WOOSTER, Ohio — A Wittenberg football season lost long ago in a hail of injuries, turnovers and missed special teams opportunities came to an unfortunate end in a 27-6 loss in the cold and muck at Wooster.
The loss dropped Wittenberg to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). It was just the third time since Wittenberg joined the league in 1989 that the Tigers have lost three games in a season, and the first time since 1991. Wooster, on the other hand, improved to 8-2 overall and secured second place in the final standings with a 6-1 NCAC mark. The Scots remain hopeful of landing an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which begins Saturday, Nov. 22.
Turnovers were once again key for the Tigers as they lost four interceptions - in addition to four fumbles that were all recovered by Wittenberg players but contributed significantly to the Tigers' lowest offensive output in more than a decade. Wittenberg managed just 131 total offensive yards, and the Tigers' lone score was provided by junior linebacker Kyle Lohrman (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), who ran an interception back 20 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The lone bright spot for the Tiger offense was provided by sophomore tailbackTrevor Luckenbill (West Milton, Ohio/Milton-Union), who came back from an injury that kept him out of the last two games to rush for 67 yards on 18 carries. Junior tailback Jeff Wilbur (Ann Arbor, Mich./Community) added 23 yards on five carries.
The Tigers managed just 44 yards through the air, however, with senior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) catching two for 23 yards. After setting a school record for receptions in a season last year, Williams posted the fifth-best catch total ever with 51 in 2008. He now has 134 career catches, good for fifth place on the school record list, 33 catches short of Jered Glover's record of 167.
The Wittenberg defense was valiant as always in defeat, allowing just 267 total yards. The Scots were essentially able to grind out the victory, getting 119 yards from tailback Dustin Sheppard and 84 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Austin Holter. Wooster had just one drive that covered more than 52 yards in the game.
Defensively, Wittenberg was paced by Lohrman, who added 11 tackles to his interception return. Sophomore linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) added nine tackles and freshman linebacker Zach Hurtt (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) chipped in with eight tackles.