News & Notes - Playoff Game 3 vs. Mount Union

Freshman fullback Raymar Hampshire heads toward the end zone during the second half of last week's 41-0 victory over Thomas More.

Setting the Scene

The Wittenberg University Tigers, making their 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs and 11th appearance overall in postseason action, take to the road for a third straight week to square off with defending national champion Mount Union College. The Tigers, the No. 5 seed in the North Region bracket, won a thriller in the first round of the playoffs, rallying four different times to tie host Hardin-Simmons University and finally win the game in overtime, 38-35, before thumping Thomas More College last week 41-0 in the second round.

The Tigers, ranked seventh in the last American Football Coaches Association regular season poll but only the No. 5 seed in the North Region bracket, carry an 11-1 overall mark into this weekend's showdown. Wittenberg, which will take a 29-game NCAC win streak into the 2002 campaign, won its record-setting fifth straight NCAC title and fourth consecutive outright crown in 2001 with a perfect 7-0 record. The unblemished conference record capped an amazing regular season career for this year's seniors, who became the first class in school or NCAC history to win every conference game in its four years. In addition, the Tiger seniors matched last year? graduating class with a 39-1 four-year regular season record and have since surpassed that group with 45 overall wins (against four losses).

Mount Union, the No. 1 seed in the North Region bracket and the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, has become the preeminent NCAA Division III football program, winning national championships in 1993, 96, 97, 98 and 2000. The 2001 season has already been another banner one for the Purple Raiders and legendary coach Larry Kehres as Mount Union won its 10th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship and finished its seventh straight undefeated regular season. The Raiders have won 67 straight regular season games and last week posted their record 30th NCAA Division III playoff win in a 32-7 rout of Augustana, the No. 4 seed in the North Region.

Postseason Awards

As usual, the victors reap the spoils of their success. Wittenberg, following a perfect 7-0 record in 2001 conference play, placed 14 players on the All-NCAC awards list, while head coach Joe Fincham claimed Coach of the Year honors for a fourth straight season.

A year after Casey Donaldson earned an unprecedented third consecutive Mike Gregory Award as the NCAC's Offensive Player of the Year and Fincham was named Coach of the Year for an unprecedented third straight time, senior defensive tackleJuan Howard claimed the Richard Gregory Award as the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year and Fincham extended his record run of hardware. Howard, who became a three-time all-conference choice, had 25 solos and 29 assisted tackles during the regular season, including 17 tackles for a loss of 67 yards.

Joining Howard as the only three-time first-team All-NCAC selections on the team this year was senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic. The rest of the Tigers to make first-team were junior tailback Daniel Grove, junior center Adam McClain, sophomore offensive guard Chad Thompson, senior offensive tackle Matt Leisure, senior defensive end Tim Daoust, junior outside linebacker Andy Pope, senior safety John Hauser and senior cornerback Jason Jackson.

Second-team choices included senior defensive tackle Mike Houck and senior outside linebacker Nic Black. Honorable mention selections were junior quarterbackGreg Cornett and junior defensive end Allen D?ndrea.

Wittenberg In The Postseason

The NCAA Division III leader in all-time wins with 625 since its first year of football in 1892, the Wittenberg Tigers have won five national championships - 1962, 64, 69, 73 and 75. The last three were earned as a result of victories in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, and the last two were won as members of the newly created NCAA Division III. The titles in 1962, 64 and 69 were NCAA College Division championships.

The Tigers have also finished second in NCAA Division III twice, in 1978 and 79. Wittenberg's overall postseason record is 17-7, including last week's win over Hardin-Simmons, and the Tigers' mark in NCAA Division III is 16-7. A rundown of postseason results:

