SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers bounced back from the disappointment of last week's 24-17 loss at North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)-leading Wabash to claim a hard-fought 21-16 win over visiting Ohio Wesleyan.
With more than 3,000 fans filling the Edwards-Maurer Field stands on a bright, sunny Homecoming afternoon, the Tigers were less than sharp, but they came up with three big defensive plays in the fourth quarter to preserve the five-point victory. As a result, Wittenberg remains mathematically alive in the race for the 2007 NCAC championship at 3-1 and guaranteed at least a .500 record as the Tigers reached 5-2 overall.
Ohio Wesleyan, which hasn't won in Springfield since 1990 but had beaten the Tigers two of the last three years, dropped to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC.
The game was something of a slugfest from the outset as a pair of youthful offensive units struggled to get untracked, in part thanks to matching totals of nine penalties apiece. The Battling Bishops posted 307 yards of total offense in the game, with freshman quarterback Mike Fisher accounting for 259 of them between the passing and running games, and Wittenberg finished with 336 yards, including 205 on the ground.
After a tough outing at Wabash a week ago, senior fullback Andy Vanover (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) was the go-to guy in the ground game, and he responded with career-highs of 106 yards and 24 carries. He also scored a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Tigers the lead for good.
Ohio Wesleyan started the game with a well-executed scoring drive, capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Fisher to Greg Orr. The Tigers responded with a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Aaron Huffman (Newark, Ohio/Newark) to junior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield)in the first quarter and Vanover's three-yard scoring jaunt in the second.
The Bishops narrowed the score to 14-10 on a short field goal late in the third quarter, and OWU had the ball following an interception early in the fourth when Tiger cornerback Brandyn Brown (Louisville, Ky./Male), a sophomore, came up with the play of the game. He intercepted a Fisher pass to set up a seven-minute, 14-play drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown dive by Huffman on fourth down.
The resulting 11-point cushion allowed the Tigers to weather a late OWU rally that started with a three-yard TD run by Fisher with 1:34 left. The two-point conversion, however, was snuffed out as Fisher was pressured and his pass was picked off by freshman linebacker Ben Koester (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands), who was making his first collegiate start in place of injured senior Joe Swanson (Germantown, Ohio/Valleyview).
After the Tigers were forced to punt, the Bishops had 25 seconds left to move the length of the field. However, a halfback option pass was intercepted by Wittenberg freshman linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) to preserve the victory.
Offensively, Wittenberg picked up 77 yards on 12 carries from freshman tailbackCorey Weber (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) and 55 yards on five receptions from Williams. Huffman finished 12-of-24 for 131 yards through the air.
Fisher was a solid 15-of-23 for 229 yards in the passing game, and he added 30 yards on 19 carries. Terrance Raeford was the game's leading receiver with 88 yards on six catches.
Defensively, McKinley was the star with 16 total tackles and the interception that he returned 37 yards. Koester did a fine job in his first extended collegiate playing time as he contributed 12 tackles, while junior cornerback Travis Brunic (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) made the most of his first collegiate start as well as he turned in 10 tackles, including 1.5 for a total of five yards lost.
The Tigers are now in a three-way tie for second place in the NCAC with Oberlin and Allegheny, the next two opponents on Wittenberg's schedule. The Yeomen make their first appearance in Springfield in a decade next Saturday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.