Donaldson powers Tigers past Wooster; Another big battle on tap for this week

Game 8: Wittenberg (7-0, 4-0 NCAC) @ Ohio Wesleyan (4-2, 2-1 NCAC)
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2000 Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. Selby Field (cap. 9,100)

Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers continued their winning ways last weekend, rallying from a 26-26 third quarter tie to turn back a stern challenge from the visiting College of Wooster Fighting Scots, 42-26. The Tigers improved to 7-0 overall with their 28th straight regular season victory, and 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with their 19th straight league win.

Wittenberg got 262 yards and four touchdowns, including a 16-yard burst that broke the tie, from record-setting running back Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) in the win over Wooster, the last team to defeat the Tigers during the regular season (1997). The win moved the Tigers one step closer to a third straight outright NCAC championship. The Tigers remain the only unbeaten team in the league and have the inside track to become the first team to win three straight outright titles or four straight overall crowns since the conferences inception in 1984.

Last Week: The last time Wittenberg lost a regular season game on the gridiron, it was the College of Wooster Fighting Scots celebrating a dramatic 21-19 victory at John P. Papp Stadium in Wooster, which earned the Scots a three-way tie for the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference. Since then, the Tigers have reeled off 28 consecutive regular season wins and 19 straight NCAC victories including a 42-26 victory over the visiting Scots Saturday before a crowd of 3,258 at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield.

In this years annual showdown, the two teams battled to an even draw with the lead see-sawing back and forth through the first three quarters until Donaldson broke off a highlight-reel 16-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left before the final stanza to put the Tigers back on top for good at 33-26. Donaldson was the difference in the game, going for 262 yards on 34 carries and scoring four touchdowns, including a back-breaking 61-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach. He now has 953 yards this season and 4,669 for his career, both Wittenberg and NCAC records. In addition, he has 62 career touchdowns - 61 rushing - and 372 career points, all Wittenberg and NCAC records.

Also finding the end zone in the game was junior wide receiver Mike Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), who hauled in a 44-yard TD strike from senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) to open the scoring in the first quarter. The pair added a 29-yard hook-up late in the second quarter as well. Rounding out Wittenbergs scoring was a safety in which Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) sacked Wooster third-string quarterback Mike Ray in the end zone.

Wittenberg got another fine performance from Crane, who threw for 227 yards on 13 completions in 23 attempts. He threw two touchdowns, both to Aljancic, but he also had two balls intercepted. Senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) was his favorite target, catching five passes for 97 yards.

Defensively, junior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready)had a game-high 12 tackles for the Tigers. Still, Wittenberg gave up the most points in one game since a 26-14 loss to Allegheny in the second week of the 1996 season.

Streaks: Wittenberg has taken care of business again this year, winning its first seven games by an average margin of 26.4 points per game. The Tigers now have won 28 straight regular season games, dating back to a 21-19 loss at the hands of the College of Wooster Fighting Scots in the second-to-last game of the 1997 season.

But thats just the beginning of Wittenbergs various streaks. The Tigers havent lost a regular season game at home since 1996 and Head Coach Joe Finchams second game, a 26-14 defeat at the hands of Allegheny College. Thats a span of 27 straight regular season home victories. Since losing three home games in 1991, the Tigers have a phenomenal home record of 45-2, with the only losses coming against Baldwin-Wallace in the 1992 opener and the aforementioned contest against Allegheny. That doesnt include last years loss to Ohio Northern in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

On the road, Wittenberg isnt too shabby either. Including this years 3-0 mark on the road, the Tigers carry a 33-4-1 mark when away from Edwards-Maurer Field during the regular season since 1992. The contest against Ohio Wesleyan will be Wittenbergs final road contest of the 2000 season unless the team qualifies for the NCAA Division III playoffs and is forced to travel.

Finally, Wittenberg carries a 19-game North Coast Athletic Conference win streak into this weekends contest, also dating back to that 1997 defeat against Wooster. Since 1991, a season in which the Tigers finished 5-3 in the conference, Wittenberg is 58-4 against NCAC competition. That includes four outright NCAC titles, all made possible by perfect league records, and at least a share of five championships in that span.

The Series: The Wittenberg-Ohio Wesleyan series dates back to 1894, a game won by the Tigers 24-0, and since Wittenberg joined the NCAC in 1989 the Tigers hold a decisive 8-3 edge and it currently on an eight-game win streak.

Historically, however, the series has been very competitive. In fact, Ohio Wesleyan is one of only two opponents on the 2000 schedule that the Tigers do not have a winning overall record against. The first was Allegheny, and Wittenberg is now tied in the all-time series at 6-6 following the 35-21 win in Meadville on Sept. 30. The second is Ohio Wesleyan as the Bishops have played the Tigers to a 35-35-6 all-time standoff.

