Posted September 15 2001, 11:43 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
Like all good things, it had to come to end. On a beautiful afternoon in Alma, Mich. that capped an emotional week, the Wittenberg University Tigers’ run of 33 straight wins in the regular season came to abrupt halt as the Alma College Scots kicked a late field goal to topple the third ranked Tigers 26-24.
Wittenberg, ranked No. 3 in the first American Football Coaches Association national poll, struggled through the first quarter for a third straight week and made several costly, ill-timed missteps throughout the game. Three turnovers, 11 penalties and just 6-of-16 on third-down conversions finally did the Tigers in and handed Wittenberg its first regular season defeat since Nov. 4, 1997 at the College of Wooster.
The Scots pounced on the Tigers in the first quarter, taking the opening kickoff 70 yards in eight plays, culminating with a 16-yard touchdown strike from Steve Slowke to Brian Pierce. After the teams traded possessions, Slowke guided the Scots downfield again, scoring on a seven-yard run to cap a 56-yard drive. It was the first 14-point deficit a Wittenberg team had faced in a regular season game since Sept. 24, 1994 when Allegheny jumped in front of the Tigers 20-6 in what would become a 27-12 victory for the Gators.
The Tigers responded as they have so many times in recent years as junior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) weaved his way 62 yards for a score with 1:05 left in the first quarter to make it 14-7. After Alma kicked a field goal, junior wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) capped a four-play, 70-yard touchdown drive by the Tigers with a 17-yard TD reception from junior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin).
Alma rounded out the first half scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Slowke to Pierce.
After the offensive fireworks of the first half - 37 points and more than 500 yards of total offense between the two teams – the final 30 minutes provided much the opposite action. It was no less dramatic, however, as Wittenberg pulled back within striking distance on a 24-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Conrad Hindert (Terrace Park, Ohio/Mariemont).
The two teams traded punts, penalties and turnovers to start the fourth quarter before Grove put the Tigers ahead on a fourth-down play from the one-yard-line with 5:20 remaining in the game. The extra point by Hindert gave the Tigers a one-point lead because Alma had failed to convert on its third extra point attempt of the first half.
The Wittenberg defense, which had shut the Scots down throughout the second half, was called upon for one more stop, but the high-powered Alma offense got it in gear again, converting a pair of third-and-10 situations en route to a fourth down at the Wittenberg one-yard-line with 2:20 remaining on the clock. From there, Alma kicker Matt Piccirilli knocked one through the uprights for what turned out to be the winning margin.
Wittenberg got the ball back with no timeouts but plenty of time left. Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) caught one of his 10 passes in the game to move the chains once, but things stalled as sophomore wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) caught a pass on fourth down but his knee touched down about a yard short of another first down to effectively end the game with 1:25 remaining.
Cornett completed 17 of 35 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown. Aljancic had the third-best receiving day in Wittenberg history – in terms of number of receptions – concluding his afternoon with 143 yards on 10 catches. Grove finished with 128 yards on 24 carries, his second straight 100-yard game.
Defensively, Wittenberg was torched for 373 yards passing and 466 total yards. Junior defensive end Allen D’Andrea (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) had a monstrous game, recording a team-high nine tackles, including three sacks for 11 yards lost. Junior linebacker Andy Pope (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota East) also had nine tackles.