Junior Amen Galley scores the first touchdown of the game 
against Sewanee. ABBY MARGULIS / THE DEPAUW

For the first time since 2011, the DePauw Tigers football team’s season opener resulted in a win.

In their home opener this past weekend against Sewanee: The University of the South, the Tigers handed the opposing (Sewanee) Tigers a 31-13 beat down.

Matt Hunt, the Tigers second-year starting quarterback, connected on 11 of his 19 pass attempts, throwing for 128 yards and a touchdown. Hunt also recorded 88 yards on the ground, most of which came from a 61-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.  Hunt’s longest run of his career was the start of a quarter in which DePauw outscored Sewanee 14-6.  

Sewanee quarterback Cody Daniel also did damage on the ground, rushing for 89 yards and a one-yard touchdown run. While Hunt only had 6 rushing attempts to average 14.7 yards per carry, Daniel ended with 21 rushing attempts, 8 more than Sewanee’s starting running back Andy Moots.

The battle on the ground proved the danger dual threat quarterbacks can have on opposing defenses. Hunt and Daniel’s ability to venture outside the pocket bought them vital time to make good decisions with the football. On several plays, Hunt was able to outrun Sewanee’s defensive linemen and turn a would-be sack into a positive gain for the host Tigers offense.

The majority of the run plays called by Tiger head coach Bill Lynch were read options, which Hunt decided if to keep the ball, or pitch it to running backs Amen Galley or Jason Kirchoff based on the defense’s positioning. As opposed to a traditional running play in which the quarterback’s only responsibility is to hand the ball off, the read option’s effectiveness is dependent upon a quarterback’s split-second decision making skills more than anything else.

The Tigers’ 31 offensive points tallied last Saturday, the most since last season’s 45 versus Oberlin, was indicative of Hunt’s poise under center.

Hunt also limited timely mistakes by throwing the football away on broken plays, a rare trait for a young quarterback. Senior wide receiver Zach Alleman is one beneficiary of Hunt’s unordinary growth spurt at the quarterback position.

 “[Hunt] adapted quicker than any of us could have expected” Alleman said. “Certain aspects at the quarterback position are developed over time, and this past off-season allowed the receivers to gain chemistry with Matt. Now in his second year, he has a greater understanding of the offensive system.”

Tiger fans saw this evolved chemistry first hand in the middle of the second quarter when Hunt floated a 13-yard pass to Alleman for DePauw’s second touchdown of the game. Even with the 14-7 lead, DePauw scored three times after that touchdown, before Sewanee’s Cody Daniel replied with a 1-yard touchdown in the last two minutes of the third quarter. 

After a failed two-point conversion, DePauw’s defensive unit’s only task was to keep the Sewanee offense from reaching the end zone in the fourth quarter. With the help of second year defensive tackle Peter Nelson, they did just that. In the midst of Sewanee’s first drive of the quarter, Nelson pinned Daniel for a sack that resulted in a 10-yard loss for Sewanee. After two successive incomplete passes by Daniel, the 291-pound Nelson was back to disrupt the pocket, this time hurrying Daniel to throw an incomplete pass to bring up fourth down and 20, forcing a Sewanee punt.

Even with the Tigers’ polished offense, members of the defensive unit knew coming in to the season opener a home victory was impossible without their own efforts.

“[Coming in] the emphasis was on trust; do your job and trust the guys around you to do theirs,” said sophomore linebacker Will Longthorne. It took a few series to adjust to the speed of a triple option offense, but overall, I think we did a pretty good job executing our individual assignments, which resulted in a great team win.”

Longthorne led all players in tackles, with 12 total, and 9 solo tackles. Only a sophomore, Longthorne is a poster boy for the Tigers’ young and apt 4-3 defense. Longthorne’s teammate and classmate Tommy Gray was right behind him, with 9 total tackles. Of the Tigers’ 10 leading tacklers in the season opener, six [Longthorne, Gray, Michael Mitsch, Cody Baker, Peter Nelson, Kevin Kiyosaki] were sophomore products of Bill Lynch’s first recruit class. The sophomore productivity is not only a good sign for the remainder of the 2014 season, but for years to come.  

While senior captain Garrett Rice had two solo tackles on the win, his focus after the final whistle shifted to the Tigers’ conference showdown at Wittenberg in two short weeks. Last season, the Tigers suffered a 45-0 embarrassment at the hands of Wittenberg in the first game ever at Blackstock Stadium. This year, their eyes are set on payback.

“In our teams philosophy, every game is important,” Rice said. “For this game in particular, we want to prove that were not the same team they beat 45-0 last year. Its crucial we win this game, it’s a true test of our talent.”