College Division
1969 
AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL* (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 27, William Jewell 21
*West Regional playoff game. There was no national championship game at this time.
Division III
1973 
Semifinal (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 21, San Diego 14
AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL (at Phenix City, Ala.)
Wittenberg 41, Juniata 0
1975
Quarterfinal (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 17, Indiana Central 13
Semifinal (at Springfield, Ohio) 
Wittenberg 55, Millsaps 22
AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL (at Phenix City, Ala.)
Wittenberg 28, Ithaca 0
1978
Quarterfinal (at Ithaca, N.Y.)
Wittenberg 6, Ithaca 3
Semifinal (at Springfield, Ohio) 
Wittenberg 35, Minnesota-Morris 14
AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL (at Phenix City, Ala.)
Baldwin-Wallace 24, Wittenberg 10
1979
Quarterfinal (at Millersville, Pa.)
Wittenberg 21, Millersville 14
Semifinal (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 17, Widener 14
AMOS ALONZO STAGG BOWL (at Phenix City, Ala.)
Ithaca 14, Wittenberg 10
1988
First Round (at Dayton, Ohio)
Wittenberg 35, Dayton 28 (2OT)
Quarterfinal (at Springfield, Ohio)
Augustana 28, Wittenberg 14
1995
First Round (at Wheaton, Ill.)
Wheaton 63, Wittenberg 41
1998
First Round (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 13, Millikin 10
Regional Final (at Alliance, Ohio)
Mount Union 21, Wittenberg 19
1999
First Round (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 42, Alma 19
Second Round (at Springfield, Ohio)
Ohio Northern 58, Wittenberg 24
2000
First Round (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 31, Aurora 20
Second Round (at Springfield, Ohio)
Wittenberg 32, Hanover 21
Quarterfinal (at Alliance, Ohio)
Mount Union 32, Wittenberg 15
2001
First Round (at Abilene, Texas)
Wittenberg 38, Hardin-Simmons 35 (OT)
Second Round (at Crestview Hills, Ky.)
Wittenberg 41, Thomas More 0
Quarterfinal (at Alliance, Ohio)
vs. Mount Union

Last Year's Playoffs

Wittenberg advanced to the Big Dance a year ago, while Thomas More's program was snubbed by the selection committee despite a 9-1 record.

The Tigers were defeated in the national quarterfinals by eventual national champion Mount Union after defeating Aurora College and Hanover College in home games as the No. 2 seed in the North Region. Wittenberg took an early lead against Mount Union, scoring on an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Crane to wide receiver Michael Aljancic on the Tigers' first offensive play from scrimmage. But the Raiders proved too tough on a icy-cold December day at home in Alliance, scoring the next 23 points and slowly pulling away for a 32-15 victory.

Among the Best

Wittenberg finished the 2001 season ranked first in the NCAC in scoring defense (11.0 ppg), pass defense (160.4 ypg), pass defense efficiency (101.6), total defense (249.9 ypg), kickoff returns (23.3 ypr), turnover margin (1.5), fewest opponent first downs (137) and fewest opponent fourth-down conversions (13.6 percent).

In the most recent NCAA Division III statistics, Wittenberg is among the top 30 in the nation in seven of the nine categories. The Tigers are 14th in turnover margin, tied for eighth in scoring defense, 14th in scoring offense (39.7 ppg), 17th in rushing defense (89.5 ypg), 19th in rushing offense (228.4),30th in total offense (421.4 ypg) and 20th in total defense.

Individually, only tailback Daniel Grove leads an NCAC statistical category, that being rushing touchdowns (17). Grove, with four straight 100-yard rushing games under his belt and two 200-yard games on the season, has moved to 18th nationally in rushing at 126.0 yards per game and into a tie for sixth in scoring at 12.0 points per game. In addition, quarterback Greg Cornett is 20th in pass efficiency at 150.8.

Among the Best - Part 2

Wittenberg's 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 Grove? 259-yard rushing day against Ohio Wesleyan was the fifth-best total of the season in Division III.

Scouting the Tigers

Wittenberg finished the 2001 regular season 9-1, ranked No. 7 in the nation, and in its customary position atop the NCAC with a perfect 7-0 record. The Tigers?lone defeat came on Sept. 15 at Alma, 26-24, a loss that snapped a school-record 33-game regular season win streak. The Tigers outscored their regular season opponents 39.7-11.0 and outgained their foes by a whopping 421.4-249.9. Only Alma scored more than 20 points against Wittenberg, and only Wabash held the Tigers below 20 points in a game.

In the last two weeks, the Tigers played their finest games of the 2001 season. In defeating Hardin-Simmons in the first round of the playoffs, Wittenberg incurred just three penalties, committed no turnovers, moved the ball consistently with several long drives that brilliantly mixed the run and pass, and came up with just enough defensive stops against the nation? No. 1 rated quarterback, regardless of division. Then in the second round last week at Thomas More, the Tigers again did not commit any turnovers, were perfect in the kicking game for a second straight game, the defense was dominating against one of the better rushing attacks in the nation during the regular season and the offense was efficient again in combining the run and the pass to keep the Saints off-balance.

