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WGRE Sports -- 2005 Football
Season Report Cards
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3
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Game 4 |
Game 5 |
Game 6 |
Game 7 |
Game 8
Monon Bell: DePauw 14, Wabash
17
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (B-)
The vaunted Tiger running game could not get going against Wabash’s
8-man fronts. Jeremiah Marks gained just 31 yards on 19 carries, though
he did score his 17th touchdown of the season. DePauw was a staggering
0-for-14 on third downs on the afternoon.
Defense (A-)
You couldn’t have asked for more from the Tiger defense, who neutralized
Little Giants QB Russ Harbaugh all day. The Tigers racked up 5 sacks and
intercepted Harbaugh once (Brendan Berrigan). However, DePauw struggled
against third-and-long, giving up a couple of devastating third-down
conversions that helped Wabash hang on to the ball and score points.
Special Teams (C)
Tyler Mallory missed a 36-yard field goal into the wind, Jon Williams
was inconsistent on his punts, and Ben Brown’s touching, and subsequent
fumbling, of a badly shanked Wabash punt in the second quarter cost the
Tigers great field position.
Coaching (B)
It’s hard to blame Coach Tim Rogers for sticking to the running game all
afternoon. After all, the ground attack is DePauw’s bread and butter.
But once it became apparent that the Little Giants were going to stack
the line against the run, Coach should have opened up the playbook a
little bit and tried to exploit a suspect Wabash secondary.
Intangibles (A+)
It was one of the greatest Bell Games of them all, and the Tigers, even
in defeat, left everything they had on the field of play.
Game 8: DePauw
60, Rose-Hulman 21
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (A+)
DePauw’s offense was clicking on all cylinders – and that might be an
understatement. Four different Tigers visited the end zone, led by
Jeremiah Marks’ three scores. Dorrius Ford, Daniel Stauffer, and Jason
Murphy added rushing touchdowns, and Ross Wiethoff caught a TD pass from
Brian Culp in a bit of role-reversal. The offensive line was
overpowering all afternoon.
Defense (A-)
Aside from two long TD runs by Rose-Hulman QB Cameron Hummel, the Tigers
defense was on point. Curran Clark scored the first defensive touchdown
for the Tigers this season when he returned an interception 29 yards on
the first offensive play of the game. DePauw intercepted Hummel three
times and recovered a fumble, and defensive lineman Jesse Brutkiewicz
sacked Hummel in the end zone for a safety.
Special Teams (B+)
Tyler Mallory had an extra point block but was otherwise perfect,
connecting on seven other extra points and a 28 yard field goal. Punter
Jon Williams pinned the Engineers inside the 20 yard line twice with
punts.
Coaching (A)
Coach Tim Rogers kept his team focused all week, not allowing the
players to look forward to Monon. In a potential trap game, the Tigers
kept their eyes on the Engineers, stepped on their throats early, and
didn’t let up.
Intangibles (A)
No better way to make a statement before the Monon Bell Game than to
drop 60 points on a 5-3 opponent, as the Tigers did on Saturday. DePauw
left little doubt that they are indeed ready to retain the Bell.
Game 7: DePauw
14, Centre 7
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (B-)
Only mustered 273 total yards, but got enough points to get the job
done. Jeremiah Marks had his best game in three weeks, gaining 120 yards
on the ground. John Michels found the end zone for the first time all year
on DePauw’s best drive of the day, a 4-play, 98-yard jaunt at the end of
the first half that proved to provide the winning margin.
Defense (A)
Held fast under duress once again, stopping the Colonels on four
straight plays from the four yard line with under four minutes to play to
preserve the win. The Tigers intercepted Kevin Phelps three times and did
a great job defending the pass all game. Darron Lasley racked up 15
tackles and was all over the field.
Special Teams (B+)
Punting game, led by punter Jon Williams, was much improved this week.
Two of Tyler Mallory’s three kickoffs went for touchbacks.
Coaching (A-)
Coach Tim Rogers’ defense deserves the credit for this victory, as
they stood strong on their late goal line stand and missed a shutout by
mere inches on an earlier fourth-and-goal play. The defense made necessary
adjustments all afternoon, bending but not breaking against a solid Centre
offense.
Intangibles (B+)
In the toughest game for the Tigers since Wesley (and until Monon),
DePauw responded with a great defensive performance. The offense couldn’t
sustain its first-half momentum, but the defense picked up the slack.
Game 6: DePauw
51, Millsaps 14
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (A+)
Hard not to give an A+ when you look at the numbers: 522 total yards,
a 205-yard passing day from Ross Wiethoff on 12-of-16 passing, three TD’s
(2 rush, 1 receiving) by Jeremiah Marks, and, oh yeah, 51 freakin’ points.
Defense (A-)
The minus stems from a Majors touchdown with one second remaining in
the game, which really isn’t fair. The Tigers continued their streak of
stellar defensive efforts, sacking Millsaps QB Billy Bob Orsagh four times
and getting in his face all afternoon.
Special Teams (A)
Tyler Mallory was perfect, connecting on all three of his field goals
and all six of his extra points. DePauw’s kickoff coverage was excellent
as well, holding Millsaps to just 14.5 yards per return.
Coaching (A)
Whatever concerns Tiger fans had about the offense after the unit
scored just seven points against Rhodes were dissolved on this day. Coach
Tim Rogers masterfully juggled his backfield, getting great performances
out of everyone who ran the football.
Intangibles (A)
Needing to rebound from a sub-par offensive performance, the Tigers
came out fired up, scored on their first drive, and fed off that all day,
battering the Majors in every aspect of the game.
