Tigers Involved in another Close Battle; Hold on to Beat Sewanee

	David Blackburn's fourth-quarter interception sealed the DePauw victory.
	Dan Ryan led the Tigers with eight catches for 111 yards and two scores.
	A.J. Smart's 44-yard run set up DePauw's final score.
	Jason Geringer with one of four Tiger interceptions on the day.

Photos by Marilyn Culler

Greencastle, Ind. - Freshman David Blackburn's interception in the end zone with just 28 seconds left preserved DePauw's first victory of the season and handed visiting Sewanee its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference loss. DePauw improved to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the SCAC, while Sewanee fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

DePauw had suffered four losses by a total of 18 points this season with none by more than six points and Sewanee was trying to make it five after scoring a safety on with 1:54 left to cut DePauw's lead to 19-16. The visiting Tigers drove to the DePauw 18 before Blackburn picked off Kirk Holtgrewe's first down pass.

Sewanee jumped out to an early lead on its first possession after covering 84 yards in 14 plays. Max Fuller scored from one yard out to make it 7-0.

DePauw countered late in the first half as Jason Lee tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to Dan Ryan. The point-after was no good and Sewanee took a 7-6 lead into the intermission.

The Tigers' defense picked up its first score of the season early in the third as Frisky Williams forced Holtgrewe to fumble and Brian Close picked up the ball at Sewanee 8-yard line and ran it in for the score. After an unsuccessful two-point attempt, DePauw held a 12-7 lead with 13:56 remaining in the third.

The hosts made it 19-7 after Lee and Ryan teamed up for an 11-yard score with 6:03 left in the third to cap off a 73-yard drive in just six plays. The key play in that series was a 44-yard run by A.J. Smart.

Late in the third, Sewanee's Michael Stanley intercepted Lee's pass at his own 48 and went untouched into the end zone to make it 19-14. Early in the fourth, Sewanee took over at its own 15 and marched into DePauw territory, but the Tigers held on fourth down from the 19-yard line with 6:19 left. 

Two passes from Lee to Ryan moved the ball to near midifeld, but Lee's 31-yard pass to tight end Neville Grant ended with a fumble that Sewanee recovered at its own 23 with 4:27 remaining.

Sewanee drove to the DePauw 38 before Holgrewe was intercepted by John Christophersen at the DePauw 2. On DePauw's first play, Smart was tackled in the end zone for a safety that cut DePauw's lead to 19-16 and set up Sewanee's final drive.

Lee completed just 17 of 42 passes, but for 244 yards and two touchdowns to Ryan who totaled eight receptions for 111 yards. Joe Schoen added six catches for 81 yards. Smart finished with 46 yards on 10 carries as the Tigers avoided their third straight game of negative rushing yardage with 38 for the afternoon.

Fuller paced Sewanee with 126 rushing yards in 27 carries, while Holtgrewe totaled 89 passing yards, but was picked off four times. Pedy Tehrani caught three passes for 53 yards.

Jason Geringer led DePauw with 12 tackles followed by Beau Davis with 11 and John Christophersen and Charles Stanback with 10 each. Williams recorded 2.5 sacks in addition to forcing a fumble. Blackburn intercepted two passes with Geringer and Christophesen each totaling one.

Jason Wheat paced Sewanee with six tackles and Towaski Hunt added five. Sewanee held a decisive time of possession advantage as they controlled the ball for over 40 minutes.

DePauw travels to Carlinville, Illinois, to face Blackburn College in a 1:30 p.m. non-conference contest on Saturday, while Sewanee hosts Rhodes.

TIGER NOTES: Dan Ryan, who entered the game leading the SCAC in scoring, has now totaled 42 points on the season on seven TD receptions ... With six catches, Joe Schoen moved ahead of Todd Cleveland (1986-89) and into eighth place with 113 career catches. His 1,489 career receiving yards rank seventh in school history.