Preview: Wittenberg Tigers vs. Thomas More Saints

Teams meet at noon Saturday in playoffs.

Who: No. 17 Wittenberg (9-1) at No. 15 Thomas More (9-1)

When: Noon Saturday

What: First round of Division III playoffs.

Where: BB&T Field, Crestview Hills, Ky.

Online: The game will be broadcast taped delayed on FoxSports 1360 at 5 p.m. Thomas More will offer a video webcast of the game. Link at TMCSaints.com.

Last game: On Nov. 12, Wittenberg beat Alleheny 45-8 in Meadville, Pa.. Thomas More was off last week and won 63-16 at Thiel on Nov. 5.

Series history: Wittenberg leads 4-0. The Tigers beat the Saints 41-0 in the second round of the 2001 playoffs at Thomas More. Wittenberg won the last matchup 35-31 in 2004 in Springfield.

Coaches: Wittenberg's Joe Fincham is 190-42 in his 21st season. Thomas More coach Regis Scaife is 20-2 in his second season. Scaife was the head coach at John Carroll from 1998-2012. His record was 88-56.

Wittenberg notes: The Tigers have won four games in a row since suffering their only loss, 24-21 at Denison. … Wittenberg moved from No. 19 to No. 17 in the D3Football.com poll. The Tigers moved from No. 23 to No. 20 in the AFCA poll at No. 23. … DeShawn Sarley leads the rushing game with 679 yards and seven touchdowns. … Luke Landis caught 48 passes for 755 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season. … Linebacker Terrance Crowe leads the defense with 104 tackles. … Wittenberg ranks second in the nation in scoring defense (9.6 yards per game).

Thomas More notes: Junior quarterback Brenan Kuntz set the school's single-season passing record with 2,396 yards. He has thrown 25 touchdown passes, one short of the school record. … The Saints are 43-2 at home since 2008. They lost 31-29 to John Hopkins in the 2009 playoffs and 26-23 to Waynesburg in 2011. … Daylin Garland leads the team in receptions (51), receiving yards (875) and receiving touchdowns (11). … CT Tarrant leads the run game with 1,086 yards and 16 touchdowns. … Thomas More has 64 players from Ohio. Wittenberg has two players from Kentucky and eight players from Cincinnati, just north of Thomas More's campus in northern Kentucky.

Playoff games to watch: The Wittenberg-Thomas More winner plays No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater (10-0) or Lakeland (7-3) in the second round. Two other Ohio teams made the playoffs. No. 6 John Carroll (9-1) hosts Olivet (9-1) in the first round. No. 7 Mount Union (9-1) plays at No. 19 Hobart (9-1).

Prediction: Wittenberg 28, Thomas More 27.

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