Wittenberg picks off four passes in rout of No. 25 DePauw
Oct. 8—Wittenberg intercepted four passes and put itself right back into the thick of the North Coast Athletic Conference race with a 30-7 victory Saturday against DePauw in Greencastle, Ind.
DePauw (5-1, 3-1), ranked 25th in the D3Football.com poll, suffered its first loss of the season.
Wittenberg (3-2, 3-1) avenged a 17-14 loss to DePauw in Springfield last season and rebounded from a 42-35 loss at home last week to the NCAC's other Indiana team, Wabash.
Garrett Gross led the Wittenberg offense with 131 rushing yards on 25 carries. Bryce Anderson gained 70 yards on 12 carries. Wittenberg outgained DePauw 230-108 on the ground.
In the first half, DePauw struck first with its only score, taking a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard touchdown run by Gus Baumgartner.
Wittenberg failed to score on its first three drives but then got the ball at the DePauw 13-yard line after an interception and 27-yard return by defensive tackle Grant Hollinger. On the first play after the interception, Collin Brown threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Drew Sterett.
DePauw's backup quarterback, Nathan McCahill, who took over for injured starter Wally Renie in the first quarter, was intercepted for the second time with 12:18 left in the half and for a third time, by defensive back Anthony Pedro, with 1:48 to play. Pedro returned the ball seven yards to the Wittenberg 47-yard line.
Wittenberg turned the third interception into points. Collin Brown scored on a 4-yard run with 22 seconds left in the half, giving Wittenberg a 14-7 lead.
On its first drive of the third quarter, Wittenberg capped a 12-play, 87-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run by Bryce Anderson with 7:44 remaining.
Wittenberg extended its lead to 23-7 when Hollinger forced a fumble out of the end zone by Collin Knecht with 4:51 left in the third.
Pedro's second interception set up Wittenberg at the DePauw 23. On the first play after the turnover, Anderson scored on a 23-yard run.
Wittenberg improved to 8-2 against DePauw in NCAC play. Wittenberg plays Wooster at 1 p.m. at Edwards-Maurer Field next Saturday.
