Setting The Scene: The Wittenberg Tigers open the 2005 season with one of the most challenging three-game stretches in school history. Coming off a 7-3 overall record in 2004, including a mark of 5-2 and a second-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Tigers get things started with a home game against Ohio Athletic Conference powerhouse Capital, a 49-16 victor over Wittenberg in Columbus a year ago.
Both teams have extremely high hopes for 2005 thanks to rosters stocked by veteran college players. The Tigers are the preseason choice to capture the NCAC title for the first since 2001, the last of Wittenberg's run of five straight crowns (four straight without a loss). Capital is picked to finish third in the OAC, considered by most to be among the best conferences in the nation again in 2005.
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Scouting The Tigers: In recent years, the Wittenberg Tigers have become one of the most prolific offensive teams in all of NCAA Division III. Most recently, the Tigers ranked among the leaders in the NCAC and NCAA Division III in 2004 with averages of 45 points and 485 yards per game.
The starting quarterback for a third straight year will be senior Ryan Holmes, who led the NCAC in pass efficiency rating for a second straight year in 2004. Holmes completed 60 percent of his passes and posted an outstanding touchdown to interception ratio of 20-7 in 2004. His top target figures to once again be senior wide receiver Jered Glover, who has led the Tigers in receptions in each of the last three seasons and is poised to re-write the Wittenberg record books in 2005. Senior Braden Freeman is a perfect compliment to Glover after posting 25 receptions for 443 yards in 2004, his first healthy season as a collegian.
Senior tailback Tristan Murray emerged as the team's featured running back in 2004, and he finished the season ranked third in the NCAC with 132 yards per game and a robust 6.1 yards per carry average. He ranked second in the conference and in the top 10 nationally in scoring with 126 points in 2004. Also returning to the starting lineup in 2005 are senior tight end Nate Cherry, who caught 15 passes a year ago, and three linemen - junior Ted Londot and seniors Billy Evans and Jake Kallgren.
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Defensively, the Tigers allowed an uncharacteristic 29 points per game in 2004. Junior safety Mitch Fonseca has ranked among the team leaders in tackles in each of the last two years, and he is joined in an experienced defensive backfield by 2003 second-team All-NCAC honoree Mike Freeman. The linebacking corps is inexperienced but full of promise. A trio of first-year starters are expected to take the field in converted fullback Tyler Harmon, a junior, and sophomore Walter Bonham, who did not receive any playing time in 2004, on the outside, and freshman Lance Phillips expected to man the middle spot. The defensive front is a veteran group, spearheaded by senior ends Chris Vennefron and Dave Fleck.
Scouting The Crusaders: After back-to-back third place finishes in the Ohio Athletic Conference, Capital returns a large contingent of starters in 2005 with the hopes of getting over the hump and into the program's first NCAA Division III Tournament in more than 20 years. Junior quarterback Rocky Pentello leads the offense for a third straight season in 2005, and he has his sights squarely on the majority of Capital's career passing records after setting most of the season marks in a record-breaking 2003 campaign. The Crusaders will once again spread the field, with four senior receivers and a senior tailback surrounding Pentello and providing plenty of offensive options.
Defensively, the Crusaders are led by senior safety tandem of Kyle Hausler, who set an OAC record with 10 interceptions in 2002, and Thom Hausler, led the OAC in interceptions last season in 2003. They are joined by a host of impact players, including senior defensive end Matt Evans and senior linebacker Bart Sparhawk.
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 will be joined in the booth by former Tiger captain Tim Dellapina or Jim Scoby, who will share the color commentator duties in 2005. Scott Leo, the play-by-play announcer for the Tiger men's and women's basketball teams the last two years, is coordinating the broadcasts and handling pre-game duties each week. Wittenberg junior Sean Golden joins the broadcast team for home games, providing on-field insights and postgame interviews, and Sean Leo is handling the board operations back in the radio station.
Home Field Advantage: Wittenberg compiled a perfect 5-0 record at Edwards-Maurer Field in 2004, playing for a final season on the artificial turf installed in 1992. It was the second straight perfect home season and the fourth in the last five years for the Tigers, who have a phenomenal 53-3 record in Springfield since Head Coach Joe Fincham took the reins in 1996.
Ironically, the team's first home game under Fincham was a 26-14 loss to Allegheny. The other two home defeats in the last nine seasons were a 1999 playoff loss to Ohio Northern and a 2002 NCAC overtime defeat against Wabash.
No Shutouts: Wittenberg has not suffered a shutout loss since the season opener in 1992, when Baldwin-Wallace did the honors by a 20-0 score. Since then, Wittenberg has played 142 games without suffering a shutout. During that span, Wittenberg has recorded 28 shutouts of its own. In addition, the Tigers have been held below 10 points in a game on just one occasion since 1992 - against Mercyhurst in a 7-6 victory in 1993.
Model of Consistency: Three losses in 2004 were the most in one season for Wittenberg under Head Coach Joe Fincham and the most for the program since 1991, when the Tigers went 5-5 overall and 5-3 in the NCAC. Still, Wittenberg recorded its 13th straight winning season and its 48th winning season in the 50 years, dating back to a 4-5 record in 1954, the year before National College Football Hall of Famer Bill Edwards took over as head coach.
Wittenberg has never had a losing season in 16 years in the NCAC and no team in the conference has a winning record against the Tigers.
NCAC's Best: The Tigers played their first North Coast Athletic Conference season in 1989 and finished in fourth place with a 4-3 record. The next two years produced 6-2 and 5-3 records, but since then Wittenberg has put together six perfect conference campaigns and stands head and shoulders above the competition. Overall, the Tigers are 100-17 in NCAC action, good for an .855 winning percentage. Since 1991, the percentage is even better - 85-9 (.904).
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Jered Glover
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Chart-Toppers: Three Wittenberg players have a chance to re-write the program's record books with a healthy and productive 2005 season. They are:
Jered Glover is poised to re-write the Wittenberg football record books. After finishing an injury-riddled 2004 season with 37 receptions for 511 yards and seven touchdowns, his career totals now stand at 133 receptions, 1,881 yards and 20 touchdowns, putting him in position to shatter school records in all three categories. He already ranks among the top four in each.
Ryan Holmes topped the 2,000-yard mark for passing yards in a season and 4,000-yard mark for passing yards in a career during the 2004 season. His 2,132 passing yards was the third-highest total in school history, while he stands fifth in Wittenberg annals with 4,017 career passing yards. He also has career totals of 278 completions (fourth in school history), 471 attempts (sixth) and 41 passing touchdowns (third).
Tristan Murray broke onto the NCAA Division III scene a year ago after transferring from Division I-AA Brown University in December 2003. He started the last nine games of the 2004 season, and he finished the 2004 season with 1,320 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns en route to NCAC Newcomer of the Year honors. His 1,320 rushing yards was the seventh-highest total in school history and his 249 yards in the season finale against Allegheny was also the seventh-best figure in the annals of Wittenberg football.
Series History: Wittenberg leads the all-time series, 28-3. Capital won the first meeting between the only two Lutheran-affiliated institutions of higher learning in the state of Ohio by a 19-0 score in 1945. Wittenberg won 28 of the next 29 meetings, with the only interruption coming in 1972 as the Crusaders won 14-7.
The two teams played every year between 1972 and 1988, when Wittenberg left the OAC for the NCAC. The Tigers won the last meeting as conference rivals in 1988 by a 27-17 score at home, and Wittenberg has never lost to Capital in Springfield.
Last year, the rivalry was renewed and the Crusaders claimed a decisive 49-16 victory at home in Columbus. In that game, Pentello tossed three first-half touchdown passes, Thom Hausler ran a kickoff back 84 yards for a score and Kyle Hausler returned an interception 98 yards for a score. The Tigers got 73 yards and one touchdown rushing each from Murray and Holmes, but three Wittenberg turnovers and numerous big plays on offense, defense and special teams by the Crusaders were the difference.
Against The OAC: This will be the eighth time in the 17 years since Wittenberg left the OAC that the Tigers open a season with an opponent from that conference. In those games, Wittenberg has a 3-4 record - 2-3 against Baldwin-Wallace, 0-1 against Capital and 1-0 against Muskingum.
Since leaving the OAC, Wittenberg has a 6-8 overall record against former conference rivals, including a 6-4 mark in regular season games only. Before last year's loss to Capital, the Tigers' most recent regular season game against an OAC foe was in Week 2 of the 2001 season, a 59-7 home victory over Heidelberg. Later that year, the Tigers lost to eventual national champion Mount Union 49-21 in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals.
Three of Wittenberg's eight losses to the OAC have come against the Purple Raiders in an NCAA Tournament regional final. In each instance, Mount Union went on to win the national title.
Top Pick: Wittenberg was chosen to finish first in the NCAC by both the media and the coaches in preseason polling announced at the conference's media day on Aug. 2. The Tigers outpolled Wabash in both by fairly wide margins, collecting a significant majority of first-place votes and finishing first or second on every ballot cast. Nationally, the Tigers are getting some recognition as well.
Lindy's and Street and Smith's both have Wittenberg ranked in the top 25 heading into the 2005 season, and d3football.com has the Tigers in the "others receiving votes" category. Don Hansen's National Football Gazette and the American Football Coaches Association do not release preseason polls. Sports Illustratedpublished a top-10 list for NCAA Division III, and the Tigers were placed at No. 10 in that ranking.
The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his ninth season at the helm, Fincham has a 88-14 overall record, including a mark of 57-7 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 82-10. 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.
Capital is led by Jim Collins, one of the finest receivers in Wittenberg history who graduated from the university in 1988. Entering his ninth season at the helm, Collins has an overall record of 37-43, including an OAC mark of 31-41. However, in the last three years, Capital is 28-12.