“It doesn’t get much better than this,” said punter Trevor Cochran, alluding to the beautiful weather, the opposite conditions of the last time the Tigers played at Wooster in 2008.
“Be a poised, under-control, heat-seeking missile,” former Tiger Ryan Gresham told linebacker Brad McKinley.
“This opportunity comes once in a lifetime,” sang Eminem over the loudspeakers.
After all the talk, the Tigers backed it up with the kind of victory that has defined their 2010 season. The 22-17 win over the Scots, secured by quarterback Ben Zoeller’s 4-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes, means the Tigers (10-0) will return to work today ready to prepare for a NCAA Division III playoff game. Wittenberg, which receives the North Coast Athletic Conference’s automatic playoff berth as outright champion, will play at noon Saturday. The Tigers learn at 3 p.m. today on ESPN News whom and where they will play.
Last year, after a 10-0 season, Wittenberg received a No. 2 seed and hosted games in the first two rounds, advancing to the national quarterfinals, where they lost at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“Here’s what I expect: the unexpected,” said coach Joe Fincham, who has guided his team to the playoffs eight times in 15 seasons at the helm. “This isn’t our first rodeo. I know the North Region is just absolutely loaded with good teams. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it better than what it is.
“We have high hopes that we get to play at home, but it might not happen. We’re glad we’re in. Now we hope to get a seed where we get a chance to make some noise and get on a little bit of a run. Winning on the road like we have, while it hasn’t been pretty, those things can pay big dividends. Let’s wait and see.”
The website, D3Football.com, projected Wittenberg as a No. 5 seed playing on the road at No. 4 seed Ohio Northern. If that transpires, the Tigers might consider it a slap in the face, considering Ohio Northern would be the second-place team in the Ohio Athletic Conference behind perennial national powerhouse Mount Union.
Playing at all next Saturday, however, is a gift for the Wittenberg seniors, whose careers almost ended Saturday.
“We’re hoping we can improve on the road because it’s looking like that’s where we’re going to be,” senior cornerback Keenan Freeman said, “but we’re ready for the playoffs.”
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