Wittenberg (11-0) vs. Ohio Northern (10-1) Saturday, Nov. 27

SCENE SETTER
Wittenberg (11-0) hosts Ohio Northern University (10-1) in the second round of the NCAA Division III at 12:00 noon on Saturday, Nov. 27. In last week's first round action, the Tigers defeated Alma College 42-19 and Ohio Northern upset third seeded Hanover College 56-14.

• Last Week: Second seeded Wittenberg came out strong against Alma last week scoring 21 points before Alma responded with 13 points of its own minutes before the half. Alma scored again in the opening minutes of the third, but the Tigers would respond with 21 more points including a defensive touchdown on a fumble return by Juan Howard to win the game 42-19. Quarterback Anthony Crane completed eight of 13 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns in his return after missing two weeks.

• In the NCAC: Wittenberg finished in the top spot in three categories in the NCAC. The Tigers were first in rush defense, scoring offense and turnover margin. The Tigers were second in four categories: total offense, rush offense, pass offense and scoring defense.

• In the NCAA: Last week in Division III, the Tigers were 11th in scoring defense, 15th in scoring offense, 16th in rushing offense, and 21st in turnover margin.

• NCAA Division III Playoffs: Wittenberg has made seven previous appearances to the Division III playoffs. The Tigers won titles in 1973 and 1975 by defeating Juniata 41-0 and Ithaca 28-0, respectively. In 1978, the Tigers fell to Baldwin-Wallace 24-10 and in 1979 to Ithaca 14-10, both losses coming in the Stagg Bowl. Wittenberg's next trip was in 1988 when they upset Dayton 35-28 in double overtime before losing to Augustana 28-14 in the North Regional final. In 1995 the Tigers lost to Wheaton (Ill.) 63-41 in the first round. Last year the Tigers defeated Millikin 13-10 and then fell to eventual national champion Mount Union 21-19 in the North Regional final.

SERIES NOTES: 
This will be the 40th meeting between the two schools with the Tigers holding a 24-14-1 edge over the Polar Bears. Wittenberg last played Ohio Northern in 1988, the final season the Tigers were members of the Ohio Athletic Conference, and won 35-7.

RADIO:
WBLY (AM 1600) carries all the action of Tiger football with Marty Bannister calling the play by play, former Tiger All-American Xan Smith serving as analyst and Kevin Espelage as sideline reporter. WBLY¹s coverage begins 60 minutes prior to kickoff with features, previews and in-depth interviews on the game.

THE COACHES:
Wittenberg Coach Joe Fincham (Ohio '88) is in his fourth season as the Tigers' head football coach with a 40-3 overall record after serving six years as the Tigers' offensive line coach In NCAC action, he is 28-2. Head coach Tom Kaczkowski is in his 14th season with the Polar Bears and has a 70-68-2 overall record.

POLAR BEAR NOTES: 

• Last Week: Sixth seeded Ohio Northern traveled to third seeded Hanover in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs and rolled past the Panthers 56-14. Ohio Northern amassed 722 total offensive yards including 452 in the air. Quarterback Shane Frazer completed 22 of 36 passes for 452 yards and threw for three touchdowns in the victory. On the ground, the Polar Bears were led by Jamal Robertson who totaled 146 yards on 28 carries.

• Ohio Northern led the OAC in scoring defense and was second in the conference to Mount Union in passing defense, total defense, scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense.

• Junior running back Jamal Robertson set single-season school rushing records with 237 attempts for 1,544 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has rushed for over 100 yards in nine of 11 games for the Polar Bears this season. Robertson led the OAC in rushing touchdowns and was second in rushing yardage.

• Freshman linebacker Brad Lohr is the team leader in tackles this season with 77 including 55 solos and three interceptions.

TIGER TALES:

• Junior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) completed eight of 13 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns in his comeback since sustaining a broken collarbone in the eighth week of the schedule. In the first possession of the game, he completed a 15 yard pass to receiver Labon Storts as the Tigers took a quick 7-0 lead. He threw two 25 yard touchdown passes in the third quarter to Storts and Michael Aljancic to secure the Tiger victory. Crane was second in the conference in pass efficiency with a 147.7 rating and in total offense with 149.5 yards per game and is 24th in Division III in passing efficiency.