One more item regarding the Wittenberg-Ohio Wesleyan series: the Bishops have been shut out in each of the last two games. The last time Ohio Wesleyan scored a point against Wittenberg was in the fourth quarter of the 1997 confrontation, won by the Tigers 37-12.

Stop Me If Youve Heard This One Before: Senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was named North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week on October 15 in recognition of yet another amazing performance, this time against Wooster. He also was named Player of the Week on September 5 for his performance against Urbana University in the first week of the season in which he broke the Wittenberg career rushing mark; and then he was selected again on Oct. 1 for breaking the NCAC rushing record with a huge second-half performance against Allegheny.

In each of the last two years, Donaldson has won Player of the Week honors six times. And in his career, Donaldson, the 1997 Newcomer of the Year and 1998 and 1999 Offensive Player of the Year, has been so honored on nine different occasions.

This time, Donaldson earned the honors for a huge second half in which he picked up his team and carried them one step closer to a fourth straight NCAC title. With the game tied at 26 near the end of the third quarter, Donaldson broke out to score two clutch touchdowns and went on to finish the game with season-highs in yardage, 262, and carries, 34. It was his sixth career 200-yard game the 19th in Wittenberg history and the second-most yards he ever had in one game (his career best came on Oct. 23, 1999 at Case Western Reserve, a 282-yard effort).

It was also the second straight year he had torched Wooster for 200-plus yards. In the Tigers 28-14 victory over the Scots in Wooster last year, Donaldson rang up a 240-yard total, just two weeks after going for 282 yards and two touchdowns against Case Western. Donaldson now holds just about every Wittenberg and NCAC rushing and scoring record out there except rushing attempts. He is first in Wittenberg history with 774, but only third in NCAC annals. Chris Spriggs, who played for Denison from 1983-86 and was the previous NCAC rushing yardage king, is second with 787, and Brian Grandison of Wooster from 1988-91 is first with 889.

Donaldson now has 4,669 yards rushing in his illustrious career, putting him No. 1 in Wittenberg history, No. 1 in NCAC history, and also unofficially at No. 13 in NCAA Division III history (based on numbers at the beginning of the 2000 season). Shane Davis, who toted the pigskin for Loras from 1994-97, racked up 4,738 yards in 694 carries to land in 12th place. And Steve Dixon, who was on the Beloit teams from 1990-93, is 11th at 4,792 yards on 986 carries.

Donaldson also now has 62 touchdowns in his career 61 rushing and 372 points, all Wittenberg and NCAC records. The point total puts him, again unofficially but based on pre-2000 season rankings, No. 10 all-time and just two points out of the ninth position held by Chris Babirad of Washington & Jefferson from 1989-92.

Finally, Donaldson has moved up to No. 2 in Wittenberg history in total offense. Charlie Green, who quarterbacked the Red & White from 1961-64 and compiled a total of 5,774 yards, tops the list. He is now trailed by Donaldson, who now has 143 yards receiving, 4,669 yards rushing, 108 yards on kickoff returns and 143 yards passing for 5,063 yards in his four years with the Tigers. Donaldson recently surpassed Rocky Alt, who played for Wittenberg from 1967-70 and finished with 4,275 yards.

The Coaches: Two of the best young coaches around will lead their teams into Selby Field Saturday in Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and Ohio Wesleyan Head Coach Mike Hollway.

Fincham, who has compiled a 47-4 overall record in nearly five complete seasons, has posted a regular season record of 45-2 and an NCAC mark of 31-2 in his career thus far. The former Ohio University standout, 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 in each of the last two seasons, and his teams have captured at least a share of the league title each of the last three seasons.

Hollway is in his 14th year at Ohio Wesleyan and has compiled an overall record of 89-47-1. His 18-year overall career record is 100-74-2 including a four-year stint with Marietta in the early 1980s. Hollway won the 100th game of his career last Saturday against Denison University, 19-3.

Other record-setters: Senior placekicker Ryan Walker (Newark, Ohio/Newark),already the school record-holder in points by kicking and No. 2 all-time in the category in NCAC annals, has moved into fifth place on the Wittenberg scoring list, surpassing Gene Urbanski (1953-57) and Ron Murphy (1956-59) with his four extra points in the Wooster victory. Walker now has 215 points in his career.

Junior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) had four catches in the victory over Wooster to move his season total to 29 and his career total to 83, eighth-best on the Wittenberg career list. Teammate Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) added five receptions to his career total to give him 23 on the season and 88 in his career.

Pressures On: The Wittenberg defense has been putting the heat on opposing quarterbacks all season, adding five sacks on Saturday to move the season total to 28.and that pressure has been applied by a variety of players. Junior defensive lineman Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) got three tackles for loss in the Wooster game, including a sack in the end zone that resulted in a safety. He leads the team in sacks with 5.5 on the season.

Junior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) has contributed 5.0 sacks, and sophomore defensive end Allen DAndrea (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier)has added 4.5, including two versus the Scots.