The DePauw Tigers lost 10-7 to Sewanee: University of the South in their season opener on Saturday afternoon. The game marked the beginning of Coach Bill Lynch's second stint with the DePauw football program.
Sophomore quarterback Justin Murray got off to a rough start in the opening quarter. After a 26-yard run by senior running back Armani Cato, Murray threw an interception at the goal line, giving Sewanee position at their own three-yard line.
Sewanee, also named the Tigers, scored on the ensuing drive. Murray noted the damage mental mistakes had on the losing result.
"We beat ourselves with penalties and turnovers," Murray said. "As long as we don't beat ourselves, we are in the position to beat anybody," Murray said.
The Tigers finished the game with three turnovers, two of which were interceptions. Murray's second interception came late in the fourth quarter, on a second down pass attempt. Murray finished the game with 166 yards passing yards and 35 yards on the ground.
Cato and sophomore Amen Galley split running back duties, collectively rushing for 55 yards on 13 attempts. Cato scored the Tigers only touchdown on a three yard run at the top of the fourth quarter. Senior Barry Flynn, the former Tiger basketball standout, ended the game with 90 receiving yards and eight catches.
The Tiger defense performed well, giving up 275 total yards. Sewanee running back Andrew Keenan led the team in rushing, averaging nearly 5 yards per rush for the game.
One of the Tigers biggest defenses lapses came on a self-inflicted wound. Senior defensive lineman Pat Keller was hit with a 15-yard personal foul in the first quarter, leading to Sewanee's only touchdown of the game.
Keller finished the season opener with seven tackles. Sophomore Adam Folta, a former West Lafayette High School standout, led the team with eight tackles. Folta, given more playing time due a depleted defensive secondary, was content with the overall performance of the defensive unit.
"There's guys flying to the ball," Folta said. "It's just a better team to play for this year. Defense has taken on a mindset of ball hawking."
Folta credits the new coaching staff for the shift in the defensive intensity.
"Lynch is really professional. He respects us in a way that's a lot different than some coaches in the past", said Folta.
Though DePauw is returning five starters on defense, the unit looked nothing like it did in 2012. Last year's defense gave up 29.5 points per game, ranked 164th in NCAA Division III rankings.
Murray noted the change he saw in his defense.
"They get to the ball this year. They have a lot of different looks. I was proud of our defense. They gave us a lot of opportunities to score", Murray admitted.
Saturday's loss was the Tigers' only non-conference matchup of the 2013 season. After an upcoming bye week, the Tigers play their first game on the newly renovated Blackstock Stadium, when they host Wittenberg on Sept. 21.
They suffered an embarrassing 14-52 loss to Wittenberg in the second game of the 2012 season. Wittenberg scored on each of their first five possessions of the game.
Wittenberg is coming off a season opening loss to Butler University, in a 49-24 blowout. They surrendered 28 points in the second quarter. Quarterback Reed Florence threw for 298 yards in the loss.
Folta and the rest of the Tigers defense head back to the drawing board with two weeks to prepare for Witternberg's offense.