Wittenberg Drops Hard-Fought 27-21 Decision at Allegheny

MEADVILLE, Pa. - The Wittenberg University football team put forth a gallant effort in the mud at Allegheny College but fell short 27-21. The Tigers fell to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Allegheny improved to 5-3 overall and 5-0 in the NCAC and moved within one game of clinching a share of the conference title.

A year after the Tigers crushed Allegheny 49-3 at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield, the Gators exacted a measure of revenge with the title-clinching victory. It was the first victory for Allegheny against Wittenberg since 1996. The loss gave Wittenberg two regular season defeats for the first time under eighth-year Head Coach Joe Fincham, and it was just the fifth NCAC defeat for the Tigers since he took the reins in 1996. In addition, the two defeats are the most in conference play for a Wittenberg team since 1991, when the Tigers finished 5-3.

The scoring started late in the first quarter when the Gators took advantage of a fumble deep in Wittenberg territory to score a touchdown on a 14-yard pass play from Bubba Smith to Brian O'Malley. That was followed by an offensive explosion, especially surprising considering the poor field conditions, as Wittenberg sophomore wide receiver Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) took a short pass 65 yards to the house to tie the game, and then on the very next play from scrimmage, Smith hit Michael Sober on a 67-yard touchdown pass play.

In the second quarter, Wittenberg got on the board first on a two-yard scoring burst by freshman fullback Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian). But Allegheny answered late in the half as Smith took part in his third touchdown pass of the day, this time handing the ball off to back-up tailback Kyle Geiser and then receiving a perfectly executed pass back from Geiser. Smith was flagged for taunting as he went into the end zone and the 15-yard penalty contributed to the ensuing blocked extra point by Tiger cornerback Mike Freeman (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne).

In the second half, Wittenberg took the lead on a 25-yard scoring run by junior tailback Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida) with 11:35 remaining in the third stanza. But once again, Allegheny responded in kind, taking just 1:17 off the clock in going 66 yards on five plays to score on a 25-yard TD pass from Smith to Jon Turner, the Gators all-time leading passer to the program's all-time leading receiver.

As a team, Wittenberg finished with 413 total yards, including 259 on the ground. Allegheny posted a total of 356 yards, including 225 yards passing. The key to the game, as it turned out, was turnovers as the Tigers had one interception and two fumbles, including a key one in the final five minutes to allowed the Gators to run out the clock with a long drive.

Individually, Wittenberg got 147 yards rushing on 26 carries from Hampshire and 99 yards on 21 carries from Harmon. Quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) finished with 11 completions on 21 attempts for 154 yards. Glover topped the receiving corps with 97 yards on four receptions.

Allegheny was led rushing by Jamie Sye with 20 carries and 94 yards and Smith finished with 213 passing yards on 15 completions in 27 attempts. Turner had 53 yards on four receptions.

Defensively, Adam Klimas finished with 11 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Wittenberg was led by three players with seven total tackles - senior linebacker Peter Franz (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), freshman safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) and junior defensive tackle Jarrett Brown (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles). Sophomore safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir had one interception for 15 yards and four total tackles.

The Tigers are back in action on Nov. 8 for the final road trip of the 2003 season at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. That game was originally scheduled to be against Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, but the Lords withdrew from conference play this season and the Tigers were forced to pick up the first-year program.