Wittenberg Rushes Past Denison in NCAC Opener

GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers made their second road trip of the 2004 season on Saturday, and this time the result was much more to their liking. Riding the broad shoulders of junior tailback Tristan Murray, the Tigers ground out a Wittenberg-style 47-21 victory over the Denison Big Red at historic Deeds-Piper Stadium in Granville.

Murray continues to assert himself, as he increased his rushing total for the fourth straight game. He carried the ball a season-high 26 times, and he averaged a season-high 6.6 yards per carry, doing most of his damage in a huge first half in which he scored four touchdowns on runs of seven yards, four yards, three yards and one yard. Murray finished with 171 yards as he gained positive yardage on every single one of his 26 carries, and he increased his season rushing average to 119 yards per game with his third straight 100-yard rushing performance.

It wasn't an easy coast for the Tigers, who improved to 3-1 overall and won their North Coast Athletic Conference opener for the eighth straight year, dating back to a 26-14 home defeat against Allegheny in 1996, Head Coach Joe Fincham's first year at the helm. Denison, which fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC, answered each of the Tigers' first two touchdowns, taking a 14-13 lead after a three-yard romp by Phil Bouwhuis with 12:03 left in the half. That lead was Denison's first against Wittenberg since 1990, when the Tigers pulled out a 24-21 victory, also at Deeds-Piper Stadium.

Wittenberg responded in kind, however, and when junior tailback Will Block bulled his way into the end zone from three yards out at the 7:12 mark of the second quarter, the Tigers had a lead they would not relinquish. Murray scored his third and fourth touchdowns of the first half in the final 3:31 to push the lead out to 33-14 heading into the locker rooms.

In the second half, Wittenberg scored the only 14 points of the third quarter to take a commanding 47-14 advantage. Sophomore fullback Tyler Harmon scored on a three-yard run and junior tight end Jon Kirkwood recorded his first collegiate touchdown on a one-yard pass. In the fourth quarter, many reserves saw action as almost every player who made the trip got into the game for Wittenberg. And while the Tigers were able to accumulate some yardage offensively, they couldn't muster any more points, while the Big Red, who lost for the 15th straight time to Wittenberg, capped the scoring with a five-yard Fred Lee run.

Senior quarterback Ryan Holmes had his finest overall game of the 2004 season, turning in an efficient 13-of-16, 143-yard, one-touchdown performance. He also picked up 24 yards rushing on four carries. Sophomore quarterback Chris Clark was similarly efficient, finishing with eight completions in 11 attempts for 66 yards. Amazingly, 13 different Tiger players caught at least one pass, and that doesn't include starting wide receiver Eric Kubilus, who was shut out for the first time in 2004. The top target was junior wideout Jered Glover, who caught five passes for 47 yards, bringing him within one catch of fourth place on the Wittenberg career receiving list.

Denison got 58 yards on 10 carries from Bouwhuis and quarterback Larry Cappetto finished 11 of 25 for 153. But he had two passes intercepted, one each by freshman cornerback Alan Tracewell and junior cornerback Lavon Wilborn, both of which led to Tiger touchdowns. Defensively, 25 different Wittenberg players recorded defensive statistics in the game, led by Wilborn with four solo tackles, including one for a loss of three yards, and sophomore linebacker Devon Combs, who had four solo stops, including one for a loss of four yards.

Wittenberg returns to action next Saturday with a Parents Weekend game against Earlham at 1 p.m. in Springfield. It will be the first meeting with the Quakers since a 38-3 Wittenberg home win in the regular season finale of the 2001 season.