DePauw falls on the road to Trinity, 45-32

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- DePauw closed to within 31-26 early in the fourth quarter, but host and 11th-ranked Trinity scored 14 unanswered to take a 45-32 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win.

The Tigers dropped to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SCAC, while Trinity (ranked 11th in the latest coaches' poll and 18th by d3football.com) remained unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

DePauw reached paydirt first as Mitchell Willsey scored on a 2-yard run with 6:04 left in the first to make it 6-0.

Trinity came right back, though, and took a 7-6 lead with a 7-play, 72-yard series capped by Bryant Wilson's 27-yard pass to Chris Coleman with 2:18 remaining in the first.

The ensuing Trinity kickoff sailed out-of-bounds and the Tigers started on their own 40. Willsey rushed for six yards on the first play before Spud Dick completed a 12-yard pass to Nick Etzcorn and connected with Bryan Mulligan for a 42-yard score which made it 13-7 with 1:00 left in the first.

The hosts, however, scored on each of their next two possessions with Al Furlow scoring on a 4-yard run and Wilson teaming with Riley Curry for a 44-yard scoring pass to make it 21-13. Near the end of the half, Trinity drove to the DePauw 7, but Kyle Sherer blocked Peter Licalzi's field goal try.

Licalzi opened the second half with a 42-yard field goal to push the lead to 24-13 and Trinity attempted an onside kick. Trinity was ruled to have recovered the kick, but was whistled for a penalty for touching it before it traveled the required ten yards.

After the re-kick, the Tigers drove to Trinity's 27, but Jeff Jones picked off Dick's pass at his own 20 and returned it all the way for a score which made it 31-13.

DePauw then put together a 12-play, 74-yard drive with Dick scoring on a 2-yard keeper to close the gap to 31-20 with 2:27 left in the third.

Following a long kickoff return, Trinity converted a third down on its next possession, but DePauw's Chris Scarver picked off Wilson's pass at the DePauw 22 and returned it to the Trinity 25.

Four plays later Dick tossed a 14-yard strike to Etzcorn to make it 31-26 with 13:49 left in the game, but the two-point conversion pass failed.

Trinity responded as Wilson completed 4-of-5 passes including a 20-yard score to Furlow with 10:15 remaining to push the lead to 38-26.

Dick was intercepted on the first play of DePauw's next drive by Chris Collier, but Trinity fumbled at the DePauw 2 on its second play.

Trinity's Dobby Adamson recorded the hosts' third interception of the day when he picked off Dick on the third play after the fumble. Wilson and Coleman teamed for a 9-yard score with 4:19 remaining which extended the margin to 45-26.

Dick drove the Tigers 63 yards in eight plays and connected with Etzcorn for a 9-yard score with 2:09 left. The try for two failed and Trinity recovered the ensuing onside kick and was able to run out the clock.

Trinity outgained DePauw 472-353 and converted on 10-of-13 third-down situations while possessing the ball for 36:11.

Willsey paced DePauw with 37 rushing yards in nine attempts, while Dick completed 24 of 45 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Alex Koors caught seven for 114 yards and Mulligan also hauled in seven for 83 yards.

Furlow rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries and Wilson was 28-of-35 for 295 yards and four scores. Curry caught 11 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown and Coleman had eight for 93 yards and two scores.

Sherer led the DePauw defense with 13 tackles, while Ryan Preuss added nine. Marc Hoeppner and Tarren Collins each added eight. Dennis Grebe paced Trinity with nine stops and Baron Rabe added seven.

DePauw returns to action on Saturday, October 25, when it hosts Colorado College at 1 p.m.

At Trinity

TACKLES (UA-A): DePauw University-Kyle Sherer 5-8; Ryan Preuss 4-5; Marc Hoeppner 5-3; Tarren Collins 3-5; Steve Valdiserri 5-2; Eddie Schmidt 3-4; Michael McNelis 3-2; Adam Hawkins 3-1; Jonathan Lambert 0-3; Grant Wright 0-3; Paul Gbur 2-0; Ryan Huffman 1-1; Alex Fitch 0-2; Tyler Doane 0-2; Michael Fultz 0-2; Elijah Campbell 1-0; Thomas Wrona 1-0; Sebastian Scott 1-0; Chris Gasbarra 1-0; Alex Koors 1-0; Bryan Mulligan 1-0; Chris Scarver 1-0; Chris Moore 0-1; Jon Ellis 0-1; Joshua Sturek 0-1. Trinity University-Dennis Grebe 3-6; Baron Rabe 6-1; Bobby Adamson 2-4; Kyle Coats 3-2; Brandon Grenier 3-1; Jeff Jones 2-2; Tyson Cannon 2-1; Ryan Johnson 0-3; Garret Van Dyke 0-3; Jeff Carapetyan 0-3; Phillip Burrell 1-0; Bryant Wilson 1-0; Robert Buckreis 0-1; Raymond Clark 0-1; Chris Allen 0-1; Sean Bean 0-1; Russell Horton 0-1; Ben Robinson 0-1; Chris Collier 0-1; Jake Huggins 0-1.