• Setting The Scene: The Wittenberg Tigers proved last week that they have something left in the tank after a tough, injury-riddled 2005 season. Currently in a second-place tie with Kenyon at 4-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, Wittenberg, a winner in four of its last five games, closes out the home portion of the 2005 schedule against Wooster on Senior Recognition Day at Edwards-Maurer Field.
The Scots are the defending NCAC champions, but they are 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC a year after graduating most of the key players on that title team. A win would move Wittenberg over .500 for the first time all season and one step closer to the program's 49th winning season in 51 seasons, tops for schools that have been members of the NCAA the entire time.
• Senior Recognition: In the final home game on the 2005 schedule, the Wittenberg football program recognizes one of the largest senior classes in school history. Twenty-nine seniors are on the roster currently. They are: George Andress, Trevor Armstrong, David Bazzel, Ken Bibb, Will Block, Nate Cherry, Brian Connell, Billy Evans, Anthoni Fazio, Dave Fleck, Braden Freeman, Mike Freeman, Jered Glover, Adam Hewitt, Ryan Holmes, Tyler Jenkins, Jake Kallgren, Jon Kirkwood, Dymond McDonald, Brandon Murray, Tristan Murray, Charlie O'Dell, Nathan Sears, Brandon Slade, Matt Stechschulte, Adam Stump, Jacob Thomas, Clinton Tiggs and Chris Vennefron. Holmes, Brandon Murray, Thomas and Vennefron are all fifth-year seniors.
In the last four years, Wittenberg has posted a 29-11 record, including a mark of 19-6 in the NCAC and 17-2 at home at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Tigers have finished second in the NCAC each of the last three years, and the 2002 team was selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
• 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.
|
• 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 120.6 rushing yards and ranks second with 163.5 all-purpose yards per game, and he tops the NCAC in scoring with 14 touchdowns, good for a 10.5 points per game average. Murray ranks in the top 25 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 3-0 as a starter, including a 31-9 win over Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday. Now with 818 yards and nine touchdowns passing, Stokes ranks second in the NCAC with a pass efficiency rating of 168.2.
Senior wide receiver Jered Glover, the Tigers' leading receiver in school history, tops the team in receptions for a fourth straight year. Glover has 26 receptions for 348 yards and four touchdowns, followed by Murray with 22 catches for 279 yards and two TDs and junior Mark Harriman, who has made five straight starts, with 18 receptions, including a career-high eight against OWU.
|
|
Tristan Murray
|
• 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 965 yards (120.6 yards per game), he is second on the team in receiving with 279 yards on 22 catches.
In just two seasons, encompassing 18 games (17 starts), Murray has posted some tremendous numbers, in the process moving into the top 10 in school history with 2,285 career rushing yards. Murray stands ninth on the Wittenberg list after surpassing Dana Williams (1979-82) during the win over OWU. He also has rocketed up to eighth on the career scoring list with 210 total points, equalling the numbers posted by Ron Murphy (1956-59).
|
|
Jered Glover
|
• Chart-Topper: Jered Glover stands atop the Wittenberg receiving records after surpassing Michael Aljancic's school record of 147 receptions from 1998-2001. Glover now has 159 catches after hauling in 26 so far in 2005. For his career, Glover now has 2,229 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.
|
|
Ryan Holmes
|
• 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.
|
• 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 five 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 50 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 leads the Tigers in tackles for loss with nine and sacks with 3.5 and he stands third in total tackles with 38.
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 61 total tackles, 41 solos and three interceptions, including two he returned a combined 60 yards in the win over Earlham.
• Scouting The Fighting Scots: After the best season in school history, the Scots have struggled with injuries and inconsistency this season en route to a still respectable 6-2 overall record.
Junior quarterback Justin Schafer is questionable for this week's game, and if doesn't go, junior back-up Bobby Reiff, who set a school record for passing yards in a game in a win over Hiram, will get the call. The tailback is freshman Dustin Sheppard, who went for 250 yards in a 20-19 win over Oberlin on Oct. 22 and leads the squad with 516 yards and five touchdowns while toting the ball for a 5.5 yards per carry average.
