Tigers Pounce On Oberlin For Dominating 62-2 Victory

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers were dominant from start to finish in a 62-2 home win over Oberlin.

The win was Wittenberg's 16th in a row against Oberlin, dating back to the Tigers' entry into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 1989. Wittenberg won for the third straight time in the 2015 season since an Oct. 3 loss at DePauw and remained unbeaten at home in four contests while improving to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the league.

Wittenberg took control from the outset, scoring on its first seven drives of the game, including a blocked punt by freshman DeShawn Sarley (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) that was recovered in the end zone by freshman Rashon Edwards (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier). By halftime, the Tigers held a commanding 41-0 lead, and even while substituting liberally throughout the final 30 minutes, Wittenberg tacked on three more scores.

By game's end, eight different Wittenberg players had scored touchdowns in the game, in addition to four different kickers. In the first half, it was mostly familiar faces celebrating in the end zone, including senior wide receiver Corey Stump (Lima, Ohio/Central Catholic), junior wide receiver Luke Landis (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville), Edwards, senior quarterback Zack Jenkins (Frostproof, Fla./Frostproof) and junior wide receiver Luke Bowling (New Lebanon, Ohio/Dixie).

After Oberlin scored its lone points on a safety thanks to a fumbled Wittenberg snap in its own end zone, the Tigers responded with touchdowns by freshman quarterback Jake Kennedy (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), Sarley and freshman running back Antonio McClain (Louisville, Ky./Eastern).

Wittenberg piled up nearly 500 yards of total offense while holding Oberlin to just 14 first downs and less than 200 yards of their own. The Tiger defense was led by junior linebacker Terrance Crowe (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) with eight tackles, senior defensive tackle Josh Bannick (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) with seven stops and three pass break-ups, and junior safety Jay Mastin (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) with five tackles, a pass break-up and an interception that led directly to a first quarter touchdown.

A total of 31 different Tigers were credited with defensive statistics in the game. Edwards and freshman defensive back Miles Laboy (Gaithersburg, Md./Avalon) also had interceptions.

Written By: Ryan Maurer