2003 Wittenberg Football Game Notes Game 6 vs. Hiram College Terriers
The Wittenberg Tigers crashed back to earth last week after a 4-0 start to the 2003 season, falling 41-14 at Wabash to fall to 4-1 overall and, more importantly, 1-1 in the suddenly wide open North Coast Athletic Conference. For the second year in a row, a midseason loss to the Little Giants has forced Wittenberg into a win-at-all-costs mentality. In 2002, the Tigers responded with five straight wins in the regular season to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
October 18, 2003
Setting The Scene:
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The Wittenberg Tigers crashed back to earth last week after a 4-0 start to the 2003 season, falling 41-14 at Wabash to fall to 4-1 overall and, more importantly, 1-1 in the suddenly wide open North Coast Athletic Conference. For the second year in a row, a midseason loss to the Little Giants has forced Wittenberg into a win-at-all-costs mentality. In 2002, the Tigers responded with five straight wins in the regular season to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
Junior Raymar Hampshire leads the Tigers' rushing attack with 489 yards and nine touchdowns (including one receiving), and he is averaging a robust 6.4 yards per carry. He was named NCAC Player of the Week after gaining 99 yards in the season-opening win at Albion on Sept. 7. Through the air, junior quarterback Ryan Holmes has eight touchdowns, 832 yards and three interceptions. His chief targets have been senior Skip Ivery with 18 catches for 321 yards and four touchdowns and sophomore Jered Glover with 22 receptions for 284 yards and four touchdowns (including one on a school-record 96-yard kickoff return against Thomas More).
The Tigers, who have led the NCAC in total defense 10 of the last 11 years, have been dominant again. The unit is holding opponents to 289 yards and 19 points per game, although the latter figure is deceiving considering that the Tigers have yielded touchdowns on a fumble return, a blocked punt and an interception return. Linebacker Gary George leads the team 39 tackles, including seven for a loss of 29 yards, and two interceptions, including one against Thomas More he returned 30 yards for a score. Safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir is second on the unit with 36 total tackles, including 15 against Urbana when he was recognized as NCAC with Player of the Week.
Hiram is riding the nation's longest NCAA Division III losing streak at 20 games. Last year, the Terriers, who do not have a senior on the roster in 2003, went 0-10 and they are off to an 0-5 start this year. Despite the similarities in the overall record, the Terriers are scoring a lot more points this year after getting outpointed in 2002 by a whopping 412-41.
Led by freshman quarterback Tom Roszell, who leads the NCAC in passing yardage per game at more than 200 per outing, Hiram has already scored 72 points in 2003 and has reached the 20-point plateau twice. The last two weeks have featured a 24-12 loss against Oberlin and a 37-14 defeat at the hands of Allegheny. Those two teams currently stand atop the NCAC standings at 2-0.
Tigers on the Radio:
Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2003, as Marty Bannister heads things up for an 11th straight year on WULM. Bannister is joined in the booth by former Tiger All-American offensive lineman Xan Smith, who provides color commentary, while Scott Leo patrols the sidelines to provide insight.All season long, WULM also hosts Tiger Talk on Thursdays from 8-9 p.m. The show includes interviews and analysis with Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and his players and assistant coaches.
