Comeback falls short for Tigers in 30-27 loss at Hanover
September 8, 2001
September 8, 2001, Hanover, Ind. - The Tigers nearly erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, but their comeback fell short in a 30-27 loss at in-state rival Hanover. DePauw fell to 1-1 with the loss, while Hanover moved to 1-0.
Trailing 30-13 after Drew Starck's 37-yard field goal with 11:14 left in the fourth, the Tigers scored two touchdowns in a span of 2:41 to close to within three.
Following the field goal, Jamarcus Shephard returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the DePauw 48. Quarterback Jason Lee completed all five pass attempts in driving the Tigers 52 yards in six plays with the final 11 yards going to Dan Ryan with 9:56 left for his second score of the day.
The teams then exchanged punts and Hanover started on its own 46 with 7:42 left before Micah Lukens recovered a Hanover fumbled snap at the 50. Lee then completed an eight-yard pass to Mark Rinehart and Matt King rushed four yards to the Hanover 38. Lee found Ryan over the middle for a 38-yard score with 7:15 left to cut the Hanover advantage to 30-27.
Hanover picked up a first down on its next series, but the Tiger defense again shut down the Panthers, forcing them to punt. The Tigers took over on their own 18 with 3:31 remaining and Lee found Ryan for a 12-yard gain on first down, but Hanover's Eric Kluft picked off Lee's pass on the next play and the hosts were able to run out the clock.
DePauw came out firing on its first series of the game as Lee completed four of his first five passes in driving the Tigers 64 yards in two minutes after the opening kickoff. His 39-yard pass to John Stephens gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
Hanover threatened on its first series as it drove to the DePauw 19, but Alson Jacquet's 16-yard sack of Justin Pelley forced the Panthers to attempt a 54-yard field goal which Starck missed.
DePauw held the lead until early in the second quarter when Todd England rushed in from five yards. The six-play drive began at the DePauw 38 after Evan Rubin picked off Lee's third-down pass. Freddy Marrero blocked the extra point leaving the score at 6-6 with 10:37 left in the half.
Hanover made it 13-6 with 2:39 remaining in the half as it covered 86 yards in 12 plays capped off by England's one-yard plunge.
Stephens returned the kickoff to the DePauw 33 and a Hanover personal foul on the return gave the Tigers the ball near midfield. Lee then completed six of seven passes to move DePauw to the Hanover 12 with 44 seconds left in the half. Hanover's Zach Beeler picked off Lee's first-down pass to thwart the Tigers' scoring opportunity.
The Panthers extended the lead to 20-6 on their first drive of the second half as Travis Morris rushed for the score from three yards with 12:35 left in the third. The DePauw defense had stopped Hanover on the first three plays, but a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty against the Tigers kept the drive alive for the hosts.
DePauw wasted little time in scoring just 28 seconds later as Lee connected with Andy Tolle for a 23-yard pass play and, on the next play, teamed with Ryan for a 37-yard score to close the gap to 20-13.
Later in the third, the Tigers were unable to convert a fourth-and-one at midfield and Hanover took advantage with a seven-play, 49-yard drive capped off with Brett Dietz's five-yard pass to Jeffrey Jourdan with 7:08 remaining in the third. Again, the drive was aided by a DePauw personal foul penalty.
Hanover nearly pulled to a three-touchdown advantage late in the third, but David Blackburn intercepted Zach Fallowfield's halfback pass in the end zone.
Lee completed 37 of 60 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns, but was picked off three times. Stephens reached double-digit receptions for the second straight week as he hauled in 14 catches for 153 yards and one touchdown. Tolle caught nine for 78 yards and Ryan grabbed six for 117 yards and a school record-tying three touchdowns.
Pelley completed 20 of 36 for Hanover for 235 yards and Dietz added eight of 15 for 103 yards and a touchdown. Jourdan hauled in 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown and was one of nine Panthers with a catch.
In addition to blocking an extra point, Marrero finished with two interceptions and nine tackles. Jacquet and John Christophersen also were credited with nine tackles apiece. Nate Wright led Hanover with eight tackles.
The Tigers finished with 415 yards of offense, but just 17 in 15 rushing attempts. Hanover finished with 402 total yards and 338 through the air.
While DePauw held a plus-one advantage in the turnover margin category, they committed 14 penalties totaling 100 yards to Hanover's three for 34 yards.
DePauw travels to Holland, Michigan, on Saturday, September 15, to face Hope College. The Flying Dutchmen fell to Division I-AA Valparaiso, 21-14 in their season opener.
GAME NOTES: Lee's 398 passing yards were the fifth-highest single-game total in school history and he now has three of the top five single-game yardage totals in school history ... Lee's 37 completions were the third-best single-game total and his 60 attempts were second only to his 72 against Hope last year ... Lee now ranks sixth with 3,077 career passing yards ... Stephens' 14 catches equaled the second-best effort in a DePauw game ... Ryan's 1,295 career receiving yards ranks 10th in school history ... The loss snapped the Tigers' seven-game win streak which began with a 19-16 win over Sewanee on October 7, 2000.