DELAWARE, Ohio — As the old saying goes, when you play with fire, you eventually get burned. After winning games by the thinnest of possible margins two of the last three weeks, the Wittenberg Tigers dropped a 17-10 decision at Ohio Wesleyan.
The loss moved Wittenberg to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and it descended the league title chase into chaos. The Tigers no longer are in complete control of their own destiny, as five teams now have one conference loss heading into the final three weeks of the 2006 season. Ohio Wesleyan has now won two consecutive games and improved to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC on the season.
Statistically, the Tigers and Battling Bishops essentially played to a standoff. Wittenberg held a 283-273 advantage in total offense, the time of possession featured a mere two-minute edge for OWU and the two teams split 30 first downs evenly. The difference came down to turnovers - both teams had an ill-timed fumble (each of which led to a first-half touchdown), but the Bishops ended Wittenberg's final drive of the game with an interception - and penalties as the Tigers took six of them for a whopping 75 yards, including a key defensive holding flag in the fourth quarter that extended OWU's final scoring drive and set up a field goal that made it a seven-point differential. The Bishops had just one penalty for 10 yards.
Ohio Wesleyan got on the board first with a bit of trickery as halfback Nick Rice hit wideout Zach Dennis on a 27-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Wittenberg responded with a Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) six-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and the two teams headed to the locker rooms knotted at seven.
In a fast-paced second half, as both teams relied primarily on their running attacks, Ohio Wesleyan again got the upper hand, this time on a four-yard TD run by Rice in the third quarter. For the first time in five weeks, the Tigers didn't have the appropriate response, managing only a field goal by junior Mark Porter (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) early in the fourth quarter. Ohio Wesleyan added the aforementioned field goal to push the lead out to seven, and then the Bishops intercepted a first-down pass with 2:13 remaining and the Tigers out of timeouts to seal the game.
Murray was most of the Tigers' offense yet again, topping the 100-yard mark for a school-record tying sixth time in a row. He finished with 122 yards on 31 carries, in addition to 11 yards on one reception. Freshman quarterback Aaron Huffman (Newark, Ohio/Newark) completed 8-of-16 passes for 85 yards, rushed for 23 yards on nine carries and also caught a 37-yard pass from sophomore wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) on the game's first drive. On the very next play, however, the Tigers lost a fumble at the OWU 19-yard-line.
Defensively, the Tigers picked up huge games from their senior linebacking tandem of Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and Joe Swanson (Germantown, Ohio/Valley View). Harmon led the team in tackles for a sixth straight game with a career-high 17 tackles, while Swanson added a career-high 13, although every one of them was counted as an assist. With the exception of a fumble recovery by freshman cornerback Brandyn Brown (Louisville, Ky./Male), the Tigers largely were unable to come up with the big defensive play that had been so key to their four-game win streak.
Ohio Wesleyan was led offensively by Rice with 104 yards on 19 carries and Dennis with four receptions for 70 yards. Defensively, the Bishops came up with eight tackles for loss, including three sacks.
Wittenberg's loss was a blow, but the Tigers remain in the thick of the title chase, which will shake out significantly next week when Wabash and Wooster square off and the Tigers travel to Oberlin for a key game. Kenyon is the other team with one loss in conference action. If Wittenberg wins its final three games, the Tigers will hold tiebreaker advantages - by virtue of head-to-head victories - on three of the other four teams currently atop the conference standings.