Anthony Kralich
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A festive atmosphere on a beautiful Indian Summer afternoon ended in the best way possible for the Wittenberg Tigers as they picked up a 23-0 win over visiting Denison on Senior Recognition Day and Dave Maurer Day.
The win moved Wittenberg to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), allowing the Tigers to keep pace with Wooster for second place in the conference standings. Denison, which lost for the 17th straight time to Wittenberg, dating back to 1989, fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC.
With the legendary retired coach, athletics administrator and professor looking on with his family and dozens of his former players, the Tiger defense provided the key to the game as the unit bottled up the team with the best rushing numbers in the conference coming in. Denison, which came in averaging more than 24 points per game while playing a schedule that included nationally ranked and unbeaten Case Western and Wabash, was limited to just 10 first downs, 77 rushing yards and 193 total offensive yards.
Sophomore linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) led the way with 11 tackles, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery, while junior linebacker Kyle Lohrman (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) added eight tackles and a pass break-up.
Offensively, the Tigers were workmanlike after some trickery in the first possession that led to a 74-yard touchdown pass on the second play from scrimmage. On that play, senior tailback Tony Hall (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) executed a flea-flicker back to sophomore quarterback Andrew Durbin (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), who hit senior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) down the sideline for the score.
Williams finished the day with game-highs of seven receptions for 134 yards, followed by sophomore wideout Anthony Kralich (Kettering, Ohio/Alter), who made a season-high five catches for 49 yards, including three clutch receptions that went for first downs. The two did a lot of heavy lifting that led to a 30-yard field goal by sophomore David Rome (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hawken) in the second quarter, a 23-yard touchdown run by Durbin in the third quarter and a three-yard scoring burst on the first play of the fourth.
Durbin was solid overall in his second starting assignment, finishing with 189 yards on 14-of-20 passing. He was aided by a ground game that was led by junior tailback Jeff Wilbur (Ann Arbor, Mich./Community) with career-highs of 53 yards on 11 carries, Hall with 31 yards on 12 carries and sophomore tailback Rod Belcher (Covington, Ga./Newton County) with 27 yards on four totes.
The Tigers hit the road for the final two games of the 2008 season, starting with a game at Allegheny on Saturday, Nov. 8. The season wraps up at Wooster on Nov. 15.