• Setting The Scene: The Wittenberg Tigers may have fallen from the ranks of the North Coast Athletic Conference unbeatens with a 26-20 loss at Wabash last Saturday, but they still have a lot to play for, beginning this weekend with a home date opposite Ohio Wesleyan, one of two teams tied with the Tigers for second place. Wittenberg tied the Battling Bishops for second place a year ago, two games behind Wooster in the final 2004 standings.
Wittenberg also has a 13-year streak of winning seasons on the line heading into the final three games of the 2005 season. The Tigers' last non-winning season came in 1991, a 5-5 finish, and the last losing campaign was recorded in 1989 at 4-5. Since 1955, Wittenberg has 48 winning seasons.
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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, thanks primarily to senior tailback Tristan Murray. After emerging as the Tigers' most consistent offensive threat a year ago as the No. 3 rusher in the conference, Murray stands atop the conference in 2005 with 123.4 rushing yards and ranks second with 169.9 all-purpose yards per game. He tops the NCAC in scoring with 13 touchdowns, good for a 11.1 points per game average. Murray ranks in the top 20 nationally in all three categories as well.
Quarterback Ryan Holmes led the NCAC and ranked among the nation's leaders in pass efficiency rating in 2003 and 2004, but he went down with an injury in the season opener against Capital. After freshman Matt Brumfield and junior Geron Stokes took their turns running the offense, Holmes made a quick recovery to start the last two games. He threw for 272 yards in last week's loss at Wabash.
Senior wide receiver Jered Glover, the Tigers' leader in receptions each of the last three seasons, is once again the key man in the aerial attack. Glover, the leading receiver in school history, lines up opposite junior Mark Harriman, who has started the last four games after replacing injured senior Braden Freeman in the starting lineup. The Tigers feature balance and multiple options in the passing game with the wideouts, Murray with 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air, sophomore fullback Andy Vanover with nine receptions on the season and the senior tight end combo of Nate Cherry and Jon Kirkwood, who each caught two touchdown passes against Hiram.
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Jered Glover
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• Chart-Topper: Jered Glover is now alone atop the Wittenberg receiving records after surpassing Michael Aljancic's school record of 147 receptions from 1998-2001. Glover started the season ranked fourth in career receptions, but he now has 156 catches after hauling in 23 so far in 2005.
For his career, Glover now has 2,137 yards and 23 touchdowns, putting him third in receiving yards, and fourth in receiving touchdowns. Rod Miller's 2,288 yards and 26 touchdowns are the current standards established between 1964-67.
Glover has been held in check much of this season, although he did break through last week for three catches for 100 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown reception that started out as a screen pass. He also was the key figure in the Oct. 1 Parents Weekend win over Denison with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown that broke open a tight game in the third quarter.
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Ryan Holmes
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• Welcome Back: Ryan Holmes had a chance to go down in the Wittenberg football history books as the program's most prolific passer, but the injury against Capital likely ended that run. Still, after appearing in his fourth game of 2005 - and finally playing one from start to finish - Holmes has 543 yards passing in 2005, giving him 4,560 yards for his career, 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. The Tigers didn't lose a game during Green's phenomenal career.
Holmes moved past his predecessor, Greg Cornett, into second place on the passing yards list with his 272 yards against Wabash. Holmes now has 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 spot in each category is currently occupied by Green with 325 completions, Rocky Alt (1967-70) with 563 attempts and Green with 61 passing touchdowns.
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Tristan Murray
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• Milestone Man: 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 864 yards (123.4 yards per game), he is second on the team in receiving with 261 yards on 20 catches.
In just two seasons, encompassing 17 games (16 starts), Murray has posted some tremendous numbers, in the process moving into the top 10 in school history with 2,184 career rushing yards. Murray stands 10th on the Wittenberg list, just 25 yards shy of Dana Williams (1979-82) for No. 9, and he also has rocketed up to ninth on the career scoring list with 204 total points.
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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 32 points in the last four 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 34 total tackles, despite missing two games early this season.
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 leads the Tigers in tackles for loss with eight and sacks with three and he stands third in total tackles with 32.
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 57 total tackles, 39 solos and three interceptions, including two he returned a combined 60 yards in the win over Earlham.
• Scouting The Battling Bishops: The key in 2005 has been balance, as the Bishops are solid on both sides of the ball and offer a variety of looks out of their trademark Delaware Wing-T option offense.
Steve Hymes, a transfer from Wittenberg, has been running the show in recent weeks, literally, with 60 rushing attempts for a team-best 310 yards. He has thrown just 37 passes in six games while splitting time with Ryan Sir Louis, completing 25 for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Last year, Sir Louis was the NCAC Player of the Week after going for 139 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-24 win against Wittenberg.
Hymes and halfbacks Calvin Willis and Nick Rice, who also leads the squad with 28 receptions, lead the Bishops with 60 carries apiece. The Bishops rank second in the NCAC with 204 rushing yards per game and 10th in the conference with 132 passing yards per outing.