Game 5: DePauw
7, Rhodes 3
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (C-)
Never found a rhythm. Not having a healthy Jeremiah Marks (he sat out
the entire first half due to injury) didn’t help matters, but neither the
run (115 yards on 55 carries) nor the pass (53 yards on 4-of-12 passing by
Ross Wiethoff) was effective for the Tigers.
Defense (A)
The defense won DePauw this football game, no question about it.
Dustin Hertel was the standout, racking up 12 tackles, a sack, and his
first career interception. The Tiger D held the Lynx to just 148 yards
from scrimmage and forced three turnovers.
Special Teams (B)
No complaints here. Jon Williams averaged over 36 yards per punt on
his seven kicks and pinned the Lynx inside their own 20 twice.
Coaching (B+)
Coach Tim Rogers’ offensive game plan hit a major roadblock with
Marks’ illness, but the defense was always in the right position to make
plays and was very well prepared to lock down the Rhodes offense.
Intangibles (B)
This is again likely due to Marks’ absence, but the offense was flat and
didn’t seem sharp. The defense provided the momentum for the team and the
players to feed from.
Game 4:
DePauw 34, Sewanee 0
by: Dan
Lucero
Offense (A)
Ran the ball 58 times on the afternoon against only 6 passes, but
that proved to be a sound strategy. Jeremiah Marks once again led the
way with 29 carries for 162 yards and a school-record five touchdowns.
Defense (A+)
A rare A+ grade goes to the Tiger D, who completely stymied Sewanee star
QB Wesley Satterfield. DePauw held Satterfield to 80 yards rushing, well
below his average, and intercepted him three times.
Special Teams (B+)
Hit and miss once again this weekend. The Tigers recovered two fumbles
on punts but lost one of their own. Tyler Mallory was 4-for-5 on extra
points and missed a field goal.
Coaching (A)
Coach Tim Rogers made sure his team would not have to throw the ball in
the dense Tennessee fog, establishing the running game early and often.
Intangibles (A)
With every game now a meaningful one in conference play, the Tigers
came out fired up, shut down the heralded Satterfield, and pitched a
shutout on Sewanee’s Homecoming. Not a bad start to the SCAC season.
Game 3: DePauw 33,
Chicago 9
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (A-)
Aside from three Ross Wiethoff interceptions, it was another command
performance for the Tiger offense. DePauw racked up 316 yards on the
ground, led by 141 yards by Jeremiah Marks on 32 carries.
Defense (A)
The Tigers recorded their first three sacks of the season and forced
four Chicago turnovers. They were able to successfully shut down a
dangerous Chicago aerial attack.
Special Teams (A-)
DePauw fared much better against kick returns on this day, leaving the
Maroons with tough sledding in the field position department. Tyler
Mallory had an extra point blocked and missed a field goal in the first
quarter, but that was due to an accidental jinx put on him by
broadcaster Wes Anderson, and he was perfect the rest of the day.
Coaching (A)
Coach Tim Rogers’ offense solved the difficult puzzle that is Chicago’s
30 Stack defense after a tough first half. Rogers got the team fired up
after taking a 6-0 lead into the locker room, and saw his charges run
off 27 second-half points.
Intangibles (A)
The Tigers hadn’t played in two weeks thanks to the cancellation of
the Trinity game and were clearly fired up to go hit somebody in a
different colored uniform. Rust was not an issue as the Tigers looked
smooth on both sides of the ball.
Game 2: DePauw 38, Hope 12
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (A-)
35
first-half points don’t tell the whole story. The Tigers picked up 529
total yards on the day, led by Ross Wiethoff’s 231 yards through the
air. Jeremiah Marks went over 100 yards on the ground as well. The
Tigers did turn the ball over four times, but other than that there are
certainly no complaints.
Defense (A)
The front four pressured Hope QB Joe Schwander all afternoon and managed
their first takeaway of the season, an interception by Andrew Huff. Hope
could never get in an offensive rhythm due to a total domination by
DePauw in the trenches.
Special Teams (B)
Michael McNelis blocked a field goal, but the Tigers had a punt blocked.
John Williams continues to impress as the new punter. There were some
lapses on kick coverage, as the Dutchmen had decent field position
thanks to some missed tackles on kick returns.
Coaching (A)
Coach Tim Rogers had never won at Holland Memorial Stadium despite
having a few chances as the former head coach at Kalamazoo. He made sure
he got the best of his old nemeses this week. The team mirrored his
desire to beat Hope, and Rogers knew when to call off the dogs in the
third quarter.
Intangibles (A)
Both of these teams were hungry for a win after opening losses, but it
was the Tigers who really felt as though they had something to prove,
and it showed the entire game.
Game 1: DePauw 26, Wesley 31
by: Dan Lucero
Offense (B)
Struggled to get it going in the first half, but once they found a rhythm
they were nearly unstoppable. Jeremiah Marks picked right up where he left
off last season, rushing for 101 yards and two scores. The passing game
sputtered at times but Ross Wiethoff appears to have found his two
favorite targets: Brian Culp and Chase Jonason.
Defense (C+)
Played one half of lights-out football… unfortunately, a football game is
comprised of two halves. The highly touted defensive line failed to record
a sack of Wesley quarterback Chris Warrick, though they brought plenty of
pressure and were in his face throughout the second half. The Tigers
simply couldn’t keep up with Wesley receiver Larry Beavers, as he scored
two receiving touchdowns.
Special Teams (A)
John Michels was a revelation as a kick return man, and John Williams
launched some booming punts.
Coaching (A-)
Tim Rogers’ first game as Tigers coach obviously didn’t end the way he
wanted it to, but he deserves credit for keeping his team fired up for the
second half and allowing Wiethoff to find a rhythm with some short passes.
Intangibles (B)
A nice home crowd on Community Day encouraged the Tigers all afternoon
long, and the Tigers came out fired up, but they sagged a bit in the
second quarter.
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