With playing sixth season as an option because the 2020 season didn’t count against his eligibility, Tate enrolled at Wittenberg, where he has been the team’s breakout star at wide receiver in the first two games.
“It’s really a blessing to be here for just another opportunity to play football,” Tate said Saturday after a 56-17 victory against Kenyon at Edwards-Maurer Field. “I’m just trying to capitalize on my opportunities and bring home Ws.”
Tate has 18 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He caught 13 passes for 186 yards in a season-opening 28-27 victory at Dubuque but did not get in the end zone. Against Kenyon, he caught two touchdown passes from Max Milton in the second quarter.
“My whole life, I’ve always been a playmaker,” Tate said. “It’s really nothing new to me. It’s about working, staying consistent and just grinding.”
Wittenberg (2-0) will face its biggest test of the season in its third game. The Tigers play Alma College (3-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Springfield.
Alma, ranked 20th in this week’s D3football.com poll, outscored its first three opponents 180-21. Among teams that have played three games, it leads the nation in scoring offense.
“I think it’s a complete team,” Wittenberg coach Jim Collins said. “Their defense is really good. They run to the football. They’re physical. They’ve got a lot of experience on the defensive side. They’re a solid team, defensively, in terms of how very sound they are with their approach, and I’m really impressed with how hard they play. And then, offensively, it all starts with the quarterback, Carter St. John. They’ve got good skilled players around him — explosive players. He’s a dual-threat guy, and he extends plays. Then you see they play with great effort on special teams. They were a playoff team last year, won their league and are off to a great start this year.”
St. John, a sophomore, has thrown 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions. He averages 215.7 passing yards per game. He has rushed 10 times for 87 yards. He threw 27 touchdown passes and nine interceptions last season as a freshman.
Alma was 10-0 in the regular season last year and finished 6-0 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. That was its best season since it was 8-0 in 1968. It reached the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2004.
This is a one-game series, Collins said. Wittenberg does not have a return trip to Alma scheduled.
The teams will meet for the first time since 2007. That was the sixth matchup in a nine-year span, which began with Wittenberg’s 42-19 victory against Alma in the first round of the playoffs in 1999.
Wittenberg beat Alma 39-14 in Springfield in 2000. Then on Sept. 15, 2001, Alma ended Wittenberg’s 33-game regular-season winning streak with a 26-24 victory in Michigan. The Tigers lost at Alma in 2005 but won the next two games in 2006 and 2007.
“Alma has a great tradition,” Collins said, “and what you see now is a team that’s got experience in winning. It’s going to be a great game.”
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