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DePauw hangs on for 27-20 victory
It didn't look like Saturday's contest with visiting Sewanee was shaping up to be much of a game with DePauw leading 24-7 at the half, but a game it quickly became. The Tigers (3-0) hung on to defeat Sewanee 27-20. It wasn't pretty -- but it was a win.
The Tigers got big performances from some underclassmen on Saturday.
Freshman Jon Ellis rushed 23 times for 101 yards, while sophomore Derrick Karazsia ran the ball nine times for 49 yards. DPU head coach Matt Walker talked after the game about the importance of having a one-two punch running the ball.
"Obviously it's big," Walker said. "To have two guys you can really trust is hard to find. We're blessed; one of the strengths of the team is our depth everywhere. You see us; we shuffle guys in and out like it's a hockey game. It's definitely a luxury. A lot of teams are searching for one guy they can trust and we have two guys we really like."
The Tigers came out and put some points on the board quickly as they drove 75 yards, setting up a Jordan Havercamp 22-yard field goal, putting them up 3-0.
It was a tale of Jekyll and Hyde for the Tigers in the first half. Their first quarter consisted of three possessions, two of which ended with fumbles. They found their stride in the second quarter and did most of their damage over a five-minute span.
After gaining possession at the end of the first quarter off a Sewanee fumble, the Tigers brought a more up-tempo offense onto the field.
Their first scoring drive of the second quarter took only 57 seconds to cover 85 yards. Brayden Dahlstrom accounted for 53 of those yards on the Tigers first play. Three plays later quarterback Spud Dick took the plunge and gave DPU a 10-0 lead.
DePauw got the ball back when freshman Steve Valdiserri picked off Patrick Sheldon, setting up a three-yard strike to Brad Paus from Dick to bring the score to 17-0 in favor of DePauw. DePauw put another score on the board before the half when Dick connected with Elijah Campbell along the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
With time winding down in the half, the Tigers were threatening once again and it seemed they would take a 31-0 lead into the half, but Sewanee defender Chalankis Brown had other ideas.
With the ball sitting on the Sewanee 15, Dick looked over the middle and fired a rocket toward the end zone. Brown stepped in front of the receiver and took the ball 97 yards for a touchdown.
Sewanee came out firing in the second half and continued to chip at the DPU lead for the remainder of the half.
After two punts and a fumble, Sewanee found the end zone to start the fourth quarter when Shelton hit Chris Murphy for a three-yard touchdown, making the score 24-14 in favor of the Tigers.
DePauw answered with a 21-yard field goal from Havercamp, but Sewanee kept up the attack.
Sewanee drove the ball down the field on a weary DePauw defense and scored a touchdown with 4:18 remaining in the game. Sewanee attempted the extra-point to put them one touchdown away from a win, but Alex Fitch rose above the line and deflected the ball, extinguishing the point.
DePauw's offense took possession of the ball at the 40-yard line and hoped to eat some time off the clock to ensure a win.
Ellis rushed two times for five yards, setting up a critical third-and-five. Instead of keeping it on the ground, Dick hurled the ball to the right side to a waiting Dahlstrom, who caught the ball well short of the first down and was meet quickly by Brown. Dahlstrom lowered his head, dug in his cleats and fought the defender until the ball settle seven yards up field, giving DePauw the first down.
There was no time to relax for DePauw.
Sewanee regained possession with 1:56 on the clock with their sights on another trip to the end zone. The offense took the ball downfield, gaining two first downs in the process.
In Sewanee's final drive, the same weary DePauw defense certainly bent, but in true Tigers tradition, it never broke. The Tigers' defense stalled the Sewanee drive at the 24-yard line to preserve the victory.
Walker accepted the fact the win was not the prettiest one, but he reminded his squad that a win is a win and they are hitting the road as an undefeated team.
"I just told the guys, "we got to clean some things up, but take the win, put it in your pocket and under stand you're going to Jackson 3-0. That was our goal," Walker said.
Dahlstrom lead the team in receiving catching four balls for 73 yards and is making quite an impression on his coach so far this season.
"He's doing a good job. Clearly he's a playmaker guy for us," Walker commented. "It was especially big for him to have the day he had, because he's coming off a week of practice where he only practiced one day because he had a concussion in our game last week. So to do what he did on such short practice was pretty impressive."
DePauw will hit the road to face Millsaps at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be carried live on 91.5 WGRE.
At Blackstock Stadium
Sewanee 0 7 0 13 -- 20
DePauw 3 21 0 3 -- 27
First Quarter
DPU -- Havercamp 22-yd field goal 11:22
Second Quarter
DPU -- Dick 1 run 14:07
DPU -- Dick 3-yd pass to Paus 11:42
DPU -- Dick 23-yd pass to Campbell 9:08
SEW -- Brown 97-yd interception return :27
Fourth Quarter
SEW -- Shelton 3-yd pass to Murphy 13:27
DPU -- Havercamp 21-yd field goal 9:09
SEW -- Shelton 4-yd pass to Adams 4:18
Individual Stats
Sewanee
Passing -- (17-27-2-2, 153 yards) -- Shelton 17-27-2-2, 153 yards
Rushing -- (54 carries, 152 yards) -- Shelton 12-68, Cleveland 15-45, Reliford 19-39, Gordon 7-4, Team 1 (-4)
Receiving -- (17 catches, 153 yards) -- Murphy 6-48 TD, Bentley 3-31, Adams 3-19 TD, McNeilly 2-11, Douglas 1-29, Wilson 1-11, Gordon 1-4
DePauw
Passing (14-25-2-1, 212 yards) -- Dick 14-25-2-1, 212 yards
Rushing (38 carries, 167 yards) -- Ellis 23-101, Karazsia 9-49, Willsey 1-6, Dick 2-3 TD, Buchta 2 (-4)
Receiving (14 catches, 212 yards) -- Dahlstrom 4-73, Paus 4-19 TD, Gasbarra 2-22, Karazsia 1-56, Campbell 1-25 TD, Etzcorn 1-13m Ellis 1-4
Next game -- DePauw will hit the road to face Millsaps at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be carried live on 91.5 WGRE.