2002 Wittenberg Football Game Notes Week 4 vs. Thomas More College

Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers hit the road again this week, well-rested after a rare in-season bye week. The destination is Crestview Hills, Ky., where the Thomas More College Saints lie in wait, hoping to exact a measure of revenge for last year's 41-0 NCAA Division III tournament victory by the visiting Tigers.

The Tigers opened the season with a convincing 44-7 victory over Albion on Sept. 7 and then claimed a 37-10 road win over Urbana on Sept. 14. Coming off an outstanding 2001 season that included a fifth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championship and fourth straight perfect run through the NCAC, Wittenberg opens at No. 4 in the first American Football Coaches Association poll. They have played fairly well to this point, putting all the elements together against Albion before struggling against a youthful, athletic Urbana team.

The Tigers have extremely high hopes again in 2002 as 17 starters are back in the fold, including nine on offense. A 33-game regular season winning streak may have been snapped a year ago at Alma, but Wittenberg still has won 59 of its last 62 regular season games since Joe Fincham took the reins in 1996, including its last nine. Three of the last six regular seasons have resulted in perfect 10-0 records, and the Tigers are riding a conference record 29-game NCAC win streak, dating back to the second-to-last game of the 1997 season.

The Saints are off to a 2-1 start to the 2002 season after posting a school-record 11-1 mark a year ago. Their perfect regular season in 2001 extended into the playoffs and a thrilling first-round win over visiting MacMurray before Wittenberg came to town and posted a 41-0 win in the second round. Thomas More is a rushing team, as evidenced by last week's win at Shenandoah in which freshman tailback Rufus Wilkins topped the 100-yard plateau for a third straight week. The Saints are experienced, however, with 16 starters and 34 letterwinners back in the fold.

Tigers on the Radio: Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2002, as the aforementioned Marty Bannister heads things up for a 10th straight year. He can be found on the radio dial in the same location, 1600 AM, but with new call letters. Formerly WBLY, the radio home for the Tigers is now WULM.

Bannister is joined in the booth by former Tiger All-American offensive lineman Xan Smith, who provides color commentary, while Scott Leo will patrol the sidelines and provide insight and commentary for a third consecutive season.

All season long, WULM hosts weekly radio shows that focus on local sports and even Wittenberg athletic teams specifically. On Wednesdays, Leo hosts a sports show that includes interviews and analysis on high school and college sports teams other than football. On Thursdays, following a high school football show, Bannister hosts Tiger Talk, which includes interviews and analysis with Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and his players and assistant coaches.

The Rankings: Wittenberg opened the 2002 season at No. 4 in the American Football Coaches Association poll, released on Sept. 17. Don Hansen's National Football Gazette ranks the Tigers No. 5 currently.

Prior to the season, Wittenberg was ranked No. 7 in three preseason polls (Street & Smith's, Lindy's and Don Hansen's National Football Gazette) and No. 5 by d3football.com. The Tigers finished the 2001 season ranked No. 7 in the latter poll as well.

Series History: This is the second meeting between the Tigers and Saints. Last year, the two teams squared off for the first time ever in a second-round NCAA Division III playoff game at Thomas More's brand new stadium. Wittenberg blasted the Saints 41-0 to advance to the national quarterfinals for the third time in four years.

Streaks: Wittenberg heads into the 2002 season riding a 29-game NCAC winning streak, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997 at Wooster. Since that loss, which forced a three-way split of the conference title between Wooster, Wittenberg and Allegheny, the Tigers have claimed four straight NCAC crowns without a loss. No player on the current roster has ever lost an NCAC game.

That's not the only active streak Wittenberg carries into the 2002 campaign. The Tigers' regular season home win streak has reached 35 straight games, dating back to the second game of the 1996 season against Allegheny. In addition, Wittenberg has gone 10 years since losing back-to-back games. At the end of the 1991 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then Baldwin-Wallace defeated the Tigers to open the '92 campaign. Since then, Wittenberg has played 110 games without losing two straight. The Tigers' record in that time is 99-11-1, including an incredible 93-6-1 during the regular season.

Adam McClain

Allen D'Andrea

Preseason Honors: Wittenberg has produced 45 All-America football players over the last 39 years, including 29 first-team selections. If the preseason prognosticators are correct, this could be another banner year for Tigers and postseason awards. Senior tailbackDaniel Grove is a preseason second team All-America choice by d3football.com, while senior center Adam McClain and senior defensive end Allen D'Andrea were preseason second team choice by Lindy's.

Spreading It Around: No more Michael Aljancic in the receiving corps. No problem. The 2002 group apparently has a motto that Cornett has bought into as well. Share, and share alike.

No receiver has more than five catches this season, and five different players have at least three receptions. Eight different receivers, including running backs, have hauled in at least one pass through two games.

Leading the charge is junior Skip Ivery, who has five catches for 145 yards for a whopping 29.4 yards per catch average. It doesn't hurt that his first catch of the 2002 season was a school record 94-yard touchdown reception against Albion.

Greg Cornett

Automatic: Senior Greg Cornett took over as the starting quarterback prior to the 2001 season after throwing a grand total of three passes in his first two collegiate seasons, none of which were completed. Including playoffs, he has now started under center 15 times and has thrown at least one touchdown pass every time. Against Urbana, Cornett extended that streak with a nifty scramble and eight-yard strike to fullback Raymar Hampshire in the second quarter.

