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DePauw pulls out 26-17 comeback win at Denison, stays perfect
GRANVILLE, Ohio — DePauw scored 19 unanswered points over the final 16:20 and remained unbeaten with a 26-17 North Coast Athletic Conference win at Denison.
The Tigers improved to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the NCAC, while the Big Red dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in NCAC play.
The Tigers fumbled on the game’s second play and Denison needed just six plays to cover 34 yards with Alex Minton giving the hosts a 7-0 lead with a 5-yard run. DePauw was forced to punt on its next two series before Denison quarterback Canaan Gebele made it 14-0 with a 61-yard run with 13:11 left in the second.
DePauw came right back as Jake Lasky tossed a 7-yard scoring strike to Andy Hunt with 9:13 remaining in the half to trim the Big Red lead to 14-7.
Denison extended its lead to 17-7 in the third after Pat Kramer booted a 31-yard field goal with 5:00 left in the stanza. Those would be Denison’s final points of the game.
After the ensuing kickoff, DePauw embarked on a 74-yard drive that culminated with Jake Weber’s 1-yard run that cut the lead to 17-14 with 1:30 left in the third.
The defense made another stand and the Tigers took over on the Denison 47 to start the fourth. Lasky rushed for 13 yards on the first play and completed a 20-yard pass to Tanner Cleveland on the second.
Lasky then teamed with Hunt for a 14-yard score that gave DePauw its first lead of the contest.
The point-after was blocked and the Tigers held a 20-17 advantage with 14:06 remaining.
DePauw’s defense forced Denison into a punt and the offense took over on its own 20 after a touchback. The Tigers drove to the Denison 1, but Weber was stopped on fourth-and-goal and Denison took over with 4:27 left.
On the third play from scrimmage, DePauw’s Brooks Hepp picked off Gebele at the Big Red 36.
The Tigers then tried to drain the clock and were bolstered by Ramon Lopez’s 21-yard third-down run.
Lopez later scored on third-and-goal from the Denison 5 to make it 26-17 with just 1:31 remaining.
Connor Perkins wrapped up the win with an interception at the DePauw 40.
Lasky rushed for 134 yards on 22 carries and completed 8-of-17 passes for 119 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Jake Hagan had a team-high three catches, while both of Hunt’s catches went for scores.
Gebele completed 17-of-27 passes for 151 yards and rushed for 129 on 18 attempts. Malik Webster and Hunter Biddle each caught four in the loss.
Matt Crupi paced DePauw’s defense with nine tackles, while Zach Williams added eight. Ryan Zinkula led Denison with 11 stops with Brice Winans and Ryan McKeown each finishing with 10.
DePauw outgained Denison, 376-335 and held a 257-184 rushing edge.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they host Wittenberg at 1 p.m. in a battle of the final two unbeaten squads in the NCAC.
No. 25 Tigers ranked for first time since 2010
DePauw entered the d3football.com national rankings this week at No. 25 for the first time in seven years.
The 6-0 Tigers remained undefeated on the season with a 26-17 win at Denison on Saturday and received 31 rating points.
DePauw replaced Wabash in the top 25 after the Little Giants lost at home 16-13 to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday.
The last time DePauw was ranked was in week 10 of the 2010 season.
The Tigers host No. 13 Wittenberg on Saturday for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Rank School (No. 1 votes) W-L Points Prev.
1 Mary Hardin-Baylor (21) 6-0 621 1
2 Mount Union (4) 6-0 598 2
3 UW-Oshkosh 5-0 577 3
4 North Central (Ill.) 5-0 552 4
5 Hardin-Simmons 5-1 499 5
6 St. Thomas 5-1 491 6
7 Linfield 4-1 465 7
8 St. John’s 6-1 438 8
9 Delaware Valley 7-0 414 10
10 UW-Platteville 5-1 388 9
11 Illinois Wesleyan 6-1 374 11
12 Brockport 6-0 323 13
13 Wittenberg 6-0 315 12
14 Wesley 5-1 307 14
15 Washington and Jefferson 6-0 272 15
16 Frostburg State 5-1 247 18
17 Case Western Reserve 6-0 240 16
18 Berry 7-0 191 19
19 George Fox 5-1 144 21
20 Wartburg 6-0 138 22
21 Concordia-Moorhead 5-1 119 23
22 Johns Hopkins 5-1 88 24
23 Springfield 7-0 77 25
24 Heidelberg 5-1 38 --
25 DePauw 6-0 31 --
Dropped out: No. 17 Alfred; No. 20 Wabash.
Others receiving votes: Wheaton (Ill.) 28; Salisbury 27; Alfred 23; Millikin 19; UW-Whitewater 16; Trine 11; Albright 9; Cal Lutheran 7; Carthage 7; Wabash 7; Westminster (Pa.) 6; Whitworth 5; Trinity (Conn.) 5; UW-Stout 4; UW-La Crosse 3; Ursinus 1.