Setting The Scene: The Wittenberg Tigers have rallied from the depths in 2005, and now the stage is set for the biggest game of their season. The Tigers, winners of three straight games to open the North Coast Athletic Conference campaign after the program's first three-game, season-opening losing streak since 1953, travel to Wabash College for a game that will go a long way toward determining the 2005 NCAC champion.
How good is Wittenberg? It's an interesting question after losses to three teams with a combined record of 15-4 and wins over three teams with a combined record of 5-14. The Tigers, the preseason favorite to capture an eighth league title in 17 years, will find out this week as Wabash has been a steamroller so far this year and has positioned itself to win its second conference title since joining the NCAC in 2000.
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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. 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.
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 127.2 rushing yards and ranks second with 165.2 all-purpose yards per game. He tops the NCAC in scoring with 13 touchdowns already this season, good for a 13.0 points per game average.
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 returned against Earlham on Oct. 8 and then started and played most of the first half against Hiram. For the season, Holmes has thrown for 271 yards and four touchdowns in what equates to one full game of action on the entire season.
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 three 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, who has 16 catches, 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 153 catches after hauling in 20 so far in 2005.
However, Glover has largely been kept in check this season, with a yardage total of 156 and two touchdowns through six games. For his career, Glover now has 2,037 yards and 22 touchdowns, putting him fourth in receiving yards, 77 shy of Skip Ivery for third in that category, and receiving touchdowns, two behind Ivery. Rod Miller's 2,288 yards and 26 touchdowns are the current standards established between 1964-67.
Glover has faced the Wabash Little Giants four times, and he enjoyed two of the best games of his career against them. Wittenberg is just 1-3 in games against Wabash the last three years, but Glover caught 10 passes in each of the 2002 games - one in the regular season and one in the NCAA Division III Tournament - and he has followed that up with a combined 14 receptions the last two years.
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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 the last three weeks to allow only a first-quarter touchdown on Oct. 1 to Denison. The Tigers have not allowed a point in more than 11 quarters, a span of more than 174 minutes of game action.
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. Harmon led the team in tackles against Denison and Earlham and ranks second on the team with 29 total stops. First-year starter Walter Bonham, who was in the top five on the team in tackles in each of the first four games, returned to action in the second half against Hiram. He and senior Anthoni Fazio are the starters at the two outside linebacker spots.
The defensive line, which includes four senior starters, has made steady improvement. Senior defensive tackle Matt Stechschulte is third on the team with 28 total tackles and leads the squad with six tackles for a combined loss of 33 yards.
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 against Capital. Fonseca leads the Tigers with 50 total tackles, 33 solos and three interceptions, including two he returned a combined 60 yards in the win over Earlham. Also of note has been the play of senior cornerback Mike Freeman, who has missed two games due to injury. A 2003 second-team All-NCAC honoree, Freeman ranks 45th nationally with 1.5 passes broken up per game. He has six on the season.
. Scouting The Little Giants: Wabash has been dominant through six games in 2005, outscoring foes by a whopping 39-6 margin. The combined overall record of their six opponents is an underwhelming 16-22, but Wabash has been just as convincing in road wins over NCAC contenders Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster in recent weeks.
Offensively, Wabash has a lot of recent history to live up to, but with senior quarterback Russ Harbaugh enjoying a breakout season, the Little Giants of 2005 are drawing favorable comparisons to the 2002 team that ended Wittenberg's five-year run atop the NCAC. Harbaugh threw for 452 yards in last week's 44-10 at Wooster, the defending conference champion, a total that was just seven yards short of 2002 NCAC Player of the Year Jake Knott's school record of 459. Harbaugh leads the NCAC and ranks among the national leaders in several passing categories, taking advantage of a deep, talented corps of wide receivers. Four Little Giants already have more than 20 receptions this year.
Defensively, the Little Giants are also outstanding, ranking first in the NCAC and in the top 10 nationally in total defense, rushing defense and scoring defense. The unit has a fine mix of talent, experience and depth, and as a result no opponent has scored more than 10 points this season. A veteran linebacking corps, ironically led by sophomore Adrian Pynenberg, makes everything go as the Little Giants utilize a relatively unusual 4-4-3 base defensive formation.
. 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.
