Wittenberg Picks Up 45-21 Win at Huntingdon

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Wittenberg University Tigers made one of the longest in-season road trips in school history and came away with a 45-21 nonconference victory over the Huntingdon Hawks Saturday. The win improved the Tigers to 7-2 overall on the 2003 season, while the Hawks, a first-year football program, concluded the campaign with an 0-7 mark.

The Tigers got big offensive games from senior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison), junior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) and freshman tailback Joe Brumfield (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) to help the top-scoring team in the North Coast Athletic Conference to another lop-sided victory. Ivery caught six passes for 104 yards, including three touchdowns to move his career total to 22 (fourth-most in school history). Holmes completed 15 of 25 passes for 239 yards and the three TDs to Ivery. Brumfield filled in for injured starter Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida), who went down after three carries for 25 yards in the first quarter, and the freshman posted a career-high 107 yards on 25 carries.

Hampshire started the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run four minutes into the first quarter, and that was followed by a one-yard TD plunge by freshman fullback Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian). Ivery added touchdown receptions of 36, 18 and 1 yard and senior kicker Conrad Hindert (Terrace Park, Ohio/Mariemont) added a 27-yard field goal to round the Tigers' first-half scoring. The final Tiger touchdown came in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Brumfield.

Hindert set a school record in the win by making all six of his point-after attempts. He came into the game with a streak of 32 consecutive successful extra-point attempts, a run that he extended to 38, breaking the previous record of 33 established by Jimmy Watts in 1995. He is also 5-of-5 this season on field goals.

Wittenberg gained 26 first downs to Huntingdon's 12 and gained 481 total yards to the Hawks' 265. Eight different Tiger players caught at least one pass, including sophomore Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown), who had six catches for 95 yards. Harmon was the second-leading ground gainer with 36 yards on eight carries, while sophomore quarterback George Andress (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) was solid in his time during the second half as he completed six of 10 passes for 62 yards.

Defensively, nine Wittenberg players recorded at least one-half a tackle for loss. Leading the charge was freshman safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) with seven tackles, while junior Chris Vennefron (Somerville, Ohio/Edgewood), sophomore Mike Freeman (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and freshman Devon Combs (Columbus, Ohio/South) all added six tackles.

The Tigers put the finishing touches on the 2003 season next weekend against the College of Wooster back in the friendly confines of Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. Wooster is also 7-2 on the season and boasts the nation's leading rusher, junior tailback Tony Sutton. Both the Tigers and Scots have been eliminated from contention for the NCAC title, but runner-up honors and pride in a long and often intense rivalry will be on the line.