(left) Adrian Crane (No. 88) celebrates another touchdown catch - this one against previously unbeaten Ohio Wesleyan.

Setting the Scene

The Wittenberg University Tigers hit the road again on Saturday to take on the Earlham Quakers. The four-time defending NCAC champions have already clinched a share of a fifth consecutive conference championship and a berth in the their fourth straight NCAA Division III playoffs, but the Tigers still have a great deal to play for against the 2-5 Quakers.

The Tigers, ranked 11th in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll, are 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the NCAC after last weeks convincing 39-0 victory over Hiram. It was Wittenbergs fourth straight comfortable victory over a conference opponent after games that went to the wire against Alma, Wabash and Allegheny.

This week, Wittenberg can win its 29th straight conference football game, extending a record-breaking streak of football dominance started on Nov. 11, 1997 against this weeks opponent, Earlham. The Tigers can finish with their fourth straight perfect NCAC record with a win against Earlham, making this years seniors the first class in school or NCAC history to win every conference game in its four years. In addition, the Tiger seniors can match last years graduating class with a 39-1 four-year regular season record.

Earlham was expected to be a contender in 2001, but the Quakers have not been for a variety of reasons. Under 17th-year head coach Frank Carr, who has a record at EC of 45-117, the Quakers are 2-5 in the 2001, including a 1-3 mark in the NCAC. Earlham has lost three straight since opening conference action with a 27-10 win over Hiram.

Among the Best

Wittenberg ranks first in the NCAC in scoring offense (39.9), scoring defense (11.9 ppg), pass defense (162.8 ypg), total defense (258.2 ypg), kickoff returns (23.2 ypr), turnover margin (1.44) and opponent fourth-down conversions (9 percent).

In the most recent NCAA Division III statistics, Wittenberg is among the top 30 in the nation in six of the nine categories. The Tigers are 21st in turnover margin, 11th in scoring defense, tied for 13th in scoring offense, tied for 28th in rushing defense (95.4 ypg), tied for 28th in rushing offense (223.9) and 25th in total defense.

Individually, only tailback Daniel Grove leads an NCAC statistical category, that being rushing touchdowns (17). Grove, with three straight 100-yard rushing game under his belt, has moved to 26th nationally in rushing at 117.3 yards per game and into a tie for ninth in scoring at 12.0 points per game. In addition, quarterback Greg Cornett is 14th in pass efficiency at 152.7.

Among the Best Part 2:

Wittenbergs win over Denison in which the Tigers put up 72 points was the fourth-best scoring total in the nation this season. In addition, the 59-7 win over Heidelberg in Week 2 is tied for 29th most points in a game.

Tailback Daniel Groves 259-yard rushing day against Ohio Wesleyan wsa the seventh-best total of the season in Division III. The top rushing total of the season was 315 yards by Dave Burrill of Maine Maritime.

Scouting the Tigers:

Wittenberg is 8-1, ranked No. 11 in the nation, and situated in its customary position atop the NCAC with a 6-0 record. The Tigers lone defeat came on Sept. 15 at Alma, 26-24. The Tigers are outscoring their opponents 39.9-11.9 and are outgaining their foes by a whopping 416.3-258.2. Only Alma scored more than 20 points against Wittenberg this year, and only Wabash held the Tigers below 20 points in a game.

Junior tailback Daniel Grove leads the team with 1056 yards rushing and an NCAC-best 18 touchdowns (17 rushing) after three straight 100-yard games the last three weeks. Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic has been sensational with 46 catches for 650 yards and eight touchdowns, including the biggest play of the year, the game-winner with 16 seconds left against Allegheny. Junior quarterback Greg Cornett has played well in his first season under center, completing 121 of 202 passes for 1698 yards and 16 touchdowns. His efficiency rating of 152.69 just keeps getting better, tops in the NCAC and 18th in the nation.

Defense, expected to be a strength for the Tigers in 2001 after they led the NCAC in total defense for the eighth time in nine years in 2000, has risen to the challenge since the first half of the loss to Alma in which it surrendered 23 points. Junior linebackerRyan Gresham leads the Tigers with 42.5 tackles. Senior defensive end Tim Daousttops the squad in sacks with 7.5. Senior defensive tackle Juan Howard is among the best in the conference with 15 tackles for loss. And senior safety John Hauser leads the team and is among the best in the NCAC with four interceptions and eight passes defensed.

Scouting the Quakers:

The Earlham football program appeared to be on the rise in 2000 as the Quakers finished 6-4, their first winning season since 1994. But the 2001 season hasnt gone as well, starting with a 23-22 loss to Rose-Hulman on Sept. 1. Since then, the Quakers have struggled to a 2-5 overall record and a 1-3 NCAC mark.

