Coming off a 42-13 win against The College of Wooster which clinched their first winning season since 2010 the DePauw Tigers will take on the Hiram College Terriers this Saturday at Blackstock Stadium.
The Terriers come into Saturday’s tilt against the Tigers after a 41-10 loss to Wabash College last weekend.
Players crowd behind assistant coach Matt Nelson
as he shows a play drawn on a piece of paper.
DePauw is back in action tomorrow in a game against Hiram.
ZACH TAYLOR / THE DEPAUW
The Terriers lost to Wabash College, the Tiger’s next target, 41-10 last week.
“We’ve had a solid week of practice,” sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt said. “With this team, when we have a good week of practice with a lot of energy, it tends to carry over to Saturday.”
The game should be a good match-up—even though Hiram has a losing record in NCAC conference (3-4) they defeated Ohio Wesleyan, who topped DePauw over fall break 23-16.
“We cannot look past anyone in this conference,” junior Tyler Leising said.
The Tigers also have a couple of impressive games under their belt however, coming off a couple of road wins their heads are up and their attitudes are confident.
“We feel great going into this game,” sophomore defensive back Cody Baker said. “This week we have just been doing what we do every week,” Baker continued.
The Tiger’s goal for this week is getting their seventh win of the season.
“Coach Lynch and his staff put together a game plan each week and practice is spent making sure we are able to execute it as best as we can,” senior tight end J.D. Robinson said. “We know Hiram is a good football team, but as long as we are able to be sound in our assignments and execute the game plan, we will give ourselves a good opportunity to win the game.”
For practice this week, Coach Lynch hasn’t implemented anything special.
“We have a routine each week that prepares us for the team on the schedule that week and we have to stick to that plan to be successful,” Leising said.
There are many reasons the Tigers are hungry for a win this weekend — one being the fact that it’s the seniors last home game.
“Like any weekend we are trying to win, but with this weekend being the seniors last home game, it gives the team something to compete for and a win will mean that much more,” junior running back Amen Galley, who broke 1,000 career yards last week versus Wooster, said. “We plan on attacking Hiram as a whole. They are a fast, physical team but so are we. We need to make them match our intensity, not the other way around.”
“We know Hiram is an athletic, fast team,” Hunt added about Saturday’s competition.
The defense is aware of Hiram’s speed, but say that they don’t hold on to the ball well — they have 56 turnovers this season.
“We plan on playing the same sound defense we have played all year and when they make a mistake we are going to capitalize,” Baker said. “If we eliminate the big plays from their speedy receivers on the perimeter we will be in good shape.”
A big key for DePauw as well is limiting turnovers, which has killed them in their two losses this season.
“We have to keep limiting turnovers on offense like we have the past few weeks so we can come away with a win,” Leising said.
Another key is keeping Hiram’s fast offense off the field and giving the DePauw defense a chance to catch their breath.
“We know as long as we are able to execute our base offense and control the ball while our defense keeps them off the field we will be in a good position to win,” Robinson said.
Saturday will be an emotional day for all of DePauw’s seniors.
“I know it would be very special to all of the seniors to get one more win at home in our last game at Blackstock Stadium,” Robinson said.
Kickoff between the Tigers and Terries is scheduled for 1 p.m. out at Blackstock.