Witt football notes: Warye gets extended look at RB while Weber gets rest

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Conner Warye (38) of Wittenberg jumps over a teammate while pursued by Sam Thompson (17) of Carnegie Mellon during a game at Edwards-Maurer field on Oct. 24, 2009. Wittenberg won the game 28-7.

Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic Conner Warye (38) of Wittenberg jumps over a teammate while pursued by Sam Thompson (17) of Carnegie Mellon during a game at Edwards-Maurer field on Oct. 24, 2009. Wittenberg won the game 28-7.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer Updated 8:10 AM Thursday, October 29, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — Conner Warye got his first big chance to prove himself a workhorse in the running game, and he took advantage in Wittenberg’s 28-7 victory over Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Warye, a sophomore from Kings High School, had 31 carries in the first six games and 22 carries against CMU for 123 yards.

His increased workload didn’t have anything to do with the way starting running back Corey Weber was running, coach Joe Fincham said. The coaches just wanted to see more of Warye, while also giving Weber a break.

“Once we felt like we had the game under control, we felt pretty comfortable in letting Conner carry the load,” Fincham said. “We’ve still got some big games out there, and a beat-up tailback isn’t nearly as good as one with some legs. Our staff and Mark Ewald, in particular, feel very comfortable in both of them.”

On verge of record

Eddie Vallery, Wittenberg’s starting defensive end from Madison Plains, needs just one sack to break the program’s single-season record.

He had three in Saturday’s victory over Carnegie Mellon and has 11½ this season. That ties him for the NCAA Division III lead with Jacob Bloomhuff of Washington and Jefferson.

The current record of 12 was set by David Smith in 1991. Vallery already has more in a season than any player since Tim Daoust in 2000.

“Eddie is athletic. He does a great job of playing in space,” Fincham said. “He’s relentless in getting after the quarterback. And he’s helped our (offensive) tackles, having to pass block for him.”

National rankings

Wittenberg’s defense continues to stand alone atop the national rankings in Division III.

Scoring defense: 1. Wittenberg (4.29 points per game); 2. Wisconsin-Whitewater (6.29); 3. Wesley (7.0).

Total defense: 1. Wittenberg (142.86 yards per game); 2. Mount Union (196.57); 3. Illinois Wesleyan (208.29).

Mascot faceoff

Two weeks before they face off on the football field, Wittenberg and Wooster are going at it on the Web. A funny three-minute video featuring the Wittenberg Tiger and the Wooster Scot asks viewers to vote for their favorite mascot.

As of Wednesday evening, the Scot led by about 2,100 votes. Check out the video and vote at MascotFaceoff.com.

Can you hear  me now?

You might have spotted Fincham talking on a cell phone throughout Saturday’s game at Edwards-Maurer Field. He wasn’t talking to recruits.

The coaches’ headsets, which are normally used to communicate between the press box to the field, stopped working. They couldn’t get them to work with any consistency, so they talked by cell phone, taking advantage of those free weekend minutes.

“It stinks. It’s really hard to hear,” said Fincham, comparing the cell phones to the headsets. “In the old days, you were stuck (if the headsets stopped working). In the old days, the opposing team would have had to take off their phones.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.

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