Head coach Scott Srnka saw it coming: seniors Bobby Coburn and Zach Price carrying a water cooler out onto the field to dunk on their coach.
He waved them off at first, but they snuck around from behind and caught him off guard.
With ice water dripping off him, Srnka hugged them both, and thanked them for his first win as head coach.
"It's not my first win - it's our first win," Srnka said. "I'm so darn proud of these guys because they came out and were ready and focused."
The Tigers (1-3) won their first game of the season 17-14 Saturday afternoon at Blackstock Stadium over Washington University in St. Louis (1-4). After three weeks of adversity almost unheard of - the dismissal of head coach Robby Long, injuries at the quarterback and defensive line positions and blowout losses - DePauw held off multiple Bears offensive drives to claim its first victory of the season.
But it didn't come easy.
On the Tigers' second offensive possession, freshman quarterback Justin Murray found a wide-open Nikko Sansone on the right sideline. The junior wide receiver sprinted downfield and was tackled on the Bears' 14-yard line for a 42-yard gain.
After a first down from the Tigers on another pass to Sansone, Murray rolled out left and spotted a clear running lane, and dove across the end zone for the first touchdown of the day.
DePauw forced two three-and-outs from the Washington offense in the first quarter, but in the second, the Bears brought out the long-pass.
On the visitor's fifth offensive drive, it took four plays to cover 57 yards capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass on the right sideline. Washington's Tim Bartholomew jumped to catch the ball over Tigers' corner Phil Ganser. The sophomore has been a target all season of opposing offenses.
"Sometimes that happens because we're playing press coverage," Srnka said. "He's in position. He just has to make a play on the ball. He needs to lean in and pin the inside arm. Two of those throws were pretty darn good. He's there, he just needs to play it."
DePauw responded immediately on the next possession, driving 43 yards in eight plays capped by an Armani Cato three yard rushing touchdown.
"It's beautiful," Srnka said of his offense. "It was almost precision, for me as a defensive coach, I love seeing that because it's chewing up clock. We're mixing the run and pass really well, and that's all you can ask. On the defensive side, that works for us because we're sitting and relaxing."
On the following Bears' possession, freshman Adam Folta intercepted the ball on DePauw's 30 yard line, ending a long offensive drive for Washington.
"When they hit us with big plays, we stopped them, and that was key," Srnka said.
After the half, the Tigers started to eat up clock time by rattling off long offensive drives. The final points for DePauw came from Eric Malm's 32 yard field goal to open up the second half pushing the lead 17-7.
Then the defense settled in.
Sophomore Clark Costello intercepted backup quarterback John O'Connor for a second time at the start of the fourth quarter. However, a partially-blocked punt by the Bears special teams unit and another long pass brought the visitors within three points in the fourth quarter.
Then Murray orchestrated an almost nine-minute, 17-play drive covering 57 yards. In total, the Tigers possessed the ball about 36 minutes to Washington's 24.
"I just stuck with my keys," Murray said. "The line did a great job getting a push, and when we needed to stay on the field, we got the win. ... What we did this game was really hustle. If we take that every game forward, we can be victorious."
A third DePauw interception by sophomore J.D. Robinson ended the Bears' second to last offensive drive, and Washington ran out of time with 28 seconds left on the clock.
Murray threw for 213 yards to 11 different wide receivers and had one interception. Sansone led all Tigers' wide receivers with five catches of 69 yards, while junior Andrew Cusumano carried the ball 13 times for 32 yards.
With their first win on the season, the Tigers next host Ohio Wesleyan University (4-0, 2-0 NCAC) on Saturday.