Week 5 Football Game Notes

Setting the Scene:

The Wittenberg University Tigers welcome their fourth opponent in five weeks of the 2001 season this weekend as the Allegheny College Gators pay Edwards-Maurer Field a visit. The Tigers, ranked 19th in the latest American Football Coaches Association rankings, are 3-1 after defeating visiting Wabash College, 14-3, last Saturday. Allegheny is 1-2 overall but tied with Wittenberg atop the NCAC standings with a 1-0 mark after whipping Denison University, 55-21, last Saturday.

This is the third week of a daunting mid-season gauntlet that Wittenberg coaches knew would go a long way toward determining the teams fate in 2001. After opening the season with lop-sided back-to-back home victories over Urbana University and Heidelberg College, the Tigers lost at Alma College 26-24 to snap a 33-game regular season win streak. Last week's over Wabash, the pre-season No. 3 pick in the NCAC, ensured that Wittenberg's incredible run of 10 years without back-to-back losses would continue.

Allegheny comes in hoping to finally pry the NCAC championship from the arch-rival Tigers. Wittenberg has claimed four straight league crowns, the last three outright. The Gators shared a third of the 1997 title with Wittenberg and Wooster.

Wittenberg Athletes Giving Back

Wittenberg would like to thank all of the patrons on hand for last week's game who gave so generously to a fund-raising effort by Tiger athletes and coaches.

About a dozen Wittenberg athletes were on hand to collect donations for the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. The effort, which was led by J.J. Searls, head golf coach and assistant men's basketball coach, and student-athletes Meghan Gaydos and Kevin Longley, raised $612.82.

Tigers on TV

Wittenberg University athletic teams will appear on Time Warner Cable in the Dayton area over the next few months, beginning with this week's football game against Allegheny. Time Warner Television will cover other Wittenberg sporting events as well, including a volleyball match at Wittenberg on Wednesday, Oct. 10 and two basketball games in January.

The Wittenberg-Allegheny football game will be cablecast on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 1 at 9:30 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 p.m. The volleyball match will be cablecast on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 10 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 p.m. The programs can be found on Time Warner Cable systems on channel 25 or 69 in Dayton, channel 30 in the Dayton suburbs, and channel 59 in communities further north. Subscribers are encouraged to check their local listings.

Scouting the Tigers

The Wittenberg Tigers have displayed plenty of balance on offense and defense in 2001 as they struggle to replace such departed stars as Casey Donaldson, Labon Storts, Elio Harmon and Dustin Goldsbury.

Offensively, junior Daniel Grove leads the team with 384 yards rushing for a 96 yards per game average and team-best seven touchdowns, although he was limited to just 36 yards and one TD on 25 carries against Wabash. Senior Michael Aljancic has been nothing short of sensational with 25 catches for 411 yards and four touchdowns. And junior quarterback Greg Cornett has completed 53 of 90 passes for 783 yards and six touchdowns. With a completion percentage of 58.9 percent and six touchdowns against just two interceptions, Cornett has a stellar efficiency rating of 149.52.

Defense, expected to be a strength for the Tigers in 2001 after Wittenberg led the NCAC in total defense a year ago, had been victimized by the big play until last week against a potent Wabash offense. In that game, the Little Giants were held without a touchdown for the first time since 1996 and managed little production from a spread offense that set dozens of school and conference records in 2000.

Senior linebacker Nic Black leads the Tigers with 18 tackles, including two for loss. Senior defensive end Tim Daoust tops the squad with eight tackles for loss, including five sacks. Eight Tiger players have 10 tackles or more already this season.

Scouting the Gators

The story in Meadville, Pa. is a familiar one again in 2001. Senior tailback Shane Ream, a native of the small Pennsylvania city that is home to Allegheny College, is to Allegheny football what Casey Donaldson was to Wittenberg.

