Tigers Shut Down DePauw In NCAC Opener

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - In the 2013 season opener at Butler on Sept. 7, the Wittenberg Tigers were buried early. Two weeks later, the shoe was on the other foot as the Tigers showed tremendous resilience with a well-executed 45-0 whitewashing of host DePauw.

The win evened 17th-ranked Wittenberg's record at 1-1 on the young season. More importantly, it kicked off the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) portion of the campaign in the best way possible.

DePauw fell to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in the league. The Tigers have scored just seven points through the first two games in 2013.

Wittenberg jumped out to a 14-0 lead through the first quarter and tacked on 10 more points by halftime for a commanding 24-0 advantage. The host Tigers managed just one first down over the opening 30 minutes wile the visiting Tigers put together four scoring drives of 66 yards or more.

Wittenberg didn't let up in the third quarter, adding 14 more points. The final score came early in the final frame, thanks in large part to a blocked punt that led to a scoring drive of just five yards.

While the visiting Tigers threw 35 passes in the game, just one of them resulted in a touchdown, that coming on a third-quarter swing pass from senior quarterback Reed Florence (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) to sophomore running back Sean Gary (Indianapolis, Ind./Decatur Central). Florence rushed for two touchdowns, sophomore running back Jimmy Dehnke (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) found the end zone a pair of times on the ground and sophomore quarterback Zack Jenkins (Frostproof, Fla./Frostproof) rounded things out with a scoring run.

Gary finished with 110 yards on 14 carries to go along with four catches for 33 yards. Dehnke added 45 yards on the ground and 21 through the air, while senior Brendon Cunningham (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) hauled in a team-high five passes for 64 yards.

While the Tiger offense was efficient, Wittenberg's defense was dominant. DePauw managed just 140 total yards in the game.

Leading the charge for Wittenberg was senior defensive end Kyle Sanning (Fairborn, Ohio/Tecumseh) with seven tackles, while senior linebacker Dwight Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and senior linebacker Spencer Leno (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) added five stops apiece. Ten different Wittenberg players registered at one-half tackle for loss in the game, with only freshman Brady Vanover (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) getting credit for more than one in the game.