Following a 24-13 win against the Hiram College Terriers, the DePauw Tigers have recorded four regular season wins for the first time since 2011.
The Tigers are now 4-5, while Hiram College dropped to a disappointing 2-7 for the season.
After a scoreless first quarter, Hiram took the first lead in the game when Terrier quarterback George Blake connected with wide receiver Nate Eaton for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
For the Terriers, who lost to the Wabash College Little Giants last week 66-0, it was their first touchdown in four total quarters.
Their last touchdown came with two seconds to go in a 51-13 loss to Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Tigers were without leading rusher, senior Nikko Sansone, who is recovering from a sprained acromioclavicular joint. Even with the early reason to worry, the Tigers kept composure, something that would pay off with 4:52 left in the second quarter.
First-year stand-out Matt Hunt hurled a 25-yard pass to 6-foot-5 receiver Barry Flynn for the Tigers' first touchdown. From that point forward, the Tigers controlled the momentum of the game.
Armani Cato, the senior running back from Fayetteville, Ga., converted a 2-yard touchdown run with 8:45 to go in the third quarter. Cato struck again early in the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 21-7 on an 18-yard touchdown run. Cato finished the game with 109 yards rushing on 19 carries and two touchdowns.
For the game, Cato averaged an astounding 5.5 yards per carry. It was his second time hitting the century mark in his four years with the program.
Cato credited his offensive line for his success against the Terriers.
"Without the offensive line, no one can produce," Cato said. "Our offense cant be cohesive and we cant move the ball, which we have to do against Wabash. We need some big plays. Wabash has a great front line."
When Cato wasn't running through the Terriers' front seven, it was sophomore Amen Galley doing damage on the ground. Galley finished with 61 yards on 17 carries.
Galley now has a total of 207 yards for the season, second only to the injured Sansone. Sansone is expected to play in this week's Monon Bell game, the last of his college career.
Hunt had a relatively quiet performance, throwing for 150 yards and the lone touchdown pass to Flynn. His passing yardage, 33 percent completion percentage, and 92.22 QB efficiency was the lowest since he started his college career on against Wittenberg University.
The Tigers defense didn't need much more from Flynn, however, as they held the Terriers to 13 points and 200 total yards.
Defensive linemen sophomore Michael Mitsch and senior Tophel Secuskie helped their front line quiet the Terriers rushing attack of David Perkins and Richard Simpson.
Hiram ended the game with only 35 net yards rushing. Half of their yardage on the ground came from a 17-yard rush from Perkins.
According to sophomore corner Adam Folta, "We dominated up front. Our [defensive line] did a great job and made my job [in the secondary] easy."
The Tigers hope to take their momentum into this Saturday's season finale, the annual Monon Bell Classic game against Wabash.
The Little Giants come in bolstering an 8-1 overall record. They are coming off their first loss, a 17-35 defeat at the hands of North Coast Athletic Conference title-winner Wittenberg University.