Tigers return to scene of stunning loss

The WittenSPRINGFIELD — berg Tigers haven’t lost many North Coast Athletic Conference games to teams not named Wasbash in the last 20 years.

There were defeats at Ohio Wesleyan in 2004 and 2006. Wooster beat Wittenberg in 2004 and 2008. Allegheny last beat the Tigers in 2003. DePauw knocked off Witten- berg in 2015. All those losses came on the road.

None of those defeats rank as high in the shock department as Wittenberg’s 24-21 loss at Denison in 2016.

“We finally got them,” said Denison coach Jack Hatem after that game.

The Big Red beat Wittenberg on a 33-yard field goal by Conor Dunn with 21 seconds to play at Deeds Field in Granville, ending a 22-game losing streak in the series. It was Denison’s first victory over Wittenberg since 1989. During its winning streak, Wittenberg beat Denison by double digits all but one time.

As surprising as that game was, in some ways, Wittenberg had to know it was pos- sible considering how far Denison has come as a program, posting five straight winning seasons.

“T h e y a r e much improved,” Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham said. “Them and DePauw have really put it together in the last five or six years. It’s been good for our league. It hasn’t been good for us.”

The Tigers beat Denison 28-12 last season in Spring- field and return to Granville for the first time since that 2016 loss at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Wittenberg (3-0, 2-0), ranked 11th in the American Football Coaches Asso- ciation poll, has not lost a regular-season game since losing to Denison. Its streak reached 17 games with a 45-3 victory against Kenyon last Saturday in Springfield.

Denison has the same quarterback, Canaan Gebele, now a senior, who engineered the upset two years ago. He averages 210.7 pass- ing yards and 54.3 yards per game.

Denison (2-1, 2-0) opened the season with a 42-21 loss at Southwestern (Texas) and has since beaten Allegheny 42-0 and Oberlin 52-27.

“Offensively, they’re outstanding,” Fincham said. “Their offensive line, they get physical. Their quarterback can carve you up throwing it. You can die a slow death by him tucking the ball and taking off and running on you. They’ve got a great group of receivers, too. It’s going to be an awesome challenge for the defense.” rushing Contact this reporter at 937244-7400 or email David. Jablonski@coxinc.com.