Tigers Come Up Just Short in Shootout Loss to Denison

SPRINGFIELD, OH - A back-and-forth shootout that featured nearly 1,000 yards of total offense between Denison and Wittenberg came down to a final kick. Unfortunately for the host Tigers, even with plenty of distance into a steady breeze at the south end of Edwards-Maurer Field, that final kick struck the left upright and bounced back onto the turf below to allow the Big Red to escape with a thrilling 43-40 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.

The loss was Wittenberg's fourth in a row, and it dropped the Tigers to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC. The win gave Denison records of 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the league, and it kept the Big Red in a three-way logjam for second place behind John Carroll in the standings.

Things started out well enough for the Tigers. Wittenberg jumped out to a 27-7 lead by halftime after a stunningly dominant first half, highlighted by explosive plays on offense, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from JJ Miller (Amelia, OH / Williamsburg) to Henry Jones (Cumming, GA / Landmark Christian) and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Richardson (St. Petersburg, FL / Northside Christian) to Adam Polacko (Oakwood, OH / Oakwood), and defense, most notably a 62-yard interception return by Will Dix Jr. (Parma Heights, OH / Holy Name). Those scores were bookended by a 19-yard field goal by Sumner Shroyer (Cincinnati, OH / Summit Country Day) to open the game and a 48-yard field goal by Connor Macek (Beavercreek, OH / Beavercreek) as time expired in the second quarter.

Macek's field goal is tied for the fifth-longest in program history. The school record is 52 yards, set by Bill Carpenter in 1960.

Denison bounced back in a big way in the second half. The Big Red scored touchdowns on all five of its possessions over the final 30 minutes of the game, with each of their drives covering at least 65 yards. The Tigers responded with two second-half touchdowns of their own, but the Big Red had all the answers, culminating with a 10-yard pass from Tyler Green to Grayson Kerscher with 50 seconds left.

The Tigers had three timeouts available to them on their final drive, and they engineered an outstanding 58-yard drive on eight plays to get into position for the aforementioned game-tying 38-yard field goal attempt by Shroyer.

Miller had a tremendous game, piling up 391 yards on 33-of-46 passing. He tossed two touchdown passes - in addition to the scoring pass to Jones in the first half he lobbed a perfect deep ball to Brody Graham (Cape Coral, FL / Barron Collier) in the fourth quarter that covered 57 yards to the end zone. He also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown on nine carries as a complement to Omar Holloway (Dayton, OH / Stebbins), who contributed 71 yards on 17 carries.

Graham had eight catches for 125 yards in the game, both career highs for the freshman receiver, but he wasn't Miller's favorite target in this game. Sophomore Pierce Ayers (Alexandria, KY / Williamsburg) took that honor as he piled up a school-record 17 receptions for 147 yards in the contest, breaking the previous record of 16 set by Corey Stump against Hiram in 2015.

Defensively, Dix led the way with 12 tackles, including two loss, and the interception return for a score. Luke Jackson (DeGraff, OH / Indian Lake) added eight tackles and a forced fumble, and Dalton Allen (Delaware, OH / Hayes) chipped in with a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.

Written By: Ryan Maurer