• Junior Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, O./Southeastern) continued his successful career into the playoffs as he rushed for 152 yards on 28 carries in the win over Alma. He has rushed for over 100 yards in six of the 10 games this season including a career high of 282 yards against Case Reserve. He is only 43 yards shy of the career rushing record of 3,759 yards set by Dave Merritt (1975-78). Despite missing a game and a half with an injury, Donaldson totaled 1,308 yards in the regular season and is only the second athlete in Tiger history to rush for over 1,000 yards in two consecutive seasons. Donaldson averaged 145.3 yards per game and was 15th in Division III in rushing average. He led the conference in scoring with 10.0 points per game.

• Senior wide receiver and returner Russ Fedyk (Strongsville, O./Strongsville) has continued to make a strong appearance on the field each week. Against Kenyon, Fedyk had four receptions for 35 yards. On the season he has hauled in nine receptions for 118 yards. Fedyk, who has had two operations since sustaining a knee injury in the 1998 season opener, first saw action in the game against Earlham. Fedyk finished his career sixth on the all-time receiving list with 85 receptions.

• Sophomore middle linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, O./Ready) continues to carry his success into the 1999 season. In last week's action he recorded a team high 10 tackles and one interception. Goldsbury was the team leader in tackles with 95 including 54 solo tackles, nine tackles for a loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries including one against Allegheny which led to the winning touchdown for the Tigers.

• Sophomore receiver Mike Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) is playing an impressive role for the Tigers on offense, as he has 37 receptions for 572 yards. Against Alma, he had two receptions for 50 yards including a 25 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Crane. He finished eighth in the single-season leaders list with the 37 receptions. Aljancic was second in the league in receiving, second in receiving yards and is seventh in all-purpose yards. He had a career high nine receptions in the game against Earlham.

• Junior Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) had one of the biggest games of his career in the opening round of the playoffs. Storts hauled in four receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns including a 15 yard touchdown pass in the first possession of the game. On the season, he had 31 receptions for 614 yards and six touchdowns.

• Sophomore Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) scored his first collegiate defensive touchdown in last week's win. Howard recovered a fumble and returned in 33 yards for the score. A starting defensive tackle, Howard was third on the team in total tackles with 55 and was the team leader in tackles for a loss with 13.

• Fourth Down Conversions: In regular season contests, the Tigers were an amazing 14 of 18 in fourth-down conversions. Against Case Reserve, the Tigers converted seven of seven fourth-downs.

• Ground Forces: According to research by Dickinson College, Wittenberg has the fifth-best rushing offense in Division III during the 1990s. The Tigers led the NCAC in rushing offense for the fourth consecutive season, and a Tiger running back was the conference leader for the fifth time in nine years.

• Home, Sweet Home: Since 1923, when Wittenberg Stadium was opened on the current site of Edwards-Maurer Field, Wittenberg has a home-field record of 262-89-10 (.740), and since 1955 the record is 177-34-4 (.833). The Tigers are 41-1 at home since 1992 and 38-1 on the artificial surface.

• Streaking Tigers: Wittenberg has won the last 24 consecutive games at home and 21 straight regular season games. The Tigers also have a streak of 82 consecutive games scoring. The last time the Tigers were shut out was the opening game of the 1992 season when they lost to Baldwin-Wallace 20-0.

TIGER NUMBERS IN THE 1990s:

• Overall: 86-16-1 (.840)
• vs. NCAC: 71-12 (.855)
• At home: 46-7 (.868)
• At Edwards-Maurer Field: 38-1 (.974) 
• On the road: 40-9-1 (.810) 
• NCAC on the road: 33-5 (.868)

ON THE WEB: The latest statistics and information on Wittenberg Tiger football can be found on Wittenberg University's website at http://www.wittenberg.edu/news/athletics/football. Wittenberg also offers play-by-play on the internet carrying WBLY's coverage of each game.

THE TIGER TRADITION:
Wittenberg has won more games (603) than any other Division III football program. Since 1955, Wittenberg¹s record is 350-79-7 (.811) with 18 conference championships, seven Division III playoff appearances and national titles in 1962, 1964, 1973 and 1975. In addition Wittenberg has had more first team All-America players (27) than any other Division III program.

NEXT UP:
The winner of the the second round game will advance and play the winner of the Mount Union/Augustana contest on Saturday, Dec. 4 with kickoff at 12:00 noon. Mount Union, three-time defending national champion, is the top seed in the bracket and received a bye in the first round. Augustana knocked off St. Norbert in the first round 39-32.