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Tigers improve to 3-1 with win on Old Gold Day
On a cold and blustery fall afternoon at Blackstock Stadium, DePauw rushed for 238 yards and improved to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 27-15 Old Gold Day win over Denison. The Big Red dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
On the game's opening series, DePauw drove inside Denison 35 and Marko Adams was called on for a 49-yard field goal with a strong wind to his back but his boot was short and Denison took over. The Big Red weren't able to capitalize as the DePauw defense forced a three-and-out.
After a 58-yard Denison punt, DePauw started on its own 6, but Amen Galley got all of that yardage back with a 58-yard scamper down the sideline to the Denison 36.
The Tigers converted a third down on Jack Gruber's run before the Big Red were called for pass interference on the next play to move the ball to the 13.
A pair of Gruber rushes netted nine yards and quarterback Matt Hunt teamed with tight end Jay D. Robinson for a 4-yard scoring pass with 4:05 left in the quarter.
Early in the second, Denison pinned the Tigers to their own 12 with a punt and, on the second play of the series, Hunt was pressured by Denison defenders and forced into the end zone. He flipped a pass that lineman Hunter Logan caught in the end zone but he was tackled by Percy Roberts for a safety.
Denison wasn't able to pick up a first down after the free kick and a high snap on the punt was recovered by DePauw's Zachary Reichle at the Denison 7. Galley gained one on first down, but a false start penalty backed the Tigers to the 11. From there, Hunt found Robinson for another score to make it 14-2 with 9:16 left in the half.
On the ensuing series, Denison's Colin Morris convereted a fourth-and-one situtation with a 24-yard run into the end zone to make it 14-9 with 4:59 remaining.
The Tigers were forced to punt on their next series, but Denison's Andrew Baird fumbled a fair catch and Galley recovered at the Denison 31.
Hunt connected with Tyler Leising for 20 yards on fourth and four, but the Tigers couldn't punch it in on third down from the 1. Adams nailed a 19-yard field goal with 3.7 seconds left in the half which made it 17-9.
Adams hit a 32-yard field goal on DePauw's first drive of the third which was set up by a 29-yard punt return from Jason Kirchhoff.
Later in the quarter, DePauw's Cody Baker picked off Brandon Sklenar at the Denison 40, but on the next play the Big Red's Emerson Thacker returned the favor on Hunt's pass.
Denison drove to the DePauw 11 before Will Longthorne came up with a third-down interception at the DePauw 8 and returned it to the Tigers' 34.
The Tigers drove 66 yards with Gruber rushing for 18 and six yards, respectively, on the final two plays to push the lead to 27-9 with 11:34 remaining.
Later in the quarter, Denison started at its own 17 with 2:27 left and drove 83 yards in eight plays with Skelnar connecting with Hunter Winans for a 10-yard score with 1:21 left.
Denison outgained the Tigers, 302-276, and held a 19-15 advantage in first downs with DePauw maintaining a 238-122 edge on the ground.
Galley rushed for a career-high 113 yards on 22 carries for his second straight 100-yard effort, while Hunt added 61 yards and Gruber 58. Hunt connected on eight of 15 passes for 38 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Robinson caught four passes to lead the Tigers.
Morris rushed for 75 yards, while Sklenar added 60. Sklenar completed 21 of 39 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Winans and Morris each caught eight passes.
Thomas Gray paced the defense with 12 tackles, while Adam Folta chipped in eight. Baird, Joe Widenbach and Anthony Sernus each had six stops for Denison.
DePauw travels to Oberlin next Saturday for a 1 p.m. NCAC contest with the Yeoman.