Witt still has plenty of wood to chop

TODAY’S GAME

Division III playoffs, first round

Who: Wittenberg (9-1) vs. Washington & Jefferson (9-1)

Where: Edwards-Maurer Field

When: Noon

Series: W&J leads 1-0-1 (last meeting 1930)

Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham did the math: 32 seniors lost to graduation and 12 returning starters. The answer told him in August he couldn’t look ahead and make playoff plans.

“We took it one day at a time,” Fincham said. “I know that’s cliché to say, but we really did.”

Several injuries in preseason practice added to the uncertainty. So to get his team to buy in to the one-day-at-a-time cliché, Fincham gave them a slogan.

“We have a saying throughout the team: Chopping wood and hauling water,” quarterback Zack Jenkins said.

The Tigers have figured out what that means and parlayed it into a 9-1 season, a fifth North Coast Athletic Conference crown in six seasons and the program’s 17th NCAA Division III playoff berth at noon today against Washington & Jefferson.

“It basically means coming into work every day, every day’s a new day, you’ve got to get better at something every day,” Jenkins said of the chopping and hauling metaphor.

Senior all-NCAC offensive lineman Aaron Coeling remembers Fincham’s explanation.

“He talked about it as if you’re stuck out in the wilderness,” Coeling said. “You don’t focus on down the road, you focus on what you need that day. So chop wood for fire and haul water for that day to drink.”

The Tigers had no choice but to live in the present on offense this season. Jenkins was a new starter, all of his receivers were new starters and the play caller, offensive coordinator Kevin Hoyng, was new to the program. All they did was average 38 points a game and find a big-play receiver in Zach Culvahouse.

“As a player you always feel you can do something,” Coeling said. “I felt we could definitely do this. It was definitely hard at times in camp having all the injuries we went through. But our team fought through and continued to grind every single day.”

Today the Tigers face another 9-1 team that Fincham says has good all-around speed. Pete Coughlin is a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for almost 3,000 yards and rushed for over 300. Ryan Ruffing is a 1,500-yard rusher, and two receivers have over 60 catches.

“All their skill kids run really, really well,” Fincham said. “It’s going to be a hard one for us.”

The Presidents also have defensive speed, especially in the secondary where Fincham says they are equally adept at zone and man coverage. They rank 54th in the nation in total defense and 47th in scoring defense, but they are plus-11 in turnover margin.

“They’re probably the best secondary that we’ve seen all year,” Hoyng said. “And up front they play very well with their hands and are very quick. They present a bunch of problems for us and are causing us some headaches this week.”

The message, however, remains the same for the Tigers in the locker room, the weight room and on the field.

“We’re still chopping wood and hauling water,” Fincham said. “And there’s still plenty of wood to chop.”