DPU football moves t0 5-0

DePauw junior quarterback Matt Hunt threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns with nine of those throws going to his freshman brother Andy for 207 yards and two scores as DePauw moved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 35-30 win over #20 Wittenberg. The visiting Tigers dropped to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Wittenberg took a 3-0 lead on Will Gingery's 26-yard field goal with 9:52 left in the first, but the visitors committed turnovers on four of their next five possessions.

DePauw's first score came with 11:27 left in the half when linebacker Thomas Gray picked off a Zack Jenkins pass at the Wittenberg 34 and ran it in for the score. DePauw struck again as Matt Hunt connected with Andy Hunt for 68 yards on the first play after a Wittenberg punt and Amen Galley followed it up with an 11-yard run to extend DePauw's lead to 14-3.

Wittenberg's Jimmy Dehnke scored on a 5-yard run with 3:36 left in the half which capped an 11-play, 68-yard drive and closed DePauw's lead to 14-10. The hosts took over on their own 36 and needed nine plays to cover 64 yards with the Hunt brothers teaming for a 7-yard score with 38 seconds left to push DePauw's lead to 21-10.

Gingery booted a 33-yard field goal on Wittenberg's opening drive of the second half, but DePauw extended the lead to 28-13 after Matt Hunt tossed a 29-yard scoring pass to Connor Jeffers with 5:11 left in the third.

DePauw's defense forced a three-and-out, but Gingery unloaded a 69-yard punt that was downed at the DePauw 5. DePauw was unable to pick up a first down and a short punt gave Wittenberg the ball on the hosts' 32. Nine plays later, Jenkins competed a 5-yard pass to Corey Stump to make it 28-20 with 22 seconds left in the third.

Wittenberg forced another DePauw punt and the guests drove to the DePauw 10 before Gingery came on to boot a 27-yard field goal to close the gap to 28-23 at the 10:43 mark of the fourth.

On the first play of the next series, DePauw fired back as the Hunts teamed for an 81-yard score to push the lead to 35-23 with 10:27 left.

Wittenberg needed just two plays on its next series to cover 50 yards and moved to the DePauw 20. On second down, DePauw lineman Matt Mitsch forced Jenkins into an intentional grounding call, resulting in a 16-yard sack. A 7-yard pass play followed and Jenkins' fourth down pass fell incomplete after Nate Orrison applied pressure.

DePauw took over on its own 28 and drove to the Wittenberg 28, but Marko Adams' 45-yard field try was blocked. Jenkins was sacked by Chris Hawk for a 5-yard loss on first down and then tossed a 14-yard pass to Luke Landis. After an incomplete pass, Jenkins got loose down the sideline on fourth down for a 64-yard score to close DePauw's lead to 35-30 with 3:34 remaining.

Wittenberg got the ball back one more time after Jay Mastin sacked Matt Hunt on third down at the DePauw 34. Paul Simon boomed a 56-yard punt and Wittenberg started its final drive at its own 20.

Dehnke's 20-yard run on third-and-one moved the ball to the Wittenberg 49 before Jenkins tossed a 20-yard pass to Landis to the DePauw 31. Sean Gary rushed for three yards on first down, but Jenkins' second down pass was incomplete. Hawk sacked Jenkins for an 11-yard loss on third down and a final incomplete pass gave the ball back to the Tigers who were able to run out the clock.

Wittenberg ran 31 more plays than DePauw and outgained the hosts 559-411, but DePauw didn't commit a turnover to Wittenberg's four.

Matt Hunt completed 18-of-27 passes and the 336 yards were a career high. Andy Hunt's 207 receiving yards were the seventh-highest single-game total by a DePauw player and the most by a DePauw freshman. Jake Hagan followed with five grabs for 63 yards.

Jenkins completed 36-of-52 for 396 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Stump caught 13 passes for 148 yards and a score, while Landis hauled in nine for 115.

Will Longthorne led DePauw with 15 tackles followed by Cody Baker with 11 and Philip Ganser with 10. Hawk had two sacks and Matt Mitsch one, while Longthorne led with 2.5 tackles for loss. Ganser, Gray and Adam Folta recorded DePauw's three interceptions.

Dustin Holmes paced Wittenberg with 10 tackles, while Mastin, Austin Townsey and Chandeler Ferko each had one tackle for loss.

DePauw hosts Allegheny on Saturday, October 17, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. on Nick Mourouzis Field at Blackstock Stadium.