2002 Wittenberg Football Game Notes Week 2 vs. Urbana University Blue Knights

Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg University Tigers hit the road this week for the first time in 2002, but they don't have to travel far. Lying in wait less than 15 miles up U.S. 68 are the Urbana University Blue Knights, an NAIA scholarship program, who will be looking to avenge losses at Wittenberg each of the last two years.

The Tigers opened the season with a convincing 44-7 victory over the Albion College Britons last Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. Coming off an outstanding 2001 season that included a fifth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championship and fourth straight perfect run through the NCAC, Wittenberg got outstanding performances on both offense and defense in the win over Albion, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion in 2001. The Tigers have extremely high hopes again in 2002 as 17 starters are back in the fold, including nine on offense. A 33-game regular season winning streak may have been snapped a year ago at Alma, but Wittenberg still has won 58 of its last 61 regular season games since Joe Fincham took the reins in 1996, including its last eight. Three of the last six regular seasons resulted in perfect 10-0 records, and the Tigers are riding a conference record 29-game NCAC win streak, dating back to the second-to-last game of the 1997 season.

The Blue Knights are coming off back-to-back 1-9 seasons and are under new direction in 2002 with Todd Murgatroyd at the helm. Just a handful of players remain from the teams that opened with losses to Wittenberg each of the last two years. The new regime got off a strong start in the first half at Hanover last weekend, but wound up absorbing a 47-14 defeat. Quarterback Bobby Corlew, a Springfield native, and tailback Mike Robinson spark the offense.

Tigers on the Radio: Wittenberg is blessed with outstanding radio coverage again in 2002, as the aforementioned Marty Bannister heads things up for a 10th straight year. He can be found on the radio dial in the same location, 1600 AM, but with new call letters. Formerly WBLY, the radio home for the Tigers is now WULM.

Bannister is joined in the booth today by former Tiger All-American offensive lineman Xan Smith, who provides color commentary, while Scott Leo will patrol the sidelines and provide insight and commentary for a third consecutive season.

All season long, WULM hosts weekly radio shows that focus on local sports and even Wittenberg athletic teams specifically. On Wednesdays, Leo hosts a sports show that includes interviews and analysis on high school and college sports teams other than football. On Thursdays, following a high school football show, Bannister hosts Tiger Talk, which includes interviews and analysis with Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham and his players and assistant coaches.


The Rankings: Wittenberg is ranked No. 7 in three preseason polls (Street & Smith's, Lindy's and Don Hansen's National Football Gazette) and No. 5 by d3football.com. The Tigers finished the 2001 season ranked No. 7 in the latter poll as well. Urbana is unranked.

Series History: This is the third meeting between the Tigers and Blue Knights. In 2000, Wittenberg won 42-17 at Edwards-Maurer Field, and in 2001, the final was 44-13 in favor of the Tigers, also in Springfield. This is their first meeting in Urbana.

Tigers in Season Openers: Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham remained perfect in season openers last week as his Tigers defeated Albion 44-7. In his seven years, Fincham's teams have defeated Bluffton twice, Baldwin-Wallace twice, Urbana twice and Albion by an average score of 40-11. The last season-opening loss for the Tigers came in 1994 at Evansville by a 14-13 count.

Streaks: Wittenberg heads into the 2002 season riding a 29-game NCAC winning streak, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997 at Wooster. Since that loss, which forced a three-way split of the conference title between Wooster, Wittenberg and Allegheny, the Tigers have claimed four straight NCAC crowns without a loss. No player on the current roster has ever lost an NCAC game.

That's not the only active streak Wittenberg carries into the 2002 campaign. The Tigers' regular season home win streak has reached 35 straight games, dating back to the second game of the 1996 season against Allegheny. In addition, Wittenberg has gone 10 years since losing back-to-back games. At the end of the 1991 season, Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wittenberg, and then Baldwin-Wallace defeated the Tigers to open the '92 campaign. Since then, Wittenberg has played 109 games without losing two straight. The Tigers' record in that time is 98-11-1, including an incredible 92-6-1 during the regular season.

Preseason Honors: Wittenberg has produced 45 All-America football players over the last 39 years, including 29 first-team selections. If the preseason prognosticators are correct, this could be another banner year for Tigers and postseason awards. Senior tailback Daniel Grove is a preseason second team All-America choice by d3football.com, while senior center Adam McClain and senior defensive end Allen D'Andrea were preseason second team choice by Lindy's.

Tag-Team Approach: Michael Aljancic made his mark while in a Tiger uniform, finishing with a school record 147 career receptions.

In the first game post-Aljancic, the Wittenberg offense didn't miss a beat. Junior Skip Ivery (pictured at left), in his second year as a starter, hauled in three passes for 122 yards and a 94-yard touchdown, bettering Aljancic's school-record 83-yard scoring catch in 2000. Senior Adrian Crane, No. 3 on the team with 26 receptions in 2001, led all receivers with four catches against Albion. Senior Tim Horn, who had two career catches coming into this year, caught three passes for 19 yards against the Britons. Freshman Jered Glover and junior Ryan Barksdale also played extensively, and senior Josh McCoy didn't appear against Albion due to a summer collarbone injury, but he is expected back this week. Clearly, depth is not a problem.

Player of the Week: Skip Ivery was named NCAC Player of the Week for his performance in Week 1 of the 2002 season. His accomplishments, including a school-record 94-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring in the first quarter, are documented in the note above. It is the first time he has been so honored as he just barely nudged out teammate Daniel Grove for the honor.

