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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers got back to basics in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, and the result was a workmanlike 34-17 victory over visiting Trine University.
The win, Wittenberg's 19th in 29 all-time NCAA Division III Tournament games, advanced the Tigers to the national quarterfinals for the fourth time since 1998 but the first time since 2001. Wittenberg, which is 12-0 overall after capturing the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title, will take on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the 2008 national runner-up and champion of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Warhawks, who have made four straight appearances in the NCAA Division III championship game, are ranked No. 2 in the nation and own a matching 12-0 record in 2009.
The Tigers certainly didn't turn in their most complete performance of the campaign, but on the strength of a significant time of possession advantage (38:48 to 21:12), Wittenberg simply wore down the Thunder. Trine defeated then-ninth ranked Case Western 51-38 a week earlier for its first NCAA Division III Tournament game since joining the division in 2003, but the Thunder were limited to just 250 yards in total offense by the nation's top-ranked defense.
Photos at right courtesy of David Rich, d3football.com.
The Thunder did gain more yards against Wittenberg than any other team all season, and Trine became just the third team to score in the first half on the Tigers. The 17 points allowed were also a season-high for Wittenberg, which allowed just one team in the regular season to even reach double figures.
The offense more than made up for the defense's "off" day, however, piling up 260 yards on the ground and another 208 through the air. The primary weapons were senior quarterback Aaron Huffman (Newark, Ohio/Newark), who tied a school record with five touchdowns in the game and broke the mark for passing touchdowns in a season (28 - former record was 24), and junior tailback Corey Weber (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), who topped 200 yards rushing for the first time in his career.
Huffman got the Tigers off to a tremendous start, going 3-for-3 on the game's opening drive, capped by a 32-yard touchdown completion to sophomore wide receiver Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh). After Trine evened the score on the first play of the second quarter on a one-yard plunge by Devin Leas, the Tigers struck quickly, hitting paydirt on a four-yard hook-up between Huffman and McKee after a 49-yard kickoff return by senior cornerback Brandyn Brown (Louisville, Ky./Male). After the second of Trine's three-and-outs of the first half, the Tigers needed just two plays to get back into the end zone, as Huffman found sophomore wide receiver Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) on a 53-yard scoring strike. Another three-and-out led to Wittenberg's fourth score of the half, this time ending with Huffman to senior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) from four yards out.
In the second half, Trine opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal from Jeremy Howard, but once again the Tigers had an answer as Cooper caught a tipped pass from Huffman to push the lead back out to 34-10. The final score of the game was a nifty nine-yard burst by Trine's Mario Brown, which was set up by a 47-yard interception return by Aaron Selking.
While he may not have gotten his name into the scoring column, Weber and the Tigers' stellar offensive line put in a yeomen's effort to secure the victory. He carried the ball a career-high 34 times for a staggering 204 yards - the first 200-yard rushing performance by a Wittenberg running back since Tristan Murray went for 239 yards in a 41-23 loss at Dayton in 2005.
In the process, Weber became the first Wittenberg running back to top 1,000 yards in a season since Murray posted 1,517 en route to earning NCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2006.
Huffman completed 16-of-22 passes for 208 on the day. His favorite target was Cooper with six catches for 97 yards, while Williams added five for 51 and McKee finished with four for 51. On the other side, MIAA Player of the Year Eric Watt was held to 14-of-28 passing for 141 yards. Leas led the Thunder with 48 yards on 10 carries, while Paul Curtis was the top receiver with three catches for 59 yards.
The Tiger defense was sparked by the outstanding play of senior linebacker Kyle Lohrman (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), who finished with a career-high 17 tackles, including two for loss. He also broke up a pass and registered a sack. Junior linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) added 11 tackles and a key fourth-quarter interception that preserved the victory. Trine's defense got a lift from Selking, who finished with 16 tackles, and Aaron Shomaker, who added 15 stops.
