Tigers win fifth straight; Schoen sets reception record

GREENCASTLE, IND. - The Tiger defense recorded its first shutout of the season and held visiting Rose-Hulman to just 155 yards of offense and only 23 on the ground on the way to a 10-0 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference victory.

The win was the Tigers' fifth straight after an 0-4 start as DePauw  finished SCAC play at 4-2 which is good for no worse than a tie for second. The Tigers can still tie for the league title if Millsaps defeats Trinity next week. Trinity clinched the conference's automatic qualifier with a 43-26 win over Sewanee today. Rose-Hulman fell to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the SCAC.

For the fourth straight week, the Tigers' defense held an opponent to fewer than 30 yards rushing and they've surrendered just 53 rushing  yards in 98 attempts over the last four games.

DePauw got all the scoring it needed in the first quarter as sophomore John Christopherson intercepted Rose-Hulman sophomore Jared Tharpe's pass at the Engineers 35 and returned it to the seven. Senior linebacker Jason Geringer started the play by tipping the ball to Christopherson. That set up Matt King's first collegiate touchdown on a 1-yard run. Freshman Ben Murray's point-after made it 7-0 with 6:23 left in the first.

The DePauw offense struggled in the first quarter as sophomore quarterback Scott Shelbourne, making his first collegiate start, connected on just three of his first 13 attempts. Shelbourne finished the half by completing seven of his final nine attempts.

Early in the fourth, the Tiger defense stopped the Engineers at the DePauw 19 and the offense started an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Murray's 23-yard field goal with 8:38 left to make it 10-0.

Shelbourne finished with 17 of 34 passing for 88 yards with eight going to senior Joe Schoen whose final catch, in the third quarter, was his 66th of the season and broke the DePauw season record of 65 set by Jay True in 1978. In all, Shelbourne threw to seven different receivers.

King finished with 74 rushing yards on just 13 carries as the Tigers finished with 107 yards on the ground.

Rose-Hulman sophomore quarterback Josh Willis came off the bench to total 110 yards on 16 of 28 passing. Sophomore Joshua Reed led the Engineers with five catches for 20 yards. In all, 10 different Rose-Hulman players picked up receptions.

Geringer and senior Frisky Williams each finished with eight tackles to lead DePauw. Geringer also had three pass break-ups and Williams was in on five tackles for losses totaling nine yards. Christopherson finished with two interceptions and senior Durriell Brown added one.

Freshman Matthew Colatruglio was in on 10 stops and had the Engineers' lone interception. Junior David Berty had four tackles for loss including a 10-yard sack.

The Tigers travel to Crawfordsville to face Wabash College on Saturday, November 11 in a rivalry that dates back to 1890. Saturday's game will be the 107th between the two schools and the 69th for possession of the Monon Bell. Kickoff is set for just after 1 p.m. Rose-Hulman closes it season with a home contest against Centre College.

TIGER NOTES: DePauw has now won 22 of 24 games over the second half of the last five seasons and all 13 following the midseason break of each of the last three seasons ... DePauw entered the game ranked 25th in Division III rushing defense ... Joe Schoen moved into third place on the DePauw all-time receptions list with 139 and is seventh with 1,740 career receiving yards. Sophomore backup receiver Dan Ryan, the SCAC's leading scorer who entered the week ranked 11th in the nation in receiving yards per game and 29th in scoring, missed his second straight game due to injury. Ryan is questionable for the final game. Junior quarterback Jason Lee missed his first game of the season and is doubtful for the Wabash game. In records that date back to the early 1950s, this is the first time a DePauw defense has limited the opposition to fewer than 30 yards rushing in four straight games.