Ream broke school records for scoring and rushing yards already this year, and he is approaching several NCAC records set by Donaldson just a year ago. Already the conference record-holder for points (180), rushing touchdowns (27) and total touchdowns (30) in a season, Ream is closing in on the career points, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and rushing attempts records, three of which were set in 2000 by Donaldson. Ream has 424 yards and four touchdowns already in 2001, giving him 3,478 yards and 54 touchdowns in his career. 

Defense is the issue for the Gators, who are surrendering 33.7 points and nearly 330 yards passing per game. Sophomore linebacker Matt Komar leads the team with 13 tackles on the season.

Last Meeting with Allegheny

In the annual grudge match that has essentially determined the NCAC championship every year since 1990, the Tigers made it four wins in a row over Allegheny with a 35-21 victory. Responding to their first significant second-half challenge of the 2000 season, the Tigers ripped off two late touchdowns to break open a 21-21 game and record a huge victory.

Unlike previous games, the Tigers played the role of counter-puncher. After Allegheny put the first points on the board with an 11-yard Jeremy Snyder run in the first quarter, the Tigers responded in lightning-quick fashion as defensive back Jason Jackson ran 94 yards untouched with the ensuing kickoff. It was Jacksons first career touchdown, and it tied a Wittenberg school record for longest kickoff return.

In the second quarter, the Tigers threatened to break the game open as quarterbackAnthony Crane loosened up the Gator defense by hitting on several big passing plays. Wide receiver Labon Storts was his favorite target, catching six passes, including a 16-yard TD from Crane early in the second quarter.

Fullback Gary Henson tacked on the teams third TD from a yard out with 6:16 left in the first half to make it 21-7. But an Allegheny interception deep in Wittenberg territory late in the half gave the Gators a burst of momentum they carried into the second half. Gator tailback Shane Ream, the NCAC's leading rusher, caught a 6-yard scoring pass from quarterback Joe Cowart with 36 seconds left before halftime.

In the second half, the teams traded defensive stops until Allegheny again converted off a Wittenberg turnover. This time, a fumble led to Jon Turners 21-yard touchdown reception and a 21-21 tie on homecoming in Meadville.

The Tigers responded with a 4-play, 81-yard drive that was capped by Storts second touchdown reception on the first play of the fourth quarter. Casey Donaldson then capped the scoring with a one-yard plunge midway through the fourth quarter. Donaldson finished the game with 158 yards, 132 of which came in a big second half. Crane was an efficient 11-for-19 passing in the game for 185 yards, Storts had 76 yards on six catches and wide receiver Steve DeGraffinreed caught three passes for 87 yards. Defensively, the Tigers finally bottled up the potent Allegheny offense and Ream, who finished with 88 yards on 25 carries. Defensive tackle Juan Howard,junior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury and senior linebacker Trevor Yost all finished in with double-digits tackle figures. Defensive tackle Tim Daoust and sophomore defensive end Allen D'Andrea both had strong games as well, putting three tackles for loss into the scorebook each.

Last Week

One week after their school-record 33-game regular season win streak came to an end, the Tigers rebounded to swarm the visiting Wabash Little Giants 14-3 in the NCAC opener for both teams.

Wittenberg, which extended its regular season home win streak to 32 consecutive dating back to 1996 and its North Coast Athletic Conference win streak to 23 straight dating back to 1997, started off slow for a fourth straight game in 2001. But unlike the previous week, the Tiger defense consistently bent but didn't break, yielding just a field goal on Wabash's opening drive and getting stronger throughout the game. In the second half, the potent Little Giants offense, which came in averaging 39 points per game, managed just 102 total yards.

Trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, Wittenberg came back to take what turned out to be an insurmountable lead. Running back Daniel Grove capped a four-play, 25-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that was set up by an interception by cornerbackJason Jackson.

In the second half, the Wittenberg defense was the story, bottling up the Little Giants spread offense and putting up some insurance points on a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Greg Cornett to wide receiver Michael Aljancic with 11:43 remaining in the third quarter. That seven-play, 25-yard drive was set up by a long kickoff return by running back Jason Stephan.

