Big First Half Carries Tigers To 42-3 Win Over Earlham

Brad McKinley

RICHMOND, Ind. — The Wittenberg Tigers completed their sprint through the first half of the 2009 schedule with a fifth consecutive dominating performance, this time shutting down host Earlham, 42-3.

The win moved Wittenberg to 5-0 for the first time since 2000, when the Tigers completed a third straight perfect regular season en route to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinal round. The Tigers are also 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), heading into their annual grudge match against defending champion Wabash, which is ranked 11th nationally with matching records of 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC.

Just as they have throughout the season, Wittenberg put the game out of reach in the first 30 minutes, this time scoring all 42 points before halftime. Sophomore wide receiver Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) scored three times, on passes covering seven, 40 and 32 yards, junior tailback Corey Weber (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) added a four-yard touchdown run and senior quarterback Aaron Huffman (Newark, Ohio/Newark) found the end zone as well on runs of 13 and 10 yards.

Wittenberg has outscored its opponents by a whopping 215-16 overall in 2009, including a margin of 171-0 in the first half. Earlham managed just a third quarter field goal and 151 yards from scrimage in the game.

The offense, including an efficient 205-yard passing performance by Huffman that moved him into No. 2 on Wittenberg's career passing yards list in just one half of work, is a nice story. However, as the numbers above confirm, the defense has been nothing short of great.

The Tigers' pass rush was ferocious again, forcing the Quakers into 2-of-15 through the air for just 12 yards and three interceptions. While Wittenberg registered just one sack, a total of nine tackles for loss were spread among a whopping 11 players, including junior linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson). He added eight solo tackles and a first-quarter interception he returned 33 yards to set up the Tigers' first score.

The defense on this day was paced by freshman cornerback Jamaal Everett (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) with nine total tackles.

Wittenberg is seeking its first win at Wabash since 2000, when the Tigers spoiled the Little Giants' first-ever NCAC game after joining the conference in 1998. Since then, Wabash has won the last three games in Crawfordsville, Ind., including nailbiters in 2005 and 2007 by a combined margin of just 13 points.

Written byr: Ryan Maurer