Junior wide receiver Connor Jeffers searches for the play call
during a practice preparing for the weekend game against Wooster.
The Tigers travelled to Wooster, Ohio and won 42-13.
ZACHARY TAYLOR / THE DEPAUW
On the first play from scrimmage of last Saturdays North Coast Athletic Conference matchup between DePauw University and The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, Fighting Scots’ quarterback Gary Muntean took a snap, hopeful of an opening drive score for his Fighting Scots.
That wish was short-lived, however, it was DePauw junior cornerback Hamm Hooper who found touchdown glory. Hooper intercepted a Wooster pass and found himself in the opposing end-zone for a 27-yard pick six. Hooper’s stellar defensive moment was one of five first-half scores for DePauw, with the final score 42-21 in the Tigers favor. The win improves DePauw’s record to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the NCAC, while Wooster College dropped to 3-5.
“On that play, I don't think my guy was the first option,” Hooper said. “The other two-thirds of the Bermuda Triangle, Garret and Paul, did a great job of guarding their receivers and by the time he checked down to my guy I was able to read the quarterback and jump the route. It was a great feeling scoring a touchdown, I had never scored a varsity touchdown in high school or college before that.”
DePauw’s six wins currently is the most the Tiger program has had since 2010, when the program went 9-2 under former coach Robby Long. After placing only ten wins over the previous three seasons under Long and current Indiana Football Hall of Famer Bill Lynch, the 2014 Tigers are a 6-2 squad going into their final two and most important games versus Hiram College and Wabash College.
Before the Tigers could let their minds wander that far, they had to defeat conference rival Wooster, a team hobbling in on a 2 game losing streak. Nevertheless, the Tigers took nothing for granted in preparing for the showdown between the two black and old gold schools at John P. Papp Stadium.
“[The game against Wooster] was surprising to the whole team,” senior Garrett Rice said. “We came into Wooster thinking it was going to be a dogfight, but we were more prepared than they were and capitalized on their mistakes.”
After Hooper’s defensive score, the unit went on to force a Fighting Scot three-and-out, leading to junior running back Amen Galley’s six-yard touchdown run with 9:08 minutes left in the first quarter.
On the following Scots possession, DePauw’s defense forced Wooster into another punt. Sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt and the rest of the Tigers offense expanded their team’s lead to 21 when Hunt connected with a 4-yard touchdown pass to 6-4 junior tight end Tyler Leising.
The theme of Tiger dominance would persist through the first half of the contest.
After Hooper’s interception, the Tiger defense forced punts on five straight possessions. On those drives, the Tigers gave up a total of 47 yards. On the following Fighting Scot possession, the Tigers allowed 29 Wooster yards before turning over on downs. Sophomore corner Cody Baker led all tacklers, with 9 solo tackles, followed by classmate Will Longthorne, who had 8 total.
Along with Hoopers’ interception, Baker and sophomore linebacker Thomas Gray had interceptions of their own. DePauw’s defense forced three interceptions from two Wooster quarterbacks, two from Gary Muntean, and one from Jack Marousek. Though Wooster’s 353 total yards on offense was more than DePauw’s 325, the three turnovers resulted in a one sided contest, in which Wooster didn’t score until early in the fourth quarter.
The stats are indicative of one of the biggest distinctions between this season’s 6-2 team, and last years’; a reliable defense.
“Looking back on my freshman season, I feel a lot has changed,” said sophomore Tommy Gray. “With another year of experience, I feel my confidence and understanding of the defensive game plan is much stronger. I feel this year the team has had a great group of core, senior leaders. Our leaders and coaching staff, have prepared us with the same mentality since we started in the summer, "as a team, in all phases, we need to continue to get better everyday." I believe this mentality has lead our team to much of the success we have experienced throughout this season.”
The Tiger leadership has resulted in results on the football field, with DePauw only giving up 14.9 points per game thus far this season. Last season, they allowed 24.2 points per game, and in the previous year, allowing 29.5.
On the offensive side, the usual prospects of Hunt, Galley, and a deep receiving core gifted the Tigers’ defense 325 yards, zero turnovers, and six touchdowns for their stringent efforts. Galley, who had 71 yards rushing, also recording three rushing touchdowns, accounting for half of the Tigers’ scores. Galley now has 580 rushing yards on the season.
Going into the ninth game of their 10-game season, and the last before the 121st Annual Monon Bell showdown, the Tigers are determined to finish off their season strong.
“We face Hiram this week which most people may discredit as ‘easy win,’ but Hiram is much more improved team than last year, and we have game plan for them like any other week,” Rice said.
Hiram is currently 4-4, coming off a 41-10 loss to Wabash College. The game will be played at 1 p.m. at DePauw’s Blackstock Stadium.