The Tiger defense took care of things from there, holding Wabash to just 14 first downs, 93 yards rushing and 198 yards passing for the game. Wittenberg held the Little Giants to just 2-of-12 on third down conversions and 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions. Defensive end Allen D'Andrea and linebacker Nic Black led the Tigers with eight tackles each in the game. Wittenberg recorded 11 tackles for loss in the game, including three sacks - one each by DAndrea, senior defensive tackle Michael Houck and senior defensive end Tim Daoust.

Offensively, Wittenberg was also stunted for much of the game, although Aljancic had yet another fine all-around game. A week after catching 10 passes for 143 yards against Alma, Aljancic reeled in another seven passes for 97 yards - giving him 118 catches and 1,870 receiving yards in his career, both among the top three in school history.

On the ground, Wittenberg managed just 87 yards, with Grove leading the way with 36 yards on 25 carries. Fullback Raymar Hampshire had 11 carries for 31 yards. 

Big Third Quarters

In the third quarter, Wittenberg has posted 38 points to its opponents 0 during the 2001 season. For the second half as a whole, Wittenberg has outscored its opponents 69-9 as Urbana managed just a lone touchdown (and missed extra point) in the fourth quarter and Alma scored its game-winning field goal late in the fourth.

Streaks

The loss at Alma snapped Wittenbergs school-record regular season win streak at 33, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997 against the College of Wooster. It also brought to an end a run of 12 straight regular season road victories, also dating back to the 1997 defeat at Wooster.

Wittenberg still has several streaks intact, however. The Tigers put a 32-game regular season home winning streak on the line this week, dating back to the second game of the 1996 season against this weeks opponent, Allegheny. The Tigers have also reeled off 23 straight NCAC victories dating back to the 1997 loss at Wooster.

Finally, Wittenberg has gone nearly 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 91 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then the Tigers were beaten in the 92 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 100 games without losing two straight (not including a forfeit win over Oberlin in 1992). The Tigers record during that time is 89-10-1.

All Eyes on Al

Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic is putting together his finest season in what has been an outstanding collegiate career. With 25 catches, 12 more than anyone else on the Wittenberg roster in 2001, Aljancic has moved to No. 2 on the all-time receiving list. That is one of several charts on which he is moving up:

Career Records

PASS RECEIVING No. Yards Avg TD
1. Rod Miller (1964-67) 143 2,288 16.0 26
2. Michael Aljancic (1998-00) 118 1,870 15.8 21 
3. Jim Collins (1984-87) 116 1,560 13.4 11
4. Labon Storts (1997-00) 96 1,612 16.8 14
5. Ray Ward (1967-69) 95 1,308 13.8 13
6. Bob Cherry (1961-63) 90 1,790 19.9 27
7. Eugene Hardin (1994-96) 89 1,321 14.8 15
8. Russ Fedyk (1995-99) 85 1,317 16.8 14
9. Mark Peters (1991-94) 80 1,146 14.3 12
10. Chris Thompson (1990-93) 73 866 11.9 9

Aljancic is averaging six catches per game in 2001, which projects to a total of 62 for the season. That would shatter the Wittenberg season receptions record, set four years ago by Russ Fedyk.

SEASON Records

PASS RECEIVING G No. Yards Avg TD
1. Russ Fedyk (1997) 10 53 954 18.0 10
2. Rod Miller (1966) 9 49 706 14.4 8
3. Jim Collins (1987) 10 46 557 12.1 7
4. Bob Cherry (1963) 9 45 886 19.7 13
5. Ray Ward (1969) 9 44 582 13.2 7
6. Eugene Hardin (1995) 10 39 718 18.4 8
7. Michael Aljancic (2000) 10 39 670 17.2 8
8. Rod Miller (1967) 9 38 603 15.9 6
9. Ray Ward (1968) 9 37 534 14.4 5
Michael Aljancic (1999) 10 37 572 15.5 6

Coach of the Year

Joe Fincham is now 55-6 in his career. Perhaps even more impressive, Fincham is 51-3 in regular season games. Last year, he became the first Wittenberg coach to earn conference coach of the year honors three straight years. 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.