2003 Wittenberg Football Game Notes Game 5 vs. Wabash College Little Giants

The Wittenberg Tigers are off to a 4-0 start to the 2003 season, the sixth time in the last seven years the Tigers have swept their traditional three-game nonconference schedule and opened NCAC action with a win.

October 11, 2003

Setting The Scene:

The Wittenberg Tigers are off to a 4-0 start to the 2003 season, the sixth time in the last seven years the Tigers have swept their traditional three-game nonconference schedule and opened NCAC action with a win.

Raymar Hampshire

Junior Raymar Hampshire leads the Tigers' rushing attack with 440 yards and eight touchdowns (including one receiving), and he is averaging a robust 7.2 yards per carry. Through the air, junior quarterback Ryan Holmes has seven touchdowns, 583 yards and no interceptions. His chief targets have been senior Skip Ivery with 16 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore Jered Glover with 14 receptions for 180 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 271 yards and 14 points per game. Safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir leads the way with 28 total tackles, including 15 against Urbana when he was recognized as NCAC with Player of the Week. Linebacker Gary George also has 28 tackles, including five for loss, and two interceptions, including one against Thomas More he returned 30 yards for a score.

Wabash is off to a 2-2 start after losing its NCAC opener last week in the mud at Allegheny. The Little Giants are coming off a 12-1 campaign in 2002, one that included a pair of wins over Wittenberg (one in the regular season and one in the playoffs) and the college's first NCAC title in any sport. Wabash, led by All-Americans Jake Knott and Ryan Short, a quarterback and tight end respectively, lost at eventual national champion Mount Union in the NCAA Division III Playoffs quarterfinals.

This season, the Little Giants are rebuilding and the results have been mixed, including the aforementioned loss in the NCAC opener and a season-opening 28-21 defeat at Kalamazoo. Still, Wabash can boast one of the best defenses in the nation, which includes eight returning starters. Led by all-conference defensive lineman Blair Hammer, the Little Giants rank 18th in the nation in rush defense, yielding just 79 yards per outing.

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 the Little Giants 4-2. The Tigers won the first four meetings, including games in 1964 and 1965 when the two teams were not in the same conference. Since the Little Giants joined the NCAC, the two teams have split four games. In 2000, Wabash's first game as a league member was spoiled as the Tigers won a lightning-interrupted game 41-10. In 2001, Wittenberg won 14-3 at home en route to a fifth consecutive NCAC title. Last season, Wabash won the aforementioned games. Wabash is the only team other than Mount Union with more than one win against Wittenberg under head coach Joe Fincham.

The Rankings:

Wittenberg ranks No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association poll, No. 10 in the d3football.com poll and No. 6 in National Football Gazette. Wabash started the season ranked as high as No. 4 but has since dropped out of the national rankings.

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 125 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 124 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.

NCAC Openers:

The Tigers have opened NCAC action with a win seven straight years, dating back to a 26-14 loss in Week 2 of the 1996 season. Since joining the conference in 1989, Wittenberg has won 14 of its 15 NCAC openers, including last week's 60-7 demolition of visiting Denison.

Skip Ivery

Up The Charts:

Senior wide receiver Skip Ivery leads the Tigers with 16 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his career totals to 104 receptions for 1,497 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ranks No. 4, No. 6 and tied for No. 4 on those respective school record lists. He also has five carries for 78 yards this season for a robust 15.6 yards per carry average.

Ryan Holmes

Mr. Efficiency:

Ryan Holmes leads the NCAC and ranks seventh in the nation in passing efficiency with a spectacular rating of 173.1. After finishing 5-of-10 for 166 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against Denison, Holmes is now completing 58.7 percent of his passes, and he has 583 yards and seven touchdowns passing for the season. Perhaps most important for a quarterback in his first season as a starter under center, he has no interceptions this season.

Adam Hewitt

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 appears on the field in almost every special teams situation. And he now is making an impression in the defensive backfield as a back-up safety - against Denison, he set a school record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

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.

Quarterback Ryan Holmes ranks No. 7 in the nation with a pass efficiency rating of 173.1. If the season ended today, that would be a school record. Tailback Raymar Hampshire is averaging two touchdowns (12.0 points) per game to rank tied for 10th nationally in scoring.

As a team, Wittenberg ranks 26th in total offense, 18th in rush offense, tied for 37th in rush defense, tied for 26th in turnover margin, 29th in pass efficiency defense, 23rd in total defense, tied for third in scoring offense and 32nd in scoring defense.

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 two of the 14 categories - pass efficiency (168.2) and scoring defense (13.5 points per game). In addition, the Tigers rank second in scoring offense (47.0 points per game), rushing offense (251.5 yards per game), rush defense (97.0 yards per game), total offense (432.8 yards per game), total defense (242.5 yards per game) and pass defense efficiency (90.0 rating).

Tyler Harmon

Last Time Out:

Wittenberg made it look easy again on Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field, scoring the first 38 points of the game en route to a 60-7 victory over Denison. It was the 14th straight win by Wittenberg in the series between the two teams.

The Tigers scored in almost every imaginable way, including four touchdown runs, four touchdown passes, an interception return, a field goal and a safety. Wittenberg recorded 28 first downs to Denison's 11, ran up 240 yards rushing to -16 for the Big Red and totaled 445 yards to Denison's 157.