Defensively, the Bishops are allowing 19.9 points and 310.1 yards per game, which ranks second in the NCAC. Defensive end Owen case leads with 61 tackles, but the real story is turnovers as the Bishops have generated 12 interceptions, including an NCAC-best six for Kyle Sherman, and six fumbles through seven games.
• 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 8-9 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.
• Athletics Hall of Honor: Eight Wittenberg University greats will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Honor during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend ceremonies, Oct. 28-30. Tom Atchison, class of 1982, Matt Croci, class of 1994, Margaret Grammas Postak, class of 1988, Gayle Goettman Kirkpatrick, class of 1984, Paul Sutter, class of 1987, Randy Sturtz, class of 1972, Bill Varble, class of 1955, and Melinda Wigton Cathey, class of 1982, will join 151 other athletes who have been selected for this prestigious honor throughout the last 20 years.
The honorees will be formally inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor at a banquet on Friday, Oct. 28. They will also be honored by Wittenberg's loyal fans during halftime of Saturday's game.
• On Opposite Sides: Hall of Honor inductee Bill Varble will have split loyalties during Saturday's game. His son, Ked, is in his fifth season as the Ohio Wesleyan running backs coach and will be on the sidelines for the game against Wittenberg.
• Series History: Wittenberg leads the all-time series 40-34-6, but the Tigers are looking to start a new winning streak against the Battling Bishops. A 12-game run was snapped a year ago with a 28-24 OWU win in Delaware.
• Homecoming History: Wittenberg has been nearly perfect in recent years on Homecoming Weekend, with a 2002 overtime loss to Wabash the only blemish since 1991. The last time Ohio Wesleyan was the Homecoming opponent, the Tigers put a 63-0 pasting on the Bishops in 2003.
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Mitch Fonseca
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• Last Meeting: Playing without five starters due to injury, Wittenberg was stunned 28-24 by Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 30, 2004. The loss dropped the Tigers out of the NCAC lead and the national top 25.
Wittenberg gave up a season-high 364 rushing yards out of 397 total yards for the Bishops. Ryan Sir Louis had game-highs of 139 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner on a fourth-down play with just 1:54 on the clock. The lead changed hands six times in the game before Wittenberg, out of timeouts, reached the OWU 29-yard-line only to have Bo Mayer make an interception with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Holmes finished 12-of-33 for 165 yards, and he spread the ball around to seven different receivers, led by Braden Freeman with four receptions for 69 yards. Tristan Murray posted totals of 123 yards on 28 carries. Defensively, safety Mitch Fonseca had one of his best games, accounting for a game-high 15 tackles, and safety Adam Hewitt contributed 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
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• Last Week: For the third time this season, Wittenberg led a quality opponent in the second half on the road, only to suffer a 26-20 loss at undefeated NCAC leader Wabash.
The Tigers put themselves in position to win, taking a 20-14 lead on a 65-yard catch-and-run by Jered Glover with 11:34 left in the third quarter. However, those were the final points the Tigers mustered against the Little Giants, who hadn't allowed more than 10 points in a game all season. Wabash answered the Tigers with a 37-yard touchdown pass and an interception that led to the game-winning touchdown run near the end of the third quarter.
Wittenberg outgained Wabash, 378-345, for the game, both teams finished 8-of-14 on third-down conversions and the two quarterbacks finished with 272 yards and 271 yards passing respectively. On the ground, Tristan Murray topped the 100-yard mark for the fifth time this season, posting 101 yards on 27 carries, in addition to his four catches for 61 yards. Glover added 100 yards on three receptions. Murray's rushing total, Glover's receiving total and Holmes' passing total were all the best for a Wabash opponent in 2005.
Defensively, the Tigers got a terrific game from their linemen, as senior tackle Tyler Jenkins led the way with nine tackles, including two for loss. Linebacker Anthoni Fazio finished with eight tackles, including a sack, and he added a pass broken up. For the fourth time this season, however, the Tigers were unable to generate a turnover in a game.
• Toys For Tots: For the fourth straight year, representatives of the United State Marine Corps and Wittenberg Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will collect new toys and/or monetary donations for the Reserve Toys for Tots program. This year's Wittenberg collection will take place before and during the Nov. 5 football game against Wooster.
Toys for Tots is an annual Christmas program run by the U.S. Marine Corps that distributes thousands of toys to less fortunate families. With the support of Wittenberg football fans last year, more than 1,700 needy Clark County children received toys.
• The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his 10th season at the helm, Fincham has a 91-18 overall record, including a mark of 60-8 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 85-14. 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.
Ohio Wesleyan is led by Mike Hollway, a 1974 graduate of the University of Michigan. Hollway has led the Battling Bishops to a 119-67-1 record midway through his 19th year at the helm. Overall, he has a career record of 130-94-2 in 23 years as a head coach, including three seasons at Marietta. Hollway was named NCAC Coach of the Year in 1989.