Posted November 24 2001, 06:13 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — A week after winning a dramatic overtime game after the longest road trip in Wittenberg football’s storied history, the Tigers made a much shorter trip and once again came up with a gem, dominating the host Thomas More College Saints for a 41-0 victory. The win advanced the Tigers, now 11-1, to an NCAA Division III quarterfinal match-up opposite No. 1 ranked Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio for the third time in the last four years.
The Tigers, who had to rally on four different occasions against No. 3 seed Hardin-Simmons University last weekend in Abilene, Texas, made a statement against the Saints, the second seed in the North Region bracket after finishing their regular season independent schedule with a perfect 10-0 mark. Wittenberg had 22 first downs to Thomas More’s seven, rolled up 303 rushing yards to TMC’s 99 and recorded just the third NCAA Division III playoff shutout in the program’s storied history.
The game started innocently enough as the Tigers survived on a 15-play first quarter drive in which they incurred four penalties to put up three points on a 30-yard Conrad Hindert (Terrace Park, Ohio/Mariemont) field goal. But the rout started in the second 15 minutes as the Tigers put together a pair of impressive drives, one at the beginning of the frame and one at the end, to move out to a commanding 17-0 halftime advantage. Junior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont), who posted his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, struck paydirt with 11:33 remaining on a 20-yard run, and senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) scored on an acrobatic13-yard catch and run with 36 seconds left in the half.
The second half was even more lopsided as freshman fullback Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida), running with the most authority he has all season in going for a career-high 55 yards on nine carries in the game, pushed the lead to 24-0 on a 16-yard scoring run to start the third quarter. Aljancic then added a 20-yard touchdown reception on a perfectly thrown pass from junior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) on the next possession.
In the fourth quarter, Hindert added a 34-yard field goal, made possible by a fumble recovery by senior defensive tackle Michael Houck (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) deep in Saint territory, and then junior tailback Jason Stephan (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) capped the scoring with a four-yard scoring burst with 4:39 left on the clock.
It was Thomas More’s first shutout loss this season after 11 big victories, including a dramatic first round win over visiting MacMurray College last weekend. It also put an end to the nation’s second-longest NCAA Division III win streak as the Saints’ 17-gamer was snapped.
Grove finished the day with 164 yards on 22 carries, while Hampshire chipped in with 55 and Stephan added 40 on 12 carries. Cornett was stellar again, going 15-of-22 for 172 yards and two touchdowns without being sacked or throwing an interception. Aljancic led all receivers with 61 yards on six catches, while sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) was big with 58 yards on four catches and Grove had three receptions for 35 yards.
Defensively, the Tigers dominated behind its senior-laden line. Senior defensive end Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) had three sacks, junior linebacker Ryan Gresham (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) topped the team with 5.5 tackles and senior safety John Hauser (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) was outstanding with 3.5 tackles and his fifth interception of the season.