Tigers begin the Bill Lynch era with a 20-14 win at SCAC rival Rhodes

September 4, 2004

Memphis, Tenn. – The longest run by a DePauw player in 14 years turned the game around as the Tigers rallied from a 7-0 first-half deficit to score 20 straight points on the way to a 20-14 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win over host Rhodes. The victory was also the first DePauw win for head coach Bill Lynch.

Rhodes missed a 32-yard field goal on its first possession, but needed just two plays on its next series to take the early lead. Senior quarterback Daniel Swanstrom teamed with Michael Hatcher for a 60-yard touchdown pass and Hunter Tigert added the point-after to give the Lynx a 7-0 lead with 2:56 left in the first.

Early in the second quarter the Tigers started on their own 7-yard line after Andrew Huff intercepted Swanstrom’s pass. After a first-down play netted no yards, quarterback Ross Wiethoff connected with Brian Culp for a 10-yard gain to the 17.

Freshman Jeremiah Marks (pictured) then got the call and answered with an 83-yard run down the left sideline that included running over a Lynx defender. Tyler Mallory’s extra point tied the contest at 7-7 with 10:38 remaining. That run was the longest by a DePauw runner since Terry Dickey went 85 yards in a 1990 contest.

That single play seemed to turn the momentum around as the DePauw defense forced Rhodes to punt after they were unable to pick up a first down. Chris Gines returned the punt 40 yards to the Rhodes 28.

Wiethoff found tight end Chase Jonason for a 14-yard gain and Marks put together runs of four and two yards to move the ball to the eight. Wiethoff then rushed in for the score on the next play and Mallory’s kick made it 14-7 with 6:49 remaining in the half. DePauw’s defense continued to shine as it allowed only 14 yards and no first downs the remainder of the half.

Another defensive play set up a DePauw score in the third quarter when Greg Sylvester picked off a Swanstrom pass and returned it 38 yards to the Rhodes 27. Three plays later Mallory booted a 37-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 8:37 left in the third.

The Tigers shut down the Lynx without a first down on the next series and the offense took over on the DePauw 47 with Karl Odenwald taking over for Wiethoff for a couple of series as Wiethoff was suffering from cramps in the 90-degree Memphis heat. Odenwald helped direct a series that moved to the Rhodes 23. Mallory was called upon and he kicked a 40-yard field goal to push the margin to 20-7 with 2:10 left in the third.

Early in the fourth, the Lynx closed the gap to six points when Swanstrom connected with Matt Dement for a 64-yard score and Tigert added the extra point to make it 20-14 with 13:36 left. The touchdown came on the play immediately after what appeared to be a fumble recovered by DePauw. However, an inadvertent official’s whistle forced a replay of the down.

The teams then exchanged two punts each before the Tigers took over on their own 32 with 6:24 remaining. DePauw was able to take 4:30 off the clock in 11 plays, but Mallory’s 38-yard field goal was blocked by Chris Castlebury with 1:54 remaining.

Swanstrom completed a pair of passes to move the ball to the Rhodes 42, but four straight incomplete passes gave the ball back to the Tigers and they were able to run out the final 28 seconds.

The Tigers totaled 272 rushing yards on 53 carries. Marks totaled 104 yards in 13 carries and is the only DePauw player in school history to break the century mark in his first collegiate game as a freshman. Wiethoff rushed for 86 yards in 20 carries and Matt McMahon added 59 yards on 13 carries.

Swanstrom completed 21 of 39 passes for 257 yards and a pair of scored but was intercepted twice. He also rushed for 41 yards. Dement caught seven passes for 115 yards, while Hatcher hauled in seven for 110 yards.

Aaron Key was credited with nine tackles, while Matt Koch added seven. Brian Steinert led Rhodes with 15 followed by Ben Clark with 10.

DePauw returns to action this Saturday when it hosts the Uninversity of Wisconsin-Stout at 1:30 p.m. as part of Community Day.

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