Cooper’s touchdown reception puts game away for Tigers

Big 3rd quarter lifts Tigers past Mount St. Joseph

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:30 PM Saturday, November 21, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — Michael Cooper saw so much green space in front of him, he might as well have been in Snyder Park. On a beautiful November afternoon stolen from the September page of the calendar, the Wittenberg sophomore could have run straight down the sideline, out of Edwards-Maurer Field, across campus and straight down to the bike path.

But Cooper had to go only 64 yards.

The South graduate’s touchdown early in the fourth quarter was the final dagger in Mount St. Joseph’s chances, and the Tigers pulled away for a 42-14 victory Saturday, Nov. 21, in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Cooper caught a short pass and beat the one defender near him. After that, all he had to do was run straight ahead for his 10th touchdown of the season. It gave Wittenberg a 35-14 lead.

“I was just thinking, ‘Run fast and don’t get caught,’ ” said Cooper, who led all players in yards gained with a career-high 144 receiving yards. “It felt like I was moving in slow motion, but I got there.”

Big day for the CWs

Wittenberg’s running back tandem of Corey Weber and Conner Warye — Webrye, if you will — combined for 218 yards on 40 carries.

Jeff Wilbur added 61 yards, all on Wittenberg’s final possession.

The Tigers (11-0) outgained the Lions 315-105 on the ground.

“I give all the credit in the world to coach (Joe) Fincham and Wittenberg because they do what I like to do,” Lions coach Rod Huber said. “They run the ball, and they stop the run. That’s how you win championships, and that’s how you win playoff games.”

On Wittenberg’s three TD drives in the third quarter, it ran the ball 17 times in 20 plays, including 13 times in a row at one point.

Preparation key

Wittenberg had interceptions by cornerback Brandyn Brown and linebacker Brad McKinley and a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Taylor Scherer. The Tigers turned all three turnovers into scores.

That had a lot to do with the game plan. Last Sunday, instead of holding a viewing party for the playoff selection show on ESPNews, the Tigers spent the afternoon watching film of their victory over Wooster. Coach Fincham found out the Tigers were playing Mount St. Joseph when his wife called to tell him.

“We were really prepared,” Brown said. “We had a lot of film sessions. In practice, we had a lot of repetition of what we saw on the field today.”

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