Internet Broadcasts:
Wittenberg has partnered with Stretch Internet to make selected sporting events available around the world. Wittenberg fans will not have to pay to listen to broadcasts, and anyone with a computer and an Internet connection will be able to log in and listen without risk of getting bumped off due to listener limitations. Stretch Internet utilizes QuickTime, so prospective listeners need only to download the free QuickTime Player and they're ready to listen to Wittenberg games live.Landmark Season:
Starting in 1892, the Wittenberg football program has played at least three games every year except 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. Entering the 2003 season, Wittenberg has played 992 games on the gridiron, meaning that the eighth game of this season, on Nov. 1 at Allegheny College, will be No. 1,000 in school history.Series History:
Wittenberg leads the all-time series with Hiram 4-0. The first meeting between the two schools was in 1920, an 82-0 victory for the Tigers. Since the Terriers joined the NCAC in 2000, the scores have been almost as lopsided, including last year's 77-0 Wittenberg win at Hiram on Oct. 19.The Rankings:
Wittenberg nearly fell out of the American Football Coaches Association poll for the first time since the Division III rankings began in 2000. The Tigers were previously No. 8 in the nation before losing to Wabash last Saturday and dropping to No. 25 in the latest edition of the poll, which was released on Tuesday. In addition, Wittenberg fell into the "others receiving votes" category of the d3football.com poll after ranking No. 10 the previous week, and to No. 26 from No. 6 in National Football Gazette. The latter ranks 40 teams each week.Interestingly, Wittenberg and Mount Union are the only Division III programs to earn a national ranking from the AFCA every week the last three years. The Purple Raiders, the three-time defending national champions, have been No. 1 every week of the poll.
No Shutouts:
One has to go back 11 years to find the last shutout that Wittenberg has suffered. Baldwin-Wallace did the honors in the opening game of the 1992 season, which also is the last time that Wittenberg lost back-to-back games (the Tigers lost their 2001 season finale to Ohio Wesleyan as well). Since the defeat to B-W, Wittenberg has played 126 games without either being shutout or suffering two consecutive losses. During that span, Wittenberg has recorded 25 shutouts of its own. Not only has Wittenberg not been shutout in 126 games, the Tigers have been held below 10 points in a game on just one occasion during that span - against Mercyhurst in a 7-6 victory in 1993.
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Skip Ivery
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Up The Charts:
Senior wide receiver Skip Ivery leads the Tigers with 18 receptions for 321 yards and four touchdowns, bringing his career totals to 106 receptions for 1,549 yards and 16 touchdowns. He ranks No. 4, No. 6 and No. 3 on those respective school record lists. He also has six carries for 70 yards this season.
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Jered Glover
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Prime Target:
Sophomore wide receiver Jered Glover has a team-best 22 receptions, including eight at Wabash last week. In two seasons, he now has 74 career receptions, putting him halfway to the school record for receptions in a career. Michael Aljancic holds that mark with 147 receptions between 1998 and 2001. In three career games against Wabash, Glover has 28 receptions, including 10 each in the two games last year. Problem is, Glover has never enjoyed a win over the Little Giants.
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Mr. Versatility:
Adam Hewitt started the season as Wittenberg's No. 1 tailback, faced with the daunting task of following in the footsteps of record-setters Casey Donaldson and Daniel Grove. Instead of following in their footsteps, he is carving out a unique niche of his own.Hewitt carried the ball 22 times for 97 yards against Albion and Urbana, and he still appears in the backfield in power formations. He also appears on the field in many special teams situations. In addition, he is now also a defensive back. Against Denison, he set a school record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter in his first appearance as a back-up safety. He also got into the game against Wabash in the fourth quarter at the safety position.
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Ryan Holmes
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How They Stack Up:
Wittenberg has just two individuals who rank among the top 40 in the nation in a given statistical category, but as a team, the Tigers rank in the top 40 nationally in eight of the nine categories listed on the NCAA Web site.Junior quarterback Ryan Holmes leads the NCAC and ranks 20th in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 147.8. Holmes has completed 56 of 99 passes this season for 832 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Against Wabash, Holmes had a career-high 249 yards passing, but he also had three costly second-half interceptions, the first three of his collegiate career.
Tailback Raymar Hampshire is averaging 10.8 points per game to rank tied for 17th nationally in scoring. After rushing for at least 99 yards in each of the first four games of the 2003 season, Hampshire managed just 49 yards on 16 carries against the Little Giants.
As a team, Wittenberg ranks 40th in rush offense (211.6) and 10th in scoring offense (40.4) in the national statistical rankings. Going into the Wabash game, the Tigers ranked in the top 40 in six of the nine categories listed on the NCAA Web site.