Earlhams problems have been varied. In four of the Quakers five losses, the opponent has put at least 38 points on the board, as opposed to Earlhams average of 11 points per game. Two telling statistics include: Earlham has 18 more penalties an average of almost nine per game than its opponents this season, and the Quakers have thrown 12 interceptions as opposed to five for their opponents.

The Quakers spread the ball around on offense, led by running backs Jermel Hurt and Darrian Story, who have 435 and 341 yards on the season respectively. The quarterbacking duties are split evenly between Quincy Adams and Jeremiah King, although neither is completing 50 percent of his passes this year. The leading receiver is Will Hughes, who has 25 catches for 494 yards and five TDs. Defensively, standout linebackers Robert and Rodney Gunn are the story again this year with 51 and 50 tackles respectively. No one else on the team has more than 34 tackles.

Last Meeting with Earlham Nov. 4, 2000:

The Tigers rolled to another big victory at Edwards-Maurer Field, coming back from an early deficit and several potentially costly turnovers to defeat visiting Earlham, 37-14. The win improved the Tigers to 10-0 overall in 2000 and 7-0 in the NCAC, the third straight year that Wittenberg ran the table in regular season and conference action. The Tigers became the first school to capture three straight outright NCAC titles and four straight crowns overall.

On Senior Recognition Day, head coach Joe Fincham became the first Tiger coach to reach 50 career wins in less than 60 games; tailback Casey Donaldson ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns to become the first player in school history to top 5,000 career rushing yards; and the senior class won for the 39th time in regular season play and 41st time overall, both tops in Wittenberg history.

Earlham struck first, taking the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown, the last 69 coming on a perfectly executed pass play from quarterback Jeremiah King to wide receiver Will Hughes. The Tigers broke through as Donaldson found the end zone with 18 seconds left in the first quarter on a 23-yard scamper and then scored two more times to open the second quarter on runs of five and six yards. Wittenberg then poured it on in the second quarter as placekicker Ryan Walker added a 22-yard field goal and sophomore Ryan Gresham caught a blocked punt and ran 13 yards for the score to make it 31-7 with 2:04 left before halftime.

In the second half, Walker tacked on a field goal before giving way to teammateMatthew Johnson, who added a 25 yarder of his own in the fourth quarter. Earlhams lone score in the second half came with four seconds left in the third quarter on a 15-yard TD pass from King to Mike Kitchel, who was the top receiver in the game for either team with seven catches for 44 yards.

The Tigers finished with two 100-yard rushers for the third straight week as Jason Stephan posted 137 yards on 20 carries. Donaldson totaled 155 on 19 carries to run his season yardage to 1,396 and career yardage to 5,112. It was also his eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the season and 24th in his career, both Wittenberg records.

The Wittenberg/Earlham Series:

The two schools first squared off on the gridiron in 1897 with the Tigers holding a 21-8 advantage. The two teams played regularly through 1919, with Wittenberg holding a narrow 9-8 series advantage at that point. The rivalry wasnt renewed until 1989 when Wittenberg joined the NCAC, and the Tigers have won all 12 meetings since then by an average of 37 points per game.

The domination, however, runs all the way back to 1910, when Wittenberg was victorious 5-3, avenging a 31-0 loss to Earlham the year before. Since then, Wittenberg has recorded seven shutout wins and 12 and 18 straight victories.

Last Week:

It was cold. The snow flurries were swirling. The winds were whipping. And the field was a muddy pit in which no player could gain traction. No matter. The Wittenberg Tigers continued their march toward a fifth consecutive NCAC championship with a 39-0 victory at Hiram last Saturday. The victory, which improved Wittenberg to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the NCAC while dropping Hiram to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC, earned the Tigers at least a share of that title.

Junior tailback Daniel Grove continued his hot streak with a career-high four touchdowns and 115 yards rushing, including three running scores in the first half alone. He added a touchdown on a 39-yard pass play from junior quarterback Greg Cornett in the third quarter. The four TDs gave Grove an NCAC-best 18 on the season and also gave him 10 in the last three weeks.

Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic caught three passes for 25 yards to inch closer to several school receiving records. But his biggest contribution to Saturdays victory came on a reverse as he took a handoff from Grove, got a huge block from Cornett and scampered 20 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. Freshman tailback Alex Smithmopped up in the fourth quarter, picking up 60 yards on eight carries and scored the games final touchdown. He also scored the two-point conversion. Leading the charge was senior linebacker Nic Black, whose filthy jersey was seen everywhere as he recorded eight tackles. Junior linebacker Ryan Gresham had 5.5 tackles and senior defensive tackle Mike Houck chipped in with six tackles.

