Junior Connor Jeffers cuts to the right to evade Denison defenders.
ABBY MARGULIS / THE DEPAUW
The DePauw Tigers continued their hot streak this past weekend, defeating conference rival Denison Big Red, 27-15, at DePauw’s annual Old Gold home game.
Prior to the game’s 2 p.m. start, the University celebrated the expansion of its outdoor athletic campus facilities, and dedicated the multi-purpose Reavis stadium to Board of Trustee member Marshall W. Reavis, and his wife Amy.
In front of the 1,010 alumni, students, and family members in attendance, the Tigers were victorious against Denison for the first time since DePauw joined the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2010, and are now 3-1 on the season.
“[The Tigers] were a thrill to watch,” said Tiger alumni Kourtney Kartwright. “For 60 minutes, they were all relentless: defense, special teams, offense and even the guys on the sidelines cheering for their teammates played a major role.” Kartwright, who graduated earlier this year, played under both current coach Bill Lynch, his predecessor, Robby Long, and interim coach Scott Srnka over two football seasons.
This year, the Tiger football program looks like more of a formidable threat than Kartwright has ever experienced. DePauw’s run game provided their offense’s production in their Old Gold victory, recording 238 yards on the ground. Junior running back Amen Galley finished with 113 yards on 22 rush attempts, averaging 5.1 yards per carry (YPC) on the game.
This was the common theme amongst three of five DePauw’s rushers, with sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt averaging 6.1 yards per carry in nine attempts, and first-year Jack Gruber averaging 5.8 YPC in ten attempts.
Gruber accounted for DePauw’s lone rushing touchdown, running in from the Big Reds’ 6-yard line early in the fourth quarter. With a 20-9 lead, Gruber’s run, which ended up being the Tigers’ last score of the game, was key in putting away Denison for good.
The Tigers first score came with four minutes left in the opening quarter, with Hunt connecting on a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end J.D. Robinson to make the game 7-0.
Robinson, who accounted for half of Hunt’s eight completions on the day, has made a seemingly effortless switch from the defensive to offensive side of the ball over his Tiger football career. Hunt and Robinson revitalized their spark against the Denison defense –Robinson caught a 34-yard pass en route to a 7-0 lead against the Big Red on their home field a year ago.
However, Denison’s defense responded promptly this past weekend, recording a safety on the Tiger offense early in the second quarter.
The DePauw Tigers took on the Denison Big Red Saturday in the
annual Old Gold football game. The Tigers won 27-15.
ABBY MARGULIS / THE DEPAUW
Hunt and Robinson answered yet again, this time with an 11-yard connection with 9:16 left in the first half. Sophomore kicker Marko Adams converted a 19-yard field goal with 3.7 seconds left in the first half, and showed his range with a 32-yard conversion on DePauw’s first drive of the final half. Going into halftime, the Tigers confirmed to themselves and their fans that they could compete against the Big Red.
“[Coach] challenged us to make Denison match our intensity,” Amen Galley said. “Our team is not as young as it was a year ago. The game seems to be slowing down more and more, making it easier to compete.”
Despite not recording a touchdown, Galley was an unstoppable force against Denison’s spotty rushing defense. On one of Galley’s 22 attempts, he galloped for a game-long 58 yards, setting Hunt and Robinson up for the red zone conversion. For the season, the West Lafayette native is averaging 88 yards over the four games played this year. Galley reached the century mark for the second week in a row, after bullying Kenyon for 109 yards in his last outing. Galley’s backup, Jack Gruber, is superseding his first-year expectations, averaging 5.2 yards per game thus far.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers put up another outstanding performance. After being riddled for 42 points a year ago, the team gave up only two touchdowns this time around. Although Denison outgained the Tigers 302-276 in offensive yards, the Tigers came up with two crucial interceptions in the third quarter to permit Big Red from staging a comeback.
Sophomore defensive back Cody Baker picked off a Brandon Sklenar ball, before Denison intercepted an errant Matt Hunt throw. Before Hunt could have time to sulk, sophomore classmate Will Longthorne intercepted Sklenar in the Denison red zone.
“The back to back interceptions show how far we have come, and what we can do as a defense,” Longthorne said. “We are a tough squad, and we have not beaten ourselves yet this season.”
Sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt hand off to first-year
Jack Gruber in Saturday afternoon's game against
Denison. ABBY MARGULIS / THE DEPAUW
Longthorne’s play led to Gruber’s rushing touchdown, putting the final stab in Denison’s comeback hopes.
Sophomore Tommy Gray led DePauw with 12 tackles, while junior Adam Folta recorded eight.
This Saturday, DePauw will be away from Blackstock Stadium for the first time since suffering their lone loss of the season at Wittenberg University. This time, the Tigers will travel to Oberlin College to take on the 1-3 Fighting Yeomen. Last year, DePauw’s win against Oberlin was their first of the season.
With much better standings in head coach Bill Lynch’s sophomore season, the Tigers are expecting a similar outcome.