Just Like He Never Left: Senior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury made a triumphant return to the Tigers lineup against Albion after sitting out the 2001 season. Along with leading the Tigers in tackles with six, Goldsbury broke the game open with a second-quarter interception return for a touchdown. It was the second time in his illustrious collegiate career that he has returned an interception for a score - the first one was a 92-yard return against Union (Ky.) in 1998.

Goldsbury leads the Tigers with 10 solo tackles and eight assists.

Up The Charts: Senior tailback Daniel Grove has shown no rust in the 2002, picking up where he left off a year ago by rambling for 399 yards on 46 carries in the first two weeks of the season.

Grove's 1,260 yards rushing last year ranks eighth in Wittenberg history for rushing yards in a season and moved his career totals to 1,942 yards on 329 carries. In combination with his performance thus far in 2002, Grove has moved into the top 10 in school history in both rushing yards and scoring.

Career Rushing Att. Yds. YPC TD
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 836 5,112 6.1 67
2. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 685 3,759 5.5 38
3. Marlon Perryman (1990-93) 644 3,567 5.5 27
4. Jon Warga (1987-90) 525 3,250 6.2 28
5. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 520 3,122 6.0 38
6. Marcus Booker (1993-96) 490 2,991 6.8 36
7. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 563 2,837 5.0 35
8. Daniel Grove (1999- ) 375 2,341 6.2 37
9. Dana Williams (1979-82) 440 2,209 5.0 16
10. Glenn Hendrix (1971-74) 405 2,085 5.1 5

At Grove's current 199-yard per game rushing average, he is on pace to reach No. 4 on this list.

Touchdown Daniel Grove!: ...Is quite a familiar refrain. Grove has scored seven touchdowns so far in 2002 to lead the NCAC by a wide margin. He is now moving into some select company on the career scoring lists at Wittenberg.

Career Scoring TP TD PAT FG
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 408 68 - -
2. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 254 42 *1 -
3. Ryan Walker (1997-00) 247 - 160-178 29-42
4. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 228 38 - -
Marcus Booker (1993-96) 228 38 - -
Daniel Grove (1999- ) 228 38 - -
7. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 212 31 26 -
8. Ron Murphy (1956-59) 210 34 *3 -
9. Greg Brame (1990-93) 187 31 - -
10. Jimmy Watts (1993-96) 181 - 115-128 22-35
* 2-point conversions

Grove is now just a stone's throw away from No. 2 on the all-time scoring list, and should reach that place on the list within the next few weeks. He has already leapfrogged two Wittenberg greats, Gene Urbanski and Greg Brame, since the season started and has pulled even with two others, Dave Merritt and Marcus Booker.

Daniel Grove

More About Daniel: Grove equalled a Wittenberg record against Urbana when he topped the 100-yard plateau for a sixth straight regular season game. That mark had been held solely by Aaron Powers, who went for more than 100 six straight weeks in the 1996 season.

What's even more impressive, however, is that Grove's string of 100-yard rushing games is actually nine straight, including three playoff games last year. Since running wild on Wooster for 161 yards on 17 carries on Oct. 13, 2001, Grove has put up 1,631 yards in his last nine games. The school record for rushing yards in a 10-game season, to put things in perspective, is 1,836 yards by Jon Warga in 1990.

Scouting the Tigers: Any discussion about the 2002 Wittenberg Tigers starts with a talented group of offensive skill position players. Daniel Grove rushed for more than 1,200 yards in his first year as a starter in 2001, while Greg Cornett was efficient and effective in his first year starting at quarterback. Fullback Raymar Hampshire offers opponents a change of pace out of the backfield, and a host of sure-handed wide receivers have emerged as weapons, led by second-year starterSkip Ivery.

In addition, four starters are back on the offensive line, anchored by two-time All-NCAC choice Adam McClain at center.

On the other side of the ball, the strength of a veteran defensive unit is at linebacker, although the ranks have been thinned a bit by injuries. Back after not playing football in 2001 is senior middle linebacker Dustin Goldsbury, a three-time All-NCAC choice and one of the most dominating defensive players in the nation. He is joined by senior Andy Pope, a two-time All-NCAC selection, senior Ryan Gresham, the team's second-leading tackler a year ago, and junior Andy Dooley,a transfer from Miami University. The four players rotate among the three linebacker spots in the 4-3 defensive alignment.

Plenty of experience is on hand in the secondary as well, starting with fifth-year seniors John Hauser and Andy Waddle. Hauser is a three-time All-NCAC choice and made second-team All-Great Lakes Region a year ago. The starting corners are senior David Middleton, a returning starter, and junior Tim Gaal. On the defensive line, three new starters join senior end Allen D'Andrea, an All-NCAC choice in 2001.

Around the NCAC Today: Week 4 of the 2002 season features eight NCAC teams in action. One o'clock games include Case Western Reserve at Wooster, Allegheny at Westminster, Hiram at Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan at Albion and Wabash at Kenyon. The 1:30 p.m. kickoff of the Wittenberg-Thomas More clash rounds the schedule out.

Joe Fincham

The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. Entering his seventh season at the helm, Fincham has a 65-7 overall record, including a mark of 42-2 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 59-3. His teams have claimed the last five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records. Fincham, who ranks second in winning percentage in NCAA Division III history among coaches with five or more seasons, has been named NCAC Coach of the Year each of the last four seasons.

Thomas More is led by Dean Paul, a former all-conference running back and 1990 graduate of Mount Union. His accomplishments to date have been impressive, compiling a 29-6 overall record three games into his fourth season. In each of the last two years, the Saints have lost just one game. Prior to Thomas More, Paul made stops as an assistant coach at Fordham, Wooster, Tulane, Allegheny College and Mount Union.