Automatic: Senior Greg Cornett (pictured at right) took over as the starting quarterback prior to the 2001 season after throwing a grand total of three passes in his first two collegiate seasons, none of which were completed. Including playoffs, he has now started under center 14 times and has thrown at least one touchdown pass every time. Against Albion, Cornett extended that streak right away, hooking up with Skip Ivery on the aforementioned record-setting score in the first quarter.

Just Like He Never Left: Senior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (pictured at left) made a triumphant return to the Tigers lineup against Albion after sitting out the 2001 season. Along with leading the Tigers in tackles with six, Goldsbury broke the game open with a second-quarter interception return for a touchdown. It was the second time in his illustrious collegiate career that he has returned an interception for a score - the first one was a 92-yard return against Union (Ky.) in 1998.

Up The Charts: Senior tailback Daniel Grove showed no rust in the 2002 season opener, picking up where he left off a year ago and rambling for 233 yards on 25 carries against Albion last week.

Grove's 1,260 yards rushing last year ranks eighth in Wittenberg history for rushing yards in a season and moved his career totals to 1,942 yards on 329 carries. In combination with his Week 1 performance against the Britons, Grove has moved into the top 10 in school history in both rushing yards and scoring.

Career Rushing Att. Yds. YPC TD
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 836 5,112 6.1 67
2. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 685 3,759 5.5 38
3. Marlon Perryman (1990-93) 644 3,567 5.5 27
4. Jon Warga (1987-90) 525 3,250 6.2 28
5. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 520 3,122 6.0 38
6. Marcus Booker (1993-96) 490 2,991 6.8 36
7. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 563 2,837 5.0 35
8. Dana Williams (1979-82) 440 2,209 5.0 16
9. Daniel Grove (1999- ) 354 2,175 6.1 34
10. Glenn Hendrix (1971-74) 405 2,085 5.1 5

While it isn't likely that Grove will keep up his current 233-yard per game rushing average for all of 2002, if he averages even half of that number, he will be on pace to reach No. 4 on this list.

Touchdown Daniel Grove!: ...Is quite a familiar refrain. Grove (pictured at right) scored four more touchdowns last week, and he is now starting to move into some select company on the career scoring lists at Wittenberg.

Career Scoring TP TD PAT FG
1. Casey Donaldson (1997-00) 408 68 - -
2. Aaron Powers (1993-96) 254 42 *1 -
3. Ryan Walker (1997-00) 247 - 160-178 29-42
4. Dave Merritt (1975-78) 228 38 - -
Marcus Booker (1993-96) 228 38 - -
6. Gene Urbanski (1953-56) 212 31 26 -
7. Ron Murphy (1956-59) 210 34 *3 -
Daniel Grove (1999- ) 210 35 - -
9. Greg Brame (1990-93) 187 31 - -
10. Jimmy Watts (1993-96) 181 - 115-128 22-35
* 2-point conversions

Again, it's unlikely that Grove will continue his current pace of 24 points per game, but if he turns in a season like last year (21 touchdowns), he will move into the No. 2 position all-time behind Casey Donaldson, whose rushing and scoring totals rank among the top 10 all-time in NCAA Division III history.

Scouting the Tigers: Any discussion about the 2002 Wittenberg Tigers starts with a talented group of offensive skill position players. Daniel Grove rushed for more than 1,200 yards in his first year as a starter in 2001, while Greg Cornett was efficient and effective in his first year starting at quarterback. Fullback Raymar Hampshire offers opponents a devastating change of pace out of the backfield, and a host of sure-handed wide receivers have emerged as weapons, led by second-year starter Skip Ivery.

In addition, four starters are back on the offensive line, anchored by two-time All-NCAC choice Adam McClain at center.

On the other side of the ball, the strength of a veteran defensive unit is at linebacker, although the ranks have been thinned a bit by injuries. Back after not playing football in 2001 is senior middle linebacker Dustin Goldsbury, a three-time All-NCAC choice and one of the most dominating defensive players in the nation. He is joined by senior Andy Pope, a two-time All-NCAC selection, and junior Andy Dooley, a transfer from Miami University.

Plenty of experienced players are on hand in the secondary as well, starting with fifth-year seniors John Hauser and Andy Waddle. Hauser is a three-time All-NCAC choice and made second-team All-Great Lakes Region a year ago. The corners are senior David Middleton, a returning starter, and junior Tim Gaal. On the defensive line, three new starters join senior end Allen DAndrea, an All-NCAC choice in 2001.

Around the NCAC Today: Week 2 of the 2002 season features eight NCAC games, with the Wittenberg/Urbana tilt wrapping things up with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. One o'clock games include Case Western Reserve at Denison, Kalamazoo at Wabash, Ohio Wesleyan at Olivet and nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson at Allegheny. At 1:30 p.m., the slate includes Hiram at Bluffton and Kenyon at Bethany. And at 7 p.m., Earlham takes on Manchester. Oberlin and Wooster, the only team other than Wittenberg to win its season-opener last week, have the week off.

The Coaches: Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. Entering his seventh season at the helm, Fincham has a 64-7 overall record, including a mark of 42-2 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 58-3. His teams have claimed the last five conference titles, including four straight outright with undefeated records. 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 each of the last four seasons.

Urbana is led by Todd Murgatroyd, an Ohio Northern graduate who has previously worked as an assistant coach at Tennessee, Hawaii, Kent State and most recently Youngstown State. This is his first go-around as a head coach at any level, and he opened his career with last weeks 47-14 defeat at Hanover.