In the NCAC, Holmes leads in pass efficiency and senior kicker Conrad Hindert leads in field goals as he is 4-for-4 on the season. As a team, Wittenberg leads the conference in pass efficiency (148.6). In addition, the Tigers rank second in scoring offense (40.4 points per game), rush defense (122.0 yards per game), total offense (406.4 yards per game) and total defense (289.2 yards per game).
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Last Time Out:
It was nothing short of a stunner. On Wabash's 2003 Homecoming, Wittenberg was defeated 41-14. It was the Tigers' first NCAC road loss since 1997 and their first regular season loss by double digits since 1996.Wabash, the defending NCAC champion and winner of two 2002 games against Wittenberg, outgained the Tigers 476-301 for the game and held the ball for 36 minutes, compared to 23 for the Tigers.
In the first quarter, the Little Giants set the tone immediately, scoring on their first four possessions. Wabash outgained the Tigers 299-40 in the first half and had possession of the ball for nine more minutes and gained 18 first downs to Wittenberg's three in the first half.
The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with 3:37 left in the third quarter as Raymar Hampshire wrapped up a 68-yard, 12-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run. But Wabash scored 17 more points in response, with only a 34-yard touchdown hook-up between quarterback Ryan Holmes and wide receiver Skip Ivery in response.
Individually, Holmes finished with 249 yards on 19 completions in 39 attempts. He had one touchdown and his first three interceptions of the season. Hampshire finished with 49 yards rushing on 16 attempts and wide receiver Jered Glover led the receivers with 104 yards on eight receptions. Defensively, senior linebacker Gary George led the way with 11 total tackles, including two for a loss of 11 yards. Freshman safety Mitch Fonseca added 10 tackles and sophomore safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir wound up with eight tackles, including one for loss, and a fourth-quarter interception.
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Dane Dudley
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Last Meeting (Oct. 19, 2002):
One week after Wittenberg's 2002 Homecoming was spoiled by Wabash, the five-time defending NCAC champions rebounded to pummel host Hiram, 77-0, to spoil the Terriers' Homecoming. The point total was the highest for a Wittenberg team since the Tigers defeated Oberlin College 77-3 in 1995.Wittenberg scored on every first-half possession, starting with a 54-yard punt return touchdown just 1:07 into the game by Mike Freeman. That was followed by a two-yard score by tailback Adam Hewitt, a six-yard scoring reception by wide receiver Jered Glover and a 19-yard TD catch by wide receiver Skip Ivery. In the second quarter, Hewitt scored his second touchdown on a 10-yard burst, Glover added a 44-yard scoring reception and tailback Andy Dooley scored on a pair of short touchdown runs.
Dooley added a one-yard TD run in the third quarter and then wide receiver Josh McCoy hooked up with quarterback Ryan Holmes on a 33-yard fourth-quarter touchdown and running back Tom Hornsby rounded things out with a 24-yard scoring run with 43 seconds left in the game.
For the game, Wittenberg gained 28 first downs to Hiram's six, rushed for 297 yards to 51 for the Terriers and amassed 587 total yards to 86 for the host team. Dooley led the way on the ground, gaining 134 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Greg Cornett had a stellar day, finishing with nine completions in 11 attempts for 160 yards and three touchdowns, and Ivery and McCoy each wound up with four receptions. Nine players caught passes and eight running backs had at least three carries in the game. Three quarterbacks attempted at least six passes.
Senior safety Dane Dudley topped the team with five solo tackles. In addition, Dudley was part of a record-breaking punt return unit as he combined with Freeman to return seven punts for 181 yards. The previous record was 174 punt return yards in a game, set in 1953 against Akron.
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Joe Fincham
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The Coaches:
Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his eighth season at the helm, Fincham has a 77-10 overall record, including a mark of 49-4 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 71-6. His teams have claimed five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records from 1998-2001. 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 four times.Hiram is led by Mike Meyer, who is in his third year leading the Terriers. A 1985 graduate of Hanover, Meyer has compiled a 3-22 record at Hiram.