DePauw Rolls to 48-7 Win at Blackburn

CARLINVILLE, ILL. - After five straight games decided by six or fewer points, the Tigers left little doubt in Saturday's non-conference game at Blackburn College as they defeated the host Beavers 48-7 to improve to 2-4. The win was the Tigers' second in a row. Blackburn fell to 1-6 on the season.

The Tigers' balanced offense finished with 522 yards with 256 coming on the ground. DePauw entered the game with just 283 rushing yards on the season over the first five games.

Meanwhile, the defense limited the Beavers to only 95 yards and just 26 on the ground while picking up its second score in as many weeks.

After being forced to punt on their first series, the Tigers scored on each of their next four possessions to take a 24-0 lead. Dan Ryan, the leading scorer in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, caught a 13-yard score from Jason Lee with just over six minutes left in the first and Ben Murray's first of six successful extra-point conversions gave DePauw a 7-0 lead.

Lee tossed the second of four touchdown passes as he teamed with Joe Schoen from 20 yards out on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-0 and A.J. Smart made it 21-0 with a 19-yard scamper with 11:02 left in the half. The touchdown run was the Tigers' first on the ground since last year's game at Rose-Hulman (11/6/99). Murray booted a 29-yard field goal with 7:57 left to make it 24-0.

Blackburn scored its only points of the game when DePauw backup quarterback Scott Shelbourne fumbled at the Blackburn 31 and Aaron Fields scooped it up and took it 69 yards for the score.

The Tigers matched their 17-point second quarter with 17 more in the third as Lee tossed scoring passes to Ryan McGuffey (44 yards) and Ryan (59 yards). Murray added a 32-yard field goal with 2:52 left in the third to make it 41-7.

The final score of the game came from the defense as Matt Stahley recovered a Blackburn fumble and ran it in 12 yards for a touchdown with only 2:43 remaining in the game. The Tigers' second fumble recovery for a score in as many weeks made the final 48-7.

In addition to Smart's 100-yard effort, which was a career best, Matt King and Josh Angel also set career marks with 91 and 84 yards, respectively. Lee and Shelbourne combined to throw for 266 yards without being intercepted and completed passes to seven different receivers. Schoen caught six for 91 yards and a touchdown and Ryan hauled in three for 85 with two going for scores. 

The Tigers limited the Beavers to just six first downs and only 2.1 yards per offensive play. Additionally, they recorded five sacks led by J.T. Benton with two and Alson Jacquet, Charles Stanback and Jeremy Legge with one each.

DePauw is at Millsaps next Saturday for a 6 p.m. Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game. The Majors defeated Rose-Hulman 58-16 on Saturday.

TIGER NOTES: A.J. Smart's second-quarter rushing touchdown snapped DePauw's 27-quarter streak without a score on the ground ... Smart's 100 rushing yards were the most by a DePauw back since Scott Thies totaled 155 against Millsaps last year (10/23/99) ... Lee's four touchdown passes equaled a career high set against Trinity. His .667 completion percentage marked his best career effort ... Joe Schoen's 119 career receptions is tied for seventh most in DePauw history and his 1,580 career receiving yards ranks seventh ... Schoen's 46 catches this season already equals the 10th best single-season effort in school history (Joe Cheshire in 1997). Jay True holds the record with 65 in 1978 ... Of Dan Ryan's 31 catches this season, nine have gone for touchdowns. He now has 11 for his DePauw career ... DePauw raised its record to 19-2 in games during the second half of the last five seasons .... The Tigers' 13 penalties were there most since they had 13 against Centre last year (10/30/99) ... DePauw's 522 yards of offense were their most since they totaled 579 at Rhodes (9/5/98) ... The 256 rushing yards was the most by a DePauw team since they finished with 326 at Wabash (11/14/98) ... The 48 points scored were the most by the Tigers since they totaled 52 against Manchester in a 52-34 win (10/ 24/92), and they were the most by a DePauw team on the road since they scored 54 at Olivet Nazarene in a 54-14 win (9/22/84) ... The 41-point victory margin was DePauw's largest since they beat Washington (Mo.) 42-0 (10/20/84). It was their largest victory margin in a road game since they defeated Illinois Benedictine 50-7 (10/ 8/83) ... The 95 yards allowed were the fewest by DePauw since they gave up only 93 to Franklin in a 30-7 win on October 11, 1997.