Wittenberg to show off new, old look in home opener

Tigers brought back old “W” logo on helmets

The Wittenberg Tigers have worn the same helmets for many years. Coach Joe Fincham is a traditionalist when it comes to that kind of thing, and he wasn’t about to mess with the “W” logo and the two stripes down the center of the helmet.

Then a couple of years ago, Fincham was researching Wittenberg’s championship teams with former assistant coach Dan Piko, trying to compile rosters they didn’t have and looking through yearbooks in the library.

The coaches discovered an old “W” logo. Fincham had seen Hall of Fame coach Dave Maurer wearing the same logo in a photo hanging in his office.

“We both thought, ‘Man, that’d be a cool throwback deal,’” Fincham said.

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That’s why the Tigers looked different in their season opener Sept. 2 at Westminster. The old logo adorned new-look helmets, which featured a wider stripe down the middle. That look will again be on display when the No. 15 Tigers (1-0) return to action at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Oberlin (2-0) at Edwards-Maurer Field.

Wittenberg will go back to their traditional look at some point this season. The logo and stripe are stickers that can easily be replaced with the former look.

“One thing’s for sure,” Fincham said. “Had we lost in Pennsylvania, they probably would have never made it back to Ohio.”

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The Tigers beat Westminster 20-14 thanks in part to a defensive stand in the red zone in the final minute and two touchdown receptions by Springfield graduate Thaddeus Snodgrass. They didn't play last week and now begin a stretch of nine North Coast Athletic Conference games in nine weeks.

“We got some positives out of the bye week,” Fincham said. “Your biggest gains are supposed to be between your first and second game. Well, we get two weeks. You think you would get that much more return, and I think you do get returns. Is it better? I don’t know. If I had my druthers, we’d get in the rhythm of playing and have a break somewhere in week three or week four.”

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The early break gave the offense time to work on some of its issues. Quarterback Jake Kennedy completed 13 of 29 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the opener.

“We got some touchdowns on the board, but we scored 14 points as an offense,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to get much better than that. Overall, I wouldn’t say I’m pleased with our performance, but we’re going to take some good things away from it. We’re back to work, and we’re going to get better every day.”

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