Tailback Daniel Grove leads the team with 1594 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns (23 rushing) after four straight 100-yard games to close the season and back-to-back 100-yard performances to start the postseason. Wide receiver Michael Aljancic has been sensational with a school-record 54 catches for 713 yards and nine touchdowns (eight receiving) during the regular season, including the biggest play of the year, the game-winner with 16 seconds left against Allegheny. Aljancic topped himself against Hardin-Simmons with 10 receptions for 214 yards and two dramatic fourth quarter touchdowns, and then last week he caught six more passes for 61 yards and two scores. Quarterback Greg Cornett has played well in his first season under center, completing 140 of 229 passes for 1872 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season, and then adding a career-high 313 yards passing against HSU on just 18 completions. His efficiency rating of 150.8 rose almost all season, ranking first in the NCAC and 20th 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, rose to the challenge after a disastrous 23-point first half against pass-happy Alma. Safety John Hauser leads the Tigers with 57.5 tackles, including 47 unassisted, while linebacker Ryan Greshamhas chipped in with 55.5 stops. Defensive end Tim Daoust tops the squad in sacks with 11, including three in a dominating performance against Thomas More. Defensive tackle Juan Howard is among the best in the nation with 21 tackles for a staggering loss of 86 yards. Hauser leads the team with five interceptions, including one last week, while cornerback Jason Jackson tops all defensive backs with 13 passes defensed, including four against HSU.

Scouting the Purple Raiders

The superlatives hardly does the Mount Union juggernaut justice. Wittenberg was a dominant college division team in the 1960s and 70s and Augustana won four national titles in the 1980s in claiming dominance for that decade. But neither has put together the type of run that Mount Union is currently on.

That doesn? mean that MUC, the defending national champion, hasn't been challenged in racing out to an 11-0 record, a 10th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship and the No. 1 ranking from the AFCA throughout the season. In the regular season, John Carroll was victimized by a late scoring pass in a 33-30 Mount Union win and Baldwin-Wallace hung tough throughout in 17-3 defeat against the Raiders. But last week, fourth-seeded Augustana and the rest of the NCAA Division III playoff field received a statement in a second-round 32-7 MUC romp.

As usual, Mount Union has exhibited great offensive balance, starting with Player of the Year front-runner Chuck Moore. The senior tailback, who carved up a tired Wittenberg defense in the second and third quarters of last year's playoff confrontation, has put up 1497 rushing yards on 236 carries, good for impressive 7.3 yards per carry and 136.1 yards per game averages.

One of the question marks for the Purple Raiders this season was the quarterback position, one that has been answered by junior Rob Adamson. A first-year starter, Adamson has taken over for record-setting two-year All-American Gary Smeck and has thrown for 2578 yards and 23 touchdowns. His 179.86 efficiency rating during the regular season was among the best in the nation. The receiving corps also absorbed a graduation loss, as All-American Adam Marino moved on in 2001, but the current cast of characters has proven more than deep enough to make up for it. Jason Candle topps the team with 47 receptions for 993 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Moore has caught 30 passes and four other players have caught at least 16 passes this year.

Defensively, Matt Campbell leads the team with 66 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and eight sacks from his end spot. Linebacker Jason Perkins, who had big day against the Tigers in 2000, is back with 65 hits and 11 tackles for loss, safety Alex Grinch has 59 tackles and 11 passes broken up and end Todd Braden chips in with 56 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and a team-best 10 sacks.

The Wittenberg/Mount Union Series

After playing two teams that had no prior history with Wittenberg on the gridiron, the Tigers square off this weekend with a team they were long acquainted with in the Ohio Athletic Conference and more recently in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Despite losing in the playoffs in 1998 and 2000 and dropping six of the seven meetings dating back to 1984, Wittenberg holds a commanding 18-9 advantage in the series between the two schools.

The first meeting between Wittenberg and Mount Union was won by the Purple Raiders 55-0 in 1916. The Tigers then won seven straight over Mount Union, including three shutouts, before the Purple Raiders won in 1948 and ?4. Then Wittenberg won 10 straight in the series between 1955 and 75 before the most recent results mentioned above beginning in 1984.

