DePauw defensive back Adam Folta (7) pushes away Wittenberg in the Old God football game in Greencastle, Ind. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015.
DePauw head coach Bill Lynch wasn’t ready to say Saturday was a statement win for his program, but it does open the door to begin the postseason conversation.
The victory, a 35-30 win over 20th ranked Wittenberg University (3-2, 2-2), vaults the Tigers (5-0, 4-0) into contention for a North Coast Athletic Conference title and discussion for a berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
“It was a great effort from our guys,” Lynch said. “Wittenberg’s an outstanding team, it’s a great program with a lot of history and tradition, so it was a good win for us.”
In order to get the win, however, the Tigers had to break away from their offensive formula of balance.
Facing a Wittenberg defense that was their toughest test so far this year, the Tigers stalled on the ground but made up for it with another impressive performance from junior quarterback Matt Hunt.
“Especially in a big game like that and to hit a couple big plays is huge and a testament to the work the offense has put in and the improvements we have been making from week to week,” Hunt said.
It took a great play from the defense to spark those impressive numbers, though.
Trailing 3-0 early in the second quarter, junior linebacker Thomas Gray picked off Wittenberg quarterback Zack Jenkins and returned it 34 yards for the Tigers’ first score.
“I feel the interception really sparked the entire team, both offense and defense,” Gray said. “It gave the team a huge burst of energy and confidence.”
After the defense forced another Wittenberg stop on the next drive, DePauw needed only two plays to find the endzone, where an 11-yard scamper from senior running back Amen Galley made it 14-3.
Wittenberg closed the deficit to four but the Tigers countered with a touchdown pass from Hunt to his little brother, first-year Andy, with less than a minute to play in the half, taking a 21-10 lead into halftime.
Hunt found the endzone for the second time in the game with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter on a 29-yard pass to senior Connor Jeffers. Wittenberg responded almost immediately after that with a touchdown of their own to pull back within eight as the third quarter ended.
On their next possession, Wittenberg was driving with a chance to tie the game, but the Tiger defense stopped the drive on the 10 yard line and forced Wittenberg to settle for a field goal that made it 28-23 with 10:43 to play.
But once again, DePauw had an answer.
This time, it took the Hunts only one play to make it a two possession game. Matt hit Andy on the first play of the drive for an 81-yard touchdown just 16 seconds after Wittenberg had pulled within five.
After forcing Wittenberg to turn the ball over on downs, the Tigers drove down to the Wittenberg 28 and sent out junior kicker Marco Adams to try and ice the game with a field goal. Adams’ kick was blocked however, and on the ensuing drive, Wittenberg found the endzone to pull back within five with less than four minutes to play.
The Tigers couldn’t do anything with their drive and gave Wittenberg the ball back on their own 20 yard line with 2:29 to play.
Wittenberg managed to move the ball down to inside the DePauw 30 yard line. That was where the Tiger defense made a final stand, forcing an incompletion before sophomore Chris Hawk sacked Jenkins to bring up a fourth down. Wittenberg’s last pass attempt fell for an incompletion and the Tigers held on for the five point win.
“After the incomplete pass on fourth and long, I knew we had done it and the offense would be able to run the rest of the clock out,” Gray said. “I was fired up.”
While Hunt shined through the air, the DePauw running game never got going. Junior Jason Kirchhoff led the Tigers with 14 carries for 50 yards on the day.
Through the air, Andy was Matt’s favorite target for the afternoon. The Hunts connected nine times for 207 yards and two of Matt’s three touchdown passes.
“I knew he had the potential for big plays and to be a consistent threat and I think he showed that Saturday,” Hunt said. “[The] great thing is I think we have a handful of receivers who on any day could have the same type of numbers.”
The Tigers host Allegheny College next weekend before embarking on a two game road trip that will take them to Ohio Wesleyan University and Denison University before playing Oberlin College and Wabash College at home to finish out the season.
“When you win and you win big games, people take notice and they’re going to play that much harder against you,” Lynch said. “Everybody’s going to try and knock somebody off who’s undefeated.”