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Tristan Murray
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. Mr. Everything: 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 763 yards (127.2 yards per game), he is second on the team in receiving with 200 yards on 16 catches. He stands second in the NCAC and ranks in the top 20 nationally with 165.2 all-purpose yards per game, and his 127.2 rushing yards per outing is also in the top 25 in all of NCAA Division III. In addition, Murray tops the Tigers and the conference with 13 touchdowns, 11 on the ground, en route to 13.0 points per game. That average puts him in the top 10 nationally.
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. Big Leg: Senior punter Jacob Thomas no longer leads the nation in punting average after a 37.0 average on five punts against Earlham and sitting out the game against Hiram (Wittenberg didn't punt in the game anyway). But after breaking the school record for punting average in a season with 42.3 in 2004, Thomas has been even better this year, putting up an average of 44.5 yards per punt through the first four games, in part thanks to a 65-yard boot in the third quarter against Capital and a school record-tying 77-yarder in the second quarter against Alma.
Thomas has had ample opportunity to make up for a 2004 season in which he did not have enough punts to qualify for the NCAA Division III statistics. Thomas, who would have ranked second in the nation after topping the NCAC, still stands first in the conference and fourth in the nation with an average of 43.1 so far in 2005.
Last year's win over Wabash was Thomas' biggest moment in the Red & White as his 73-yard punt late in the fourth quarter led to a costly fumble and the clinching score.
. Series History: Wittenberg leads the all-time series 5-3, but since Wabash joined the conference in 2000, the series is even at 3-3. In NCAC regular season games, Wittenberg holds a slim 3-2 advantage.
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. Last Meeting: Wittenberg snapped a three-game losing streak to Wabash with a 49-35 Homecoming victory on Oct. 23, 2004, as Tristan Murray scored the game-clinching touchdown with two minutes remaining after a 73-yard punt by Jacob Thomas and fumble recovery by Joe Brumfield that capped a wild game.
After giving up a touchdown on Wabash's first drive, the Tigers played solid defense the rest of the first half and the Tiger offense piled up 31 points, thanks to one touchdown running and another receiving for Tristan Murray, who finished the game with 218 yards on 28 carries and four receptions for 16 yards, a TD reception by Jered Glover, a TD reception by wideout Joe Rumschlag and a 38-yard field goal by kicker Mark Porter.
Wabash battled back in the second half, outscoring Wittenberg 28-10 before that final sequence. Murray had both of Wittenberg's second-half touchdowns and Porter added a 27-yard field goal.
Individually, Ryan Holmes went 22-of-35 for 197 yards and three touchdowns, Glover finished with six catches for 42 yards before going down with a third-quarter injury, cornerback Alan Tracewell topped the defense with 10 solo tackles and cornerback Lavon Wilborn added nine tackles and a first-half interception he returned 40 yards to set up a touchdown.
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Nate Cherry
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. Last Week: Wittenberg remained perfect in the NCAC with a 66-0 home win over Hiram. It was the sixth straight year that Wittenberg had beaten Hiram by shutout, with the combined margin of victory totalling an astounding 388-0.
Against Hiram, the defense was at its most dominant. School records were set for total offensive yards allowed (-1 yards) and rushing yards allowed (-45), breaking marks established in 1970 against California (Pa.).
Tristan Murray found the end zone three times, Nate Cherry and Jon Kirkwood each caught two touchdown passes and sophomore tailback Derrick Braziel and senior tailback David Bazzel added single scores. Wittenberg, which rolled up 311 yards rushing in the game and 542 yards of total offense, was led in rushing by junior fullback Jason Hartzler, who had the first nine carries of his 2005 season for 68 yards, while Murray finished with 65 yards on 11 carries. Holmes finished 11-of-18 for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Junior quarterback Geron Stokes added 94 yards and two scores on a perfect 6-of-6.
. 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 91-17 overall record, including a mark of 60-7 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 85-13. His teams have claimed five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records from 1998-2001. Fincham, who ranked second in winning percentage in NCAA Division III history among coaches with five or more seasons coming into the 2005 campaign, has been named NCAC Coach of the Year four times.
Wabash is led by Chris Creighton, a 1991 graduate of Kenyon who has a record of 39-10 record midway through his fifth season and led the 2002 team to a school-record 12 wins and the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the first time in 25 years. The 2002 NCAC Coach of the Year, Creighton arrived at Wabash from Ottawa University in Kansas, where he went 32-7 and won two conference championships in four seasons.