Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
Meadville, Pa. - DePauw totaled 565 yards of offense including 412 on the ground and claimed a 59-7 North Coast Athletic Conference win at Allegheny.
The Tigers improved to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the NCAC, while the Gators dropped to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
DePauw's first score started with good field position after Paul Simon landed a punt at the Allegheny 10 and the defense forced a three-and-out. Starting at the Allegheny 47, the Tigers reached the board first when Matt Hunt teamed withTyler Leising for a 4-yard score.
The Gators kept their next series alive with a successful fake punt from their own 20 and a 30-yard pass play on third down, but Michael Mitsch's sack pushed the hosts back to the DePauw 41 and the Gators punted.
Hunt ran for 33 yards on the first play of the series, early in the second, to move into Gators territory. Jack Grubercarried the last three times totaling 22 yards incluidng the final yard for the score that made it 14-0. The Gators quickly countered with a 9-play, 65-yard possession capped by Jon Nigro's 4-yard pass to Andrew Niklaus with 7:30 left in the half.
Marko Adams booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to make it 17-7.
DePauw dominated the second half, scoring on its first six possessions and outgaining the Gators, 362-67. Hunt connected with Connor Jeffers for a 26-yard score on DePauw's first series of the second half before Gruber and Jason Kirchhoff each scored on 5-yard runs to make it 38-7 with 1:25 remaining in the third.
Early in the fourth, Kirchhoff scored from 42 yards out before backup quarterback Ian Good made it 52-7 on 59-yard run with 10:54 left. The Gators fumbled on the first play of the ensuing series and DePauw's Ray Webb recovered. Starting at the Allegheny 28, Gruber got the call four straight times and put the final points on the board with a 24-yard run.
The 565 yards marked the second time in the last three games that DePauw has topped the 500-yard plateau and the 412 rushing yards were the most since the Tigers totaled 507 against Rose-Hulman in 2004. The 52-point margin of victory was the Tigers' largest since a 55-0 win over Wsahington University on October 30, 1982.
Hunt and Gruber each rushed for 99 yards with Kirchhoff chipping in 66. Gruber rushed for three scores with Kirchhoff adding two and Good one as the Tigers totaled six ground scores.
Hunt completed 16 of 21 passes for 153 yards with two scores and no interceptions. Jake Hagan and Zachary Alleman each caught three passes, while Leising and Jeffers each caught touchdown passes.
Nigro completed 16 of 24 passes for Allegheny for 134 yards, but DePauw's defense held the Gators to just one rushing yard in 20 attempts.
Lan Sansone paced DePauw with six tackles, while Adam Folta added five. The Tigers recorded four sacks with Kevin Kiyosaki pacing the squad with 1.5. DePauw's defense also finished with eight tackles for losses totaling 33 yards.
Ryan Sherry led Allegheny with 12 tackles with Nick Murgo adding 11 and Raysean Glenn 10.
The Tigers' special teams had a solid day as well with Simon averaging 46 yards on two punts and Connor Patterson booming one 44 yards. Adams broke the school record with eight successful extra points.
DePauw returns to action on Saturday, November 1, when it travels to Wooster for a 1 p.m. contest.