead by the end of the third quarter. The key was balance as Murray rambled for 249 yards on 35 carries, the seventh-best performance in school history, Ryan Holmes threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns and Glover, Nate Cherry, Murray and Freeman each caught three passes. Murray's 283 all-purpose yards ranks as the third-highest total in school history.
Defensively, Mitch Fonseca was the leader with 11 tackles, including a team-best five solos. Linebackers Matt Saurer and Anthoni Fazio chipped in with eight stops apiece and cornerback Brandon Slade had a big game with a forced fumble and an interception.
. Tale Of Two Seasons: Wittenberg allowed 133 points in its first three games and has yielded 159 points in its four losses, all to high-scoring teams in contention for conference championships as the 2005 season winds to a close. In its five wins, the Tigers have not allowed an opponent to reach double figures in scoring (15 points total) and have posted three shutouts.
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Nate Cherry
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. Last Week: One of the largest senior classes in Wittenberg football history, numbering 29 players, celebrated in style Saturday with a surprisingly lop-sided 45-0 victory over Wooster.
Wooster came into the game ranked third in the NCAC at 29.4 points per game and second in the conference in total offense at 409.0 per outing, but Wittenberg limited the Scots to zero points and a paltry 149 yards of total offense. A year after posting 64 points on Wittenberg in a dramatic overtime win on their home field, the Scots were forced into 11 punts, committed three turnovers and never made it past the Wittenberg 34-yard-line.
Geron Stokes completed 17 of 26 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown, a nine-yard strike to Nate Cherry, in addition to rushing for 49 yards and the game's first touchdown on 11 carries. Tristan Murray picked up 174 yards on 17 carries in the game before departing after a 35-yard run that set up a one-yard touchdown burst by sophomore fullback Andy Vanover with 11:47 left in the third quarter. Murray scored a second-quarter touchdown as well, but he was banged up at the end of a long run and turned things over to sophomore tailback Derrick Braziel, who gained 48 yards on nine carries, including the final score of the game on a 19-yard jaunt around left end. For the game, Wittenberg racked up 301 yards rushing.
Tyler Harmon finished with a game-high 10 tackles, including one for a three-yard loss. Senior linebacker Ken Bibb made the most of his third start by recording seven tackles, forcing a fumble that junior safety Mitch Fonseca returned 36 yards for the game's second score and also intercepting a pass. The Tigers recorded a season-high six sacks, led by senior defensive tackle Tyler Jenkins with two for 13 yards in cumulative losses.
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Ken Bibb
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. NCAC Player of the Week: Ken Bibb was recognized by the NCAC with Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career in recognition of his performance against Wooster.
. The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his 10th season at the helm, Fincham has a 93-18 overall record, including a mark of 62-8 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 87-14. His teams have claimed five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records from 1998-2001. Fincham has been named NCAC Coach of the Year four times.
Allegheny is led by Mark Matlak, a 1978 graduate of the college and a 1989 inductee into the Gators' Athletic Hall of Fame. A one-time standout running back for Allegheny, Matlak has a 19-24 overall record in his four seasons at the helm of his alma mater. He led the Gators to the 2003 NCAC championship and was selected as conference Coach of the Year for his efforts.