Game Notes: Third Time A Charm? Tigers Hope So On Saturday

2000 NCAA Div. III Playoffs: Wittenberg (11-0, 7-0 NCAC Champs) vs. Hanover (8-3, 6-1 HCAC Champs)
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2000 • Kickoff: Noon • Edwards-Maurer Field

Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs for the third straight year with a 31-20 victory over visiting Aurora University last weekend at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Tigers struggled early and were locked in a 7-7 halftime tie before the senior class rallied the troops as they have so many times before.

Labon Storts' 44-yard touchdown gave the Tigers some much-need breathing room in the playoff win over Aurora

Leading the charge was senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who rambled for three unanswered touchdowns after the Spartans, champions of the Illini-Badger Conference, had taken an early 7-0 lead. Donaldson, the Tigers' all-time leader in rushing yards, attempts and touchdowns, added to his lore by picking up 178 yards and dazzling the crowd with several highlight-reel runs. It was the fifth time in five playoff starts that Donaldson had picked up at least 130 yards.

Also getting into the act was senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland), who caught a slant pass from senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and turned it into a back-breaking 44-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. He was sprung on the play by a nifty cutback and a fine downfield block by sophomore wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis).

The win moved the Tigers into a familiar position opposite an unfamiliar opponent. Wittenberg takes on Hanover College, a 20-3 first round victor over Hope College last weekend, in the second round of the postseason competition. Hanover, which comes in sporting an 8-3 record after winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, features a high-octane passing offense and record-setting senior quarterback Eric Bruns.

• • •

Back Again: The Wittenberg Tigers have made it a habit in recent years. The last three seasons have all included perfect 10-0 records in the regular season and undefeated marks in the constantly evolving North Coast Athletic Conference (Wittenberg went 8-0 in 1998, 6-0 in 1999 as Oberlin took a year away from competition, and 7-0 this year with the additions of Hiram and Wabash and the introduction of a power-weighted schedule).

What the last two years have also included are heart-breaking defeats in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Two years ago, eventual national champion Mount Union turned the trick on its home field, surviving a late charge by the Tigers to capture a hard-fought 21-19 victory. Then last year, Wittenberg was the higher seed and hosted a red-hot Ohio Northern team that invaded Edwards-Maurer Field and scored the first 24 points in the game. The Tigers suffered their worst playoff loss ever to the Polar Bears, limping off the field with a 58-24 loss.

This year, the Tigers will attempt to avoid a similar fate against Hanover. Again, Wittenberg is the higher-seeded favorite, but like last year the opposition comes in on a roll, having won six straight since starting the year 2-3.

• • •

Streaks: Wittenberg has had its problems in the postseason the last two years, but there is no denying the Tigers' dominance during the regular season. Wittenberg and Head Coach Joe Fincham have now have won 31 straight regular season games and 22 straight NCAC games, dating back to a 21-19 loss at the hands of the College of Wooster Fighting Scots.

The Tigers also haven't lost a regular season game at home since 1996 and Head Coach Joe Fincham's second game, a 26-14 defeat at the hands of Allegheny College. That's a span of 29 straight home victories. Since losing three home games in 1991, the Tigers have a phenomenal home record of 47-3, with the only losses coming against Ohio Northern in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Division III playoffs, Baldwin-Wallace in the 1992 opener and Allegheny in 1996.

The NCAC record for consecutive conference victories (22) is now held jointly by Allegheny and the current Wittenberg squad. Ironically, the Gators' streak began after a 17-12 loss to Wittenberg in 1992 and ended with a 31-17 loss to the Tigers in 1995. In between, Allegheny went undefeated in the NCAC under Head Coach Ken O'Keefe in 1993 and 1994.

Wittenberg's 22-game NCAC win streak is part of an amazing string of success the Tigers have enjoyed over the last few decades. Since 1991, when the Tigers finished 5-3 in the conference, Wittenberg is 63-4 against NCAC competition. In fact, since joining the conference in 1989, the Tigers have not had a losing record against NCAC competition and sport a 78-12 mark.

But that's not all. Wittenberg has never suffered through a losing conference season. The closest was in 1971, when the Tigers went 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference under future Hall of Fame Head Coach Dave Maurer. Wittenberg finished 5-4 overall that year after two straight undefeated campaigns.

• • •

Coaching Milestone: Wittenberg University is led by Head Coach Joe Fincham, who became the fastest of the six men in school history to win 50 games in a career with the season-ending victory over Earlham.

Fincham has compiled a 51-4 overall record in nearly five complete seasons, and he has posted a regular season record of 48-2 and an NCAC mark of 35-2. The former Ohio University standout and Williamstown, W.Va. native, who was the NCAC Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, has led the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs three straight years, and his teams have captured at least a share of the league title each of the last four seasons.

He is the only Wittenberg head man to lead the Tigers to the postseason three straight years.

• • •

All-NCAC Honors: To the victors, go the spoils, and the Tigers took home plenty of them as the 2000 All-NCAC teams were announced earlier this week.

Casey Donaldson has topped 100 yards in all five playoff games he has played in

Head Coach Joe Fincham was named NCAC Coach of the Year for a third straight year, and Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) took home the Mike Gregory Offensive Player of the Year award for an unprecedented third straight season.

Joining Donaldson on the first team were junior wide receiver Mike Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), junior offensive lineman Matt Leisure (Canton, Ohio/McKinley), senior offensive lineman Mark Sunderman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), junior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster), sophomore outside linebacker Andy Pope (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota East), junior inside linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready), junior safety John Hauser (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley), sophomore cornerback Elio Harmon (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge), senior placekicker Ryan Walker (Newark, Ohio/Newark), senior punter Matt Gallatin (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) and junior kick returner Jay Jackson (Columbus, Ohio/South).

Making the second team were senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis)and junior defensive lineman Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic). Honorable mention went to senior fullback Gary Henson (Columbus, Ohio/Marion-Franklin), senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland), junior defensive lineman Michael Houck (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) and senior defensive back Rob Harris (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow).