PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Nothing has come easy in this injury-plagued 2008 season for the youthful Wittenberg Tigers, so it should come as no surprise that it took a fourth-quarter touchdown and a defensive stand for them to overcome Carnegie Mellon and secure a 21-14 win.
In a game taped by ESPNU for re-broadcast at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, the Tigers emerged victorious thanks to the heroics of a junior linebacker and a sophomore quarterback who started the season in the shadow of more established teammates. When their team needed them most, the pair stepped up to move Wittenberg, which was coming off a disheartening 13-10 loss to Wabash last week, to 5-2 overall.
Carnegie Mellon, which came into the game 4-0 this season against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opponents in the first year of a scheduling agreement between the NCAC and the University Athletic Association, dropped to 4-3 on the season.
The defensive game ball has to go to junior linebacker Kyle Lohrman (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), who poured in 19 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss of 11 yards. One of those tackles for loss was a sack.
Lohrman was one of four Tigers to finish in double figures in tackles against Carnegie Mellon's Wing-T rushing attack. The Tartans were limited to 256 yards - an average of just 3.7 yards per play - thanks to the efforts of sophomore safetyManny Rodriguez (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) with 15 tackles, freshman linebacker Zach Hurtt (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) with 15 tackles and sophomore linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) with 13 stops. All three had one tackle for loss as the Tigers limited CMU to 200 net yards rushing (250 yards gained and 50 yards lost on 56 carries.
Like last week, however, the defense could only do so much, and after Carnegie Mellon scored its second touchdown of the game with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter, it was time for the offense to step up. That's when sophomore quarterback Andrew Durbin (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) engineered a 69-yard drive in 10 plays that consumed 4:24. It culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Durbin to senior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield).
Durbin, who made his first career start, also tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) with just 12 seconds left in the second quarter. That gave the Tigers a 13-7 halftime lead, building on the game's first score, a seven-yard scoring jaunt by freshman tailbackTrevor Luckenbill (West Milton, Ohio/Milton-Union).
Durbin finished 17-of-27 passing for 151 yards and the two aforementioned touchdowns. Williams was his top target with nine receptions for 84 yards, while McKee added five catches for 29 yards, and freshman wide receiver Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) chipped in with four catches for 26 yards. Luckenbill led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 55 yards, while senior tailbackTony Hall (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) offered an excellent change of pace with a career-best 53 yards on 14 carries.
Wittenberg returns to Springfield for its 2008 home finale at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 against Denison. The home crowd will salute its seniors and will also celebrate Dave Maurer Day, a celebration of the achievements and contributions of legendary coach, athletics administrator and professor Dave Maurer.