DePauw Clinches Share of Third SCAC Football Title and Earns First NCAA Appearance in Program History

DePauw Clinches Share of Third SCAC Football Title and Earns First NCAA Appearance in Program History

(Story taken from the DePauw University website)

GREENCASTLE, Ind. -  DePauw trailed 17-14 early in the third quarter, but scored on its next three possessions and claimed a 34-23 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win over visiting Austin as well as the program's third SCAC title. BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

The Tigers finished in a tie with Millsaps in the SCAC standings, but earned the conference's automatic qualification into the Division III Championship by virtue of their win over Millsaps in early October. The appearance will be the Tigers' first in the football playoffs.

DePauw improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the SCAC with their sixth straight win, while the Kangaroos dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers reached paydirt first on Bryan Mulligan's 5-yard pass from Spud Dick with 13:11 left in the second.

Austin's Ross Hasten scored on a 24-yard pass from Andy Braly and then added a 36-yard run to give the Kangaroos a 14-7 lead with 5:12 remaining in the half.

Alex Koors caught an 8-yard scoring pass from Dick with just 1:09 left in the half to knot the score at 14-14. Austin then opened the second half with a 27-yard field goal off the foot of John Reisig.

DePauw responded with an 8-play, 69-yard drive which culminated in a Derrick Karazsia 1-yard run and gave the Tigers a 21-17 lead with 6:34 remaining in the third. Following a defensive stand, DePauw got the ball back on its own 38 and needed nine plays to cover 62 yards with Jon Ellis scoring from the 1 with 1:27 left in the third and pushing the lead to 28-17.

The Kangaroos answered as Hasten scored his third touchdown of the afternoon with a 7-yard run early in the fourth. The try for two failed and DePauw still held a 28-23 lead.

As they've done all year, the Tigers were able to secure the win with a ball-control drive late in the game. DePauw started on its own 22 and 15 plays later it extended the lead to 34-23 with Ellis' 2-yard run.

The Tigers' defense again stopped Austin and the offense ran out the last 3:41 to clinch the win.

Dick completed 31-of-40 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. The game was the 14th 300-yard game of his career. Koors caught 12 passes for 111 yards, while Mulligan had eight grabs for 75 yards.

In the first quarter Mulligan broke the DePauw career receptions mark of 195 held by Jay True (1977-80). In the third, Koors set the DePauw single-season receiving yardage mark of 991 set by John Stephens in 2001.

Braly threw for 126 yards and rushed for a team-high 83 for the Kangaroos. Hasten added 53 yards as Austin totaled 206 rushing yards. Phillip Gonzales led the way with five catches for 59 yards.

Defensively, Ryan Preuss, Ben Brandstatter and Kyle Sherer each had eight tackles and the Tigers totaled six tackled for loss.

Matt Finke paced Austin with 13 tackles with Nick Zitaglio and Greg Millerick following with 10 each.

DePauw outgained Austin 397-322 and had a 27-19 edge in first downs. The Tigers, ranked third in the nation in time of possession, held a 37:35-22:25 edge for the game.

The Tigers wrap up the regular season at home on Saturday, November 14, with the 116th meeting against Wabash College (8-1) in the Monon Bell game. Kickoff is set for just after 1 p.m. from Blackstock Stadium. The series is tied at 53-53-9, with DePauw holding a 37-34-6 lead in games played for possession of the Monon Bell which entered the series in 1932. Austin hosts Trinity next Saturday.

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