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No quit in Tigers after slow start
Slow start.
What a fitting, if not particularly fun, way to end the 2013 DePauw football season.
Unable to gain traction on either side of the ball, DePauw saw archrival Wabash rush to a 28-0 lead before finally lighting up the scoreboard midway through the second quarter.
From there, the Tigers actually outscored the Little Giants 21-10, but the early deficit was too much, as Wabash took the 120th Monon Bell Classic 38-21.
The slow start to the season's last game went hand-in-hand with the season at large.
DePauw started off 0-4, before winning three straight in October and finishing the season at a respectable 4-6.
Even in three of those four victories, the Tigers had to come from behind. Slow starts were just the nature of things for the Tigers in 2013.
But for a program trying to move forward one year removed from a coaching change, it's the way things finished that matters more.
When freshman Matt Hunt found senior Barry Flynn in the end zone for that first score, it gave DePauw what it has been lacking in this rivalry: Positive momentum.
There were other signs of life that followed.
Early in the third quarter, senior Tophel Secuskie forced a fumble and junior Nick Freund pounced on it.
Freshman Tommy Gray hauled in a fourth quarter interception.
Junior tight end J.D. Robinson caught a pair of touchdown passes from Hunt.
When Robinson's second TD grab made it 38-20 with 2:39 remaining, there was a thought in the stadium that this one-sided affair might not be over. The Tigers were a two-point conversion away from making it a two-score game.
However, the Tigers elected to kick the PAT and send the ball deep on the ensuing kickoff, effectively sealing the outcome.
For a few moments on Saturday, though, it had that old-time Monon Bell feeling.
While none of this added up to victory, it gave the Tiger faithful something to cheer about. Those cheers were harder to come by when the Tigers scored a single touchdown in the last three Bell games combined.
So what comes next for the Tigers? I'll leave the answer to coach Bill Lynch and his 19 years of head coaching experience.
I'll only say this: There was an energy in the team and fans on Saturday that was sorely lacking in the Robbie Long era.
There were Lynch, his staff and his players continuing to fight in a game where they were clearly outgunned.
There were the co-eds stationed near the north end zone -- I'll call them "We Got This" Girl and her friend "You Can Do It" Girl. Even with their team in an insurmountable hole, they didn't stop cheering all day.
There were the families of the seniors waiting near the locker room after the game. They were bummed by the loss, but proud of what their young men had accomplished, doubling last season's win total and starting to turn around DePauw football.
Has the corner been turned? No, but I'd advise Coach Lynch to activate his signal. The corner is approaching.
They like to say DePauw never quits.
This team spent Saturday, and the season, proving it.