Granville, OH – For the first time since 2018, when it took four overtime periods on the road to defeat the Big Red, the Wittenberg Tiger football team came back on the road to defeat Denison University, 27-24, in overtime.
Trailing by seven at the half, Wittenberg scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 14-7 lead.
Denison found the Tiger endzone twice in the fourth quarter, cutting into the Wittenberg 21-7 advantage and forcing overtime at 21-21.
Wittenberg's defense would stand strong on the first possession by the Big Red, holding Denison to a 35-yard field goal to start the first overtime period.
Tyler May would seal the Wittenberg win with a 24-yard touchdown reception on the second Tiger play of their offensive possession in overtime.
After a scoreless first-half, Dean Tate cut through the Denison defense on the first possession of the third quarter and reeling in a 74-yard Max Milton touchdown pass.
One of Milton's favorite targets throughout the early going this season has been his tight end Troy Teepe. Milton would find his tight end for his fourth touchdown reception of the season, giving Wittenberg their first lead of the day, 14-7, completing the 10-yard touchdown pass into the Big Red endzone.
The Tigers had one more scoring drive to put together as the fourth quarter got underway, marching 58-yards in nine plays. Bryce Anderson scored his third touchdown of the season, capping off the scoring drive with a one-yard run into the Big Red endzone and extending the Tiger advantage, 21-7, with just under 12 minutes in the fourth quarter.
The Big Red would put together two late long scoring drives of over 50-yards each and eating up over four minutes of clock in the final quarter to bring the game back to 21-21 and force overtime.
The Wittenberg defensive front would stand strong down the stretch as the Tigers tallied four sacks of the Denison quarterback on the afternoon. Tyre Smith led the team in tackles with 12, including one sack and two tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hurries. Eli Renick would get to the Big Red quarterback three times, setting Denison back 26-yards in total. Renick would add a broken-up pass to go along with his eight tackles on the afternoon.