Movin?Up

Tailback Daniel Grove finished the regular season with 1,260 yards rushing, the eighth-best total in school history. In addition, Grove scored 21 touchdowns on the season, just one score short of Casey Donaldson? record-setting TD total of a year ago. For his career, Grove has 1,932 rushing yards.

Grove, who has felt the long shadow of Donaldson all season, has risen to the occasion in the playoffs, just as his predecessor always did. Donaldson recorded 1000 yards in seven playoff games, and Grove went for 170 on 32 workmanlike carries in the win over Hardin-Simmons, also adding 51 yards on three receptions three clutch touchdowns. Then last week against Thomas More, Grove rambled for another 164 yards on the ground and scored his 26th touchdown of the season.

Leader of the Sack Attack

Defensive end Tim Daoust had a half sack against Earlham in the season finale to up his 2001 total to eight and his career total to 27.5, tied for second-most in Wittenberg history. The record is 28 by Tim Altman, who played from 1992-95.

Then in the playoffs, Daoust has come up with two of his best games. In the first round against Hardin-Simmons, Daoust constantly collapsed the pocket and forced the Cowboys?All-American quarterback, Dustin Proctor, to either throw on the run or flee for his safety. After just missing on several sacks against HSU, Daoust came up big in the stats against Thomas More, again consistently collapsing the pocket and recording a team season-high three sacks.

Defensive Record

The Wittenberg defense held Hiram to just one completion for a six-yard loss in the entire game on Oct. 27. Wittenberg had previously 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 a Division III record set by Central (Iowa) against Simpson in 1985.

Streaks

The loss at Alma on Sept. 15 snapped Wittenberg? 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 29 straight NCAC victories.

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 ?1 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then the Tigers were beaten in the ?2 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 108 games without losing two straight (not including a forfeit win over Oberlin in 1992). The Tigers' record during that time is 97-10-1.

Streaks -Part 2

The win over Hardin-Simmons on Nov. 17 kept alive an impressive four-year run of first round playoff success. The Tigers have not lost in the first round under head coach Joe Fincham, defeating Millikin in 1998 at home, defeating Alma in 1999 at home, beating Aurora in 2000 at home and then going on the road last week to stun the No. 3 seeded Cowboys of Hardin-Simmons to open the 2001 tourney.

On Target

In his first season under center, junior quarterback Greg Cornett has done quite well, finishing first in the NCAC and 20th in the nation with a pass efficiency rating of 150.8. Perhaps most important, Cornett threw just four interceptions in the 2001 regular season and none since the first quarter of the win over Denison in Week 5. He extended his streak of quarters without a pick to 27 in the win over Thomas More, 28 if you include three offensive plays in overtime against Hardin-Simmons.

For the season, Cornett now has 2,359 yards passing, 173 completions, a 61.8 percent completion percentage and 22 touchdowns. He was an extremely efficient 15-of-22 passing against Thomas More, a week after throwing for a career-high 313 yards in the win over Hardin-Simmons. Cornett has thrown for five TDs in the postseason, one less than Wittenberg quarterbacks have thrown in the last two postseasons combined (five games).

Topping Himself

Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic finished his career as the greatest pass catcher in Wittenberg school history, at least according to the numbers. Aljancic established a school record for receptions in a season with 54 in 2001 and 147 in a career. He was amazingly consistent, catching at least one pass in 35 of his 40 career regular season games.

In the playoff victory over Hardin-Simmons, Aljancic may have topped himself. Reminiscent of the way he and quarterback Greg Cornett teamed up to rescue the Tigers' season in Week 5 against Allegheny, Aljancic turned in a 10-catch, 214-yard performance in the first round of the playoffs. Both touchdown receptions came in the fourth quarter with the Tigers down by a score each time, the final one coming with just 23 seconds remaining.

Then against Thomas More, Aljancic ran his season TD total to 12 with a pair of scoring receptions, including one in triple-coverage at the end of the second quarter. He now has 70 receptions on the season and a yards per catch average of 14.1.

Coach of the Year

Joe Fincham is now 63-6 in his career. Fincham is 57-3 in regular season games, 42-2 against NCAC foes and 6-3 in NCAA Division III Playoffs. Last year, he became the first Wittenberg coach to earn conference coach of the year honors three straight years, and he topped himself by winning the award for a fourth straight year on Wednesday. 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.