GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers may have beaten the Denison Big Red for the 16th straight time, but it was anything but easy.
The Tigers ran their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) winning streak to 17 in a row with a 30-23 victory over the Big Red, who have not defeated Wittenberg since 1989. The seven-point margin was the closest between the two teams since Wittenberg pulled out a 24-21 decision in 1990. Since then, the Big Red haven't come any closer than 14 points.
On this night, however, Denison opened the scoring with a short field goal and closed the game with a touchdown pass with 2:27 remaining that brought the Big Red within one score. In between, the Tigers got the better of things, thanks in large part to the work of its special teams.
Wittenberg's first touchdown of the game came on an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by junior Armon Murray (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) with 10:36 left in the second quarter. Along with a pair of field goals by junior Evan Grissom (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), the Tigers held a tenuous 13-9 advantage at halftime.
Wittenberg's offense finally got untracked in the second half as juniors Zach Culvahouse (Fort Myers, Fla./Estero) and Zack Jenkins (Frostproof, Fla./Frostproof) hooked up twice for touchdown passes. But over the final 13 minutes, the Tigers managed just one more Grissom field goal, while Denison answered with a pair of touchdowns passes in the fourth quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, Denison was whistled for a personal foul on a Wittenberg punt that gave the Tigers a first down and effectively ended the game.
Wittenberg finished the game with just 355 yards of total offense, including 293 through the air. Jenkins went 16-of-26 passing, with Culvahouse and sophomore Luke Landis (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) each with six receptions. Junior Jimmy Dehnke (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) filled in again at wide receiver due to injuries, and he contributed two catches for 66 yards, including a clutch 31-yard reception that set up the Tigers' final field goal.
Senior linebacker Evan Killilea (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales) led the Tiger defense with nine tackles and a sack. Senior safety Gabe Cunningham (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) added eight tackles, junior cornerback Ryan Myers (Palm Harbor, Fla./University) contributed three pass break-ups, senior linebacker Nick Gibson (Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks) finished with seven tackles, including five solos, and junior defensive tackle Josh Bannick (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) came up with a pair of sacks.
Wittenberg improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the league, while Denison dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC. The Tigers will hit the road for another key NCAC game next week at Wooster. First kick is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Written By: Ryan Maurer