Defensively, the Scots are led by linebacker Andre Smith. Like Wittenberg, turnover margin has been a problem for the Scots, who face a 19-11 deficit in that area. Wittenberg has also generated just 11 turnovers defensively, although the Tigers have committed a more respectable 10 turnovers this season.
• 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 27-11-1. The Tigers had a six-game win streak against Wooster snapped a year ago. Since joining the NCAC, Wittenberg holds a commanding 14-2 advantage, including a perfect 8-0 in Springfield.
|
|
Braden Freeman
|
• Last Meeting: The Tigers came up on the short end of a thrilling 64-58 overtime decision at Wooster on Nov. 6, 2004. Wittenberg rallied from a 48-17 third-quarter deficit against the fifth-ranked Scots, scoring 41 second-half points to force overtime, highlighted by Will Block's school-record 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. But in overtime, the magic ended for the Tigers, who had scored the game's final 21 points in regulation. Holmes was picked off on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage, and All-American Tony Sutton made the Tigers pay with a 13-yard TD on the third play of the ensuing drive, ending the game.
The 122 points set an NCAC record for most combined points in a game and Sutton continued to re-write the record books with four scores and 226 rushing yards. Wittenberg finished with 552 yards of total offense, compared with Wooster's 638 yards. The 64 points were the most by a Wittenberg opponent since 1949 when Ohio Wesleyan scored 65.
Holmes had the greatest day statistically ever for a Wittenberg quarterback as he threw for a school-record 439 yards. Tristan Murray added 107 yards rushing on 23 attempts and 105 yards on five receptions, wide receiver Braden Freeman had a career day, catching 10 passes for 177 yards, and wideout Joe Rumschlag chipped in with 104 yards on four catches. Mitch Fonseca was the top player for the Tigers defensively as he finished with 12 tackles, including a stop of Sutton for a loss on third down late in the game that helped set the stage for the game-tying fourth-quarter drive.
|
|
Tyler Jenkins
|
• Last Week: The resurgent Wittenberg defense led the way on Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, holding Ohio Wesleyan to just nine points and 203 yards of total offense in a 31-9 win.
The Tigers streaked out to a commanding 17-0 first-quarter lead, and the defense did most of the heavy lifting from there, thanks in part to a duo of Tylers - junior linebacker Harmon and senior defensive tackle Jenkins Harmon was everywhere, recording a career-high 16 tackles, including eight solos and one for an 11-yard loss. Jenkins posted a career-best 11 tackles, including four solos, and a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Two of those tackles for loss were sacks for a combined loss of 10 yards.
The defense set the tone immediately, forcing three straight three-and-outs, and the offense responded with a 64-yard touchdown hook-up between Geron Stokes and Jered Glover, a 34-yard Mark Porter field goal and a five-yard pass from Stokes to sophomore fullback Andy Vanover. Wittenberg took a 24-0 lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Stokes to junior wide receiver Mark Harriman with just six seconds left. Stokes was an efficient 17-of-22 for 199 yards, three touchdowns and, perhaps most important, no interceptions.
After OWU put together two scoring drives in the second half, the Tigers put the game out of reach with a 14-play, 78-yard drive that took a whopping 7:20 off the clock. Tristan Murray put a bow on the win with an 18-yard touchdown run, in the process topping the 100-yard mark for the sixth time in eight games this season. Murray finished with 101 yards on 27 carries, Glover capped his day with 92 yards on three receptions and Harriman was solid with eight catches for 58 yards.
• The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his 10th season at the helm, Fincham has a 92-18 overall record, including a mark of 61-8 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 86-14. 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.
Wooster is led by Mike Schmitz, who has a 42-18 record in his sixth season at the helm of the football program. Now in his 11th season at Wooster, Schmitz was the offensive coordinator for five seasons, helping the Scots turn around a losing program to go 37-13 in that span. A 1974 graduate of Bowling Green, Schmitz was a head coach at four high school before arriving at Wooster in 1994.