GRANVILLE-- Conor Dunn connected on a 33-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining, sending Denison to a 24-21 upset victory over No. 15 Wittenberg in front of 2,350 at Piper Stadium. With the victory, Denison remains unbeaten at 6-0 and 5-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. It also marks the first win over the Wittenberg Tigers since 1989.
The Big Red entered Saturday night's game winners of 16 of their last 20 games dating back to the 2014 season. The thing missing from those 16 wins was a signature victory over a perennial top-25 program.
That box can now be checked.
Denison achieved its biggest win in decades by being a resilient football team. Look no further than the fourth quarter. With the score tied at 14-14 early in the period, Dunn's 39-yard field goal try just missed, wide left, giving the ball back to the Tigers on their own 22-yard line.
The defense answered the bell with consecutive sacks on second and third down, forcing a punt. The Tigers boast the top punter in the NCAC in Will Gingery and his big boot sailed deep into Denison territory. DU's David Carter went back on the ball and tried to make the over the shoulder catch only to have it go off his fingertips. Wittenberg recovered on the Denison 28.
Resilient.
Without enough time to even grab a drink of water, the Denison defense returned to the field. On first-and-goal from the 10, senior defensive end Zach Neufeld forced a fumble on the Tiger running back and Andrew Baird was there for the recovery.
That put the ball back in the hands of Canaan Gebele and the DU offense. On third-and-four from their own 12, Gebele hit David Weimar on a 19-yard pass. He followed that with a 37-yard strike to Charlie Mueller. On third down from the Wittenberg 24, Gebele hit Cody Farley on a screen pass. Farley was patient and followed his blockers all the way to the 2-yard line. On the next play, Farley finished off the 8-play 94-yard drive, giving DU a 21-14 lead with 7:04 to play.
The Tigers answered with a 6-play 59-yard drive that was highlighted by a 37-yard pass from Jake Kennedy to Luke Landis on third down from just across midfield. Kennedy capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 21-21 with 5:00 to play.
Resilient.
This time, Wittenberg's defense answered the bell, forcing the DU offense to go three-and-out, giving the Tigers the football on their own 24.
Two completions by Kennedy got the ball across midfield, but on third-and-two, Denison safety Ryan Zinkula jumped the route and picked off Kennedy at the 24-yard line.
Resilient.
Gebele and the offense took the field with 2:25 on the clock and went to work in their two-minute offense. He completed four of his first five passing attempts on the drive and had DU across midfield with 1:06 to play. After a 12-yard pass to Weimar and a 13-yard run by Gebele, the Big Red found themselves in field goal range at the 19-yard line.
A pair of 3-yard runs set the stage for Dunn with 21 seconds left. He may have missed earlier from 38 yards, but Dunn has been one of the most reliable kickers in Denison history. He proved his resilience by tying the program record for career field goals made at 23 with his game-winner.
Denison still had to kickoff to the Tigers after the field goal and Wittenberg had a first-and-10 with 14 seconds left from their 41-yard line. Kennedy's first down pass was intercepted near the Big Red sideline by senior cornerback Joel Lohoua, icing the win for the Big Red.
Denison rolled up 490 yards of total offense on the 15th ranked Tigers, who entered the game with the nation's third-ranked scoring defense, giving up just 8.8 points per game.
Gebele was 33-of-47 for 375 yards and one touchdown. He also ran the ball 18 times for 81 yards. He threw his first interception of the season in the second quarter, breaking a streak of 199 passing attempts without an interception that dated back to last season.
Weimar had another outstanding game at wide receiver. The sophomore caught nine passes for 154 yards. Mueller followed with seven grabs for 87 yards.
For Wittenberg, Kennedy was 15-of-24 for 194 yards and one touchdown. Deshawn Sarley led the team in rushing with 60 yards on 11 carries. Landis was Wittenberg's leading receiver with four grabs for 84 yards.
Baird led DU with 10 tackles while Hayden Hatten followed with 8. Nate Keirn kept up his frenetic pace with 1.5 sacks, running his season total to 7.5 in six games.
Denison is 6-0 for the first time since 1985. They return to Piper Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 22, for a 2 p.m. kickoff against Allegheny College.