Defensive Record

The Wittenberg defense held Hiram to just one completion for a six-yard loss in the entire game. Wittenberg had held six opponents over the years to zero yards passing, but it had never held one with negative yardage in that category. The negative six yards passing tied an NCAA Division III record set by Central (Iowa) against Simpson in 1985.

Streaks

The loss at Alma on Sept. 15 snapped Wittenbergs school-record regular season win streak at 33, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997 against the College of Wooster.

Wittenberg still has several streaks intact, however. The Tigers extended their regular season home win streak to 34 games with a perfect 5-0 mark this season. That streak dates back to the second game of the 1996 season against Allegheny. The Tigers have also reeled off 28 straight NCAC victories dating back to the 1997 loss at Wooster.

Finally, Wittenberg has gone 10 years since losing back-to-back games. In 1991, Case Western Reserve and Allegheny both claimed wins over the Tigers. At the end of the 91 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then the Tigers were beaten in the 92 opener by Baldwin-Wallace before they reeled off eight wins and a tie to close the season.

Since the loss to B-W, Wittenberg has played 105 games without losing two straight (not including a forfeit win over Oberlin in 1992). The Tigers record during that time is 94-10-1.

On Target:

In his first season under center, junior quarterback Greg Cornett has done a lot of things right. Perhaps most important, Cornett has thrown just four interceptions this year and none in the last four weeks. His last pick came on Wittenbergs first possession against Allegheny, meaning that Cornett has now gone 19 quarters without an interception.
With one game left that counts toward season statistics, Cornett has 1698 yards, 121 completions and 16 touchdowns, putting him on pace for 1887 yards, 135 completions and 18 scores. The school records in each category are 2181 yards, 141 completions and 24 TDs.

One More for the Record

Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic was on a pace for the greatest receiving season in Wittenberg history through the first five weeks of the season, but four consecutive blowouts have limited his playing time and the Tigers need to throw the football. Aljancic now has a career-high 46 catches in 2001, tied for third-best in Wittenberg history, and 139 career receptions, just four behind Rod Millers record of 143.

Career Records

PASS RECEIVING No. Yds. Avg. TD
1. Rod Miller (1964-67) 143 2,288 16.0 26
2. Michael Aljancic (1998-00) 139 2,109 15.2 25
3. Jim Collins (1984-87) 116 1,560 13.4 11
4. Labon Storts (1997-00) 96 1,612 16.8 14
5. Ray Ward (1967-69) 95 1,308 13.8 13
6. Bob Cherry (1961-63) 90 1,790 19.9 27
7. Eugene Hardin (1994-96) 89 1,321 14.8 15
8. Russ Fedyk (1995-99) 85 1,317 16.8 14
9. Mark Peters (1991-94) 80 1,146 14.3 12
10. Chris Thompson (1990-93) 73 866 11.9 9

Aljancic is averaging just over five catches per game in 2001, projecting to a total of 51 for the season, which would put him just behind the Wittenberg season receptions record set four years ago by Russ Fedyk. Aljancic has already established new career highs for receptions (46) in a season, and he is just 20 yards from his best season total of 670 yards receiving, set last year on 39 receptions. In addition, Aljancic has already reached his top total of eight touchdowns in a season.

SEASON Records

PASS RECEIVING G No. Yds. Avg. TD
1. Russ Fedyk (1997) 10 53 954 18.0 10
2. Rod Miller (1966) 9 49 706 14.4 8
3. Jim Collins (1987) 10 46 557 12.1 7
Michael Aljancic (2001) 9 46 650 14.1 8
5. Bob Cherry (1963) 9 45 886 19.7 13
6. Ray Ward (1969) 9 44 582 13.2 7
7. Eugene Hardin (1995) 10 39 718 18.4 8
8. Michael Aljancic (2000) 10 39 670 17.2 8
9. Rod Miller (1967) 9 38 603 15.9 6
10. Ray Ward (1968) 9 37 534 14.4 5
Michael Aljancic (1999) 10 37 572 15.5 6

Coach of the Year

Joe Fincham is now 60-6 in his career. Perhaps even more impressive, Fincham is 56-3 in regular season games and 41-2 against NCAC foes. Last year, he became the first Wittenberg coach to earn conference coach of the year honors three straight years. Dave Maurer won the award in the Ohio Athletic Conference three times in four years (1976, 1978, 1979) and Bill Edwards coached at a time when such awards were not given. Maurer and Edwards both also won national coach of the year on two occasions.

Photo by Lisa Ventre