Wittenberg Posts First Shutout of 2003 Season With 66-0 Win Over Hiram

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Sticking to the script established long ago in the series between Wittenberg and Hiram, the 25th-ranked Tigers walloped the visiting Terriers 66-0 Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field. Wittenberg leads the all-time series between the two schools 5-0 and has outscored Hiram by a whopping 330-7 in those five games. Wittenberg, which improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, got three touchdowns rushing from junior tailback Raymar Hampshire, two touchdowns receiving from sophomore wide receiver Jered Glover and three touchdowns passing from junior quarterback Ryan Holmes. The Tigers jumped out to a 49-0 lead before halftime and put it in cruise control, running reserves in and out of the game throughout the second half.

The scoring started with a one-yard jaunt by Hampshire to cap a seven-play, 51-yard first-quarter drive. That was followed by a five-yard scoring pass from Holmes to Glover, a four-yard touchdown run by freshman fullback Tyler Harmon and an 18-yard TD burst by Hampshire to make the score 28-0 at the close of the first quarter. In the second quarter, senior wide receiver Skip Ivery scored on a 14-yard pass from Holmes, Glover added a 22-yard scoring reception and Hampshire capped his day with a nifty 56-yard scoring run that made it 49-0 with 5:35 left before halftime.

In the third quarter, sophomore wide receiver Ryan Stafford hauled in his first career collegiate touchdown on a juggling, seven-yard reception and freshman tailback Joe Brumfield added a 12-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, sophomore kicker Justin Bockbrader hit a 32-yard field goal to provide the final score of the game. Wittenberg, which was coming off a loss at Wabash last week and still hasn't lost back-to-back games since 1992, gained 30 first downs to eight for Hiram, and the total yardage wound up 552-133 in favor of the Tigers. The Terriers crossed the midfield stripe just twice in the game and never proceeded past the 38-yard line.

Individually, Wittenberg was paced by Hampshire's 134 rushing yards on just 13 carries, while Brumfield finished with his first career 100-yard game as he added 104 yards on 18 carries. Ten different players carried the ball for Wittenberg. Holmes finished 9-of-11 for 105 yards and sophomore George Andress added five completions in six attempts for 40 yards and a touchdown. Ivery finished with five receptions for 62 yards to lead the receiving corps. Defensively, senior linebacker Gary George finished with seven tackles, including one for a four-yard loss and freshman linebacker Devon Combs added a career-high six tackles.

Hiram had two players finish in double-figures in tackles, Mike Sliter with 12 and Dan Murphy with 11. Offensively, Tim Anderson finished with 29 yards on 16 carries and the quarterback tandem of Max Kravitz and Tom Roszell finished with 12 completions on 28 attempts for 89 yards. John Papacostas led the receivers with 44 yards on four receptions.