Wittenberg Can't Hold On In 38-27 Loss At Alma
Senior tailback Tristan Murray was outstanding again, surpassing the 100-yard mark rushing, junior quarterback Geron Stokes sparked the offense in his first appearance in the Red & White, throwing for more than 200 yards, and the defense bent but didn't break through much of the second and third quarters as Wittenberg built a three-point lead it could not sustain in a 38-27 loss to Alma.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Senior tailback Tristan Murray was outstanding again, surpassing the 100-yard mark rushing, junior quarterback Geron Stokes sparked the offense in his first appearance in the Red & White, throwing for more than 200 yards, and the defense bent but didn't break through much of the second and third quarters as Wittenberg built a three-point lead it could not sustain in a 38-27 loss to Alma.
Alma scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game away and gain its second win in as many tries against Wittenberg in its home stadium. In 2001, the Scots ended a 33-game regular season win streak for Wittenberg with a come-from-behind 26-24 victory.
For the second straight week, the Tigers did a lot of positive things against a quality opponent and held a second-half lead. After falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter, Stokes rallied the troops, spreading the offense around and moving the Tigers to a field goal and a 17-3 halftime deficit. With the Tiger defense coming up with several timely stops midway through the game, Wittenberg then sprinted to a 20-17 lead on 17 straight third-quarter points on touchdowns by senior wide receiver Jered Glover and senior tailback Tristan Murray, the latter coming on a 65-yard run on the first play of a series.
After Alma reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter, Murray struck again, this time catching a 56-yard touchdown pass from Stokes, who finished his first appearance in the Red & White with 13 completions in 33 attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He was also victimized by several dropped passes.
With 7:50 remaining in the game, Alma took the lead for good on a 11-yard touchdown pass, which capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive in which the Scots converted three critical long-yardage third-down plays. The final score came inside two minutes on a 15-yard run by Alma quarterback Josh Brehm, who had a spectacular game with 37 completions in 62 attempts for 420 yards and two touchdowns passing and two more rushing. He finished with more than 450 yards of total offense as the Scots posted a whopping 611 yard total.
Murray, who rambled for 239 yards a week ago against Dayton, finished with 111 yards on 20 carries and another 99 yards on three receptions in the loss. Senior wide receiver Braden Freeman had his second-best day as a collegian, hauling in six passes for 111 yards.
Defensively, junior safety Mitch Fonseca was the team's leading tackler for a third straight week, this time with 14 tackles. Senior cornerback Mike Freeman added 11 tackles, his best output in two years, and sophomore linebacker Walter Bonham was credited with 10 tackles for the first double-digit game of his career. Also, senior punter Jacob Thomas continued his outstanding season, booming five punts for an average of 51.4 per attempt, just 0.2 off the school record set by Gary Sitler against Eastern Kentucky in 1976. Thomas had a 77-yard punt in the second quarter, which tied the school record set by current special teams coordinator Matt Gallatin against Ohio Wesleyan in 1999.