The scoring started on a one-yard touchdown run by fullback Tyler Harmon, capping an eight-play, 99-yard, game-opening drive. That score was followed by an 11-yard TD reception by wide receiver Jered Glover from quarterback Ryan Holmes, a two-yard scoring run by tailback Raymar Hampshire and a 30-yard field goal by kicker Conrad Hindert. In the second quarter, tight end Nate Cherry scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard pass from quarterback George Andress and Hampshire added a four-yard scoring run. In the second half, Harmon caught an 11-yard TD pass from Andress, tailback Joe Brumfield added a one-yard scoring run, defensive lineman Jeff Anzalone got a sack in the end zone for a safety and then tailback/safety Adam Hewitt made his way into the school record books with a 100-yard interception return for touchdown to cap the scoring with 52 seconds left.

Individually, the Tigers spread the wealth. Eight different players were credited with at least one rushing attempt, led by Hampshire's 72 yards on 11 carries. Three Tiger quarterbacks combined to finish 18-of-27 passing for 205 yards and four touchdowns. Ten different players caught at least one pass. Defensively, linebacker Andrew Nichols finished with seven tackles to lead the team.

Jered Glover

Last Meeting (Regular Season):

Wittenberg had streaks of 30 straight NCAC victories and 36 consecutive regular season home wins snapped as Wabash pulled out a 46-43 overtime victory at Edwards-Maurer Field on Oct. 12, 2002. Wabash won it in overtime on a 27-yard field goal.

The scoring started with 5:24 left in the first quarter as Wittenberg defensive end Jim Lackmeyer returned an interception 22 yards for his first collegiate score. Then with 2:53 remaining in the opening stanza, senior tailback Daniel Grove went 80 yards on two carries to make the score 14-0 before the Little Giants rallied for three second-quarter scores to take the lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Wabash's two touchdowns were countered by a pair of touchdowns hook-ups between wide receiver Skip Ivery from quarterback Greg Cornett. The difference, however, was that Wabash made both extra points, while Wittenberg had the first attempt blocked and then had a two-point conversion attempt fail. In the fourth quarter, Wabash again struck first to open up a 17-point lead before the Tiger defense stiffened and the offense drove to a 19-yard field goal by Jacob Thomas, an eight-yard scoring reception for wide receiver Adrian Crane on a pass from Cornett, and a two-yard run and two-point conversion by Grove that tied it with just 3:24 remaining. The Tigers had a late opportunity to win the game, but an interception stifled the rally and then in the extra session a field goal attempt went wide right. Wabash picked up one first down and then kicked the winning field goal on third down from the 10-yard-line.

Wabash finished with 506 yards of total offense, while the Tigers had 497, including a 373-367 advantage through the air. Cornett set a school record with 33 completions for 367 yards. Grove had 91 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and Jered Glover had 10 receptions for 121 yards. The Tigers got 11 tackles from linebacker Ryan Gresham.

Ryan Gresham

Last Meeting (Playoffs):

Turnovers were the name of the NCAA Division III Playoff game on Nov. 30, 2003 as the Tigers swallowed a disappointing 25-14 loss at Wabash. Wittenberg controlled much of the game statistically but the Tigers couldn't overcome eight turnovers.

Wittenberg got on the board first in the second quarter as wide receiver Jered Glover and quarterback Greg Cornett covered 31 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, but Wabash tied it on a clutch fourth-and-15 play just minutes later. Wabash took a 13-7 lead in the third quarter on a five-yard run by Chris Morris, and then Cornett, who ranks No. 2 in Wittenberg history in career passing yardage, was sidelined by an injury on the next possession. Wabash capitalized by forcing a fumble and scoring on an 11-yard pass.

An interception return that went 30 yards for a touchdown put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter. Wittenberg rounded out the scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kurt Forrest to wide receiver Skip Ivery with 2:30 remaining.

For the game, the Tigers had 23 first downs to Wabash's 17, put up 180 yards rushing against 44 for the Little Giants, totaled 370 yards of offense to 260 for Wabash and had the ball for nearly 35 minutes of the game. Individually, it was a fitting performance for senior tailback Daniel Grove, who became the first person to go over 100 yards against Wabash in 2002, finishing with 145 yards on 30 carries, the fourth time in his career he surpassed the century mark in a playoff game. Cornett finished 18-of-31 for 142 yards and touchdown, and Glover had 10 receptions for 87 yards. Wittenberg allowed just 25 net rushing yards to Little Giant tailback Chris Morris and Jake Knott was limited to 19-of-39 for 216 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

On defense, Greshman showed the way with 10 total tackles, including three for loss, an interception and two quarterback hurries. Linebacker Dustin Goldsbury finished with eight tackles, including one for a loss of six yards, and defensive end Jim Lackmeyer chipped in with six total tackles, including 3.5 for a loss of 13 yards.

Joe Fincham

The Coach:

Wittenberg is led by Joe Fincham, a 1988 graduate of Ohio University. In his eighth season at the helm, Fincham has a 77-9 overall record, including a mark of 49-3 in the NCAC and a regular season record of 71-5. 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.