Marko Adams kicked a 42-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining to propel DePauw to a 31-29 win over Denison on Saturday afternoon from Piper Stadium in Granville.

In what was billed as a North Coast Athletic Conference clash between two teams with identical 6-1 records, the game lived up to the hype.  Trailing 28-19 heading into the fourth quarter, Denison looked to have the Tigers on the ropes after a 33-yard field goal by Conor Dunn with 1:43 to play put the Big Red on top 29-28.

The Tigers started on their own 20-yard line and were quickly faced with a 4th-and-2 from the 28.  That's when DePauw junior quarterback Matt Hunt found Jake Hagan for a 4-yard gain, moving the chains.  On 1st-and-10, Hunt connected with his favorite target, younger brother Andy Hunt, on a 16-yard play that got the ball to midfield with 30 seconds remaining.  Those in attendance had already witnessed Adams boot a 49-yarder that would have been good from 55 in the first half.  On 3rd-and-4 with under 15 seconds left on the game clock, the Hunt brothers hooked up on a 22-yard passing play down the middle of the field, advancing the ball to the Denison 24.  With no timeouts remaining, Hunt clocked the ball with 6.9 seconds left, setting the stage for Adams' eventual game-winning kick.

For the game, Adams was 3-of-4, connecting on field goals of 49 yards, 36 yards and 42 yards.  His only miss was his shortest attempt, a 33-yard try that sailed wide left early in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by nine, midway through the fourth quarter, Denison put together a six-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a 7-yard touchdown run by freshman quarterback Canaan Gebele.  The big play of the drive came on first down from their own 30 when Gebele hit Dushawn Brown on a 48-yard pass.  Brown ended the day with seven catches for 138 yards, surpassing 3,000 career receiving yards in the process.

DePauw went three-and-out on its next series as the Big Red took over on its own 10-yard line with 6:57 to play, trailing 28-26.

Gebele and the Big Red went to work on a methodical 13-play 74 yard drive that ended in Dunn's 33-yard field goal.  On that impressive drive, Gebele completed 7-of-9 passes for 69 yards.  He also picked up a big first down on 3rd-and-2 with a 13-yard run up the middle.

In just his second career start, Gebele continues to impress with both his arm and his legs. He finished 25-of-32 for 349 yards and one touchdown.  He also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns on a game-high 21 carries.  Nine different Denison receivers had a catch as Brown led the way with seven receptions for 138 yards and a TD.  Hunter Winans followed with six receptions for 62 yards. 

The Denison defense got a big outing from Alex Raynor who led the team with 12 tackles.  He also came up with a fumble recovery in the second quarter after the ball was stripped by Joel Lohoua.  Three players, Lohoua, Ryan Zinkula and Andrew Baird, all finished with 10 tackles.

For DePauw, Philip Ganser led the team with 13 tackles.  Joe Kauth and Chris Hawk each finished with one and a half sacks for the Tiger defense.

DePauw QB, Matt Hunt was 24-of-36 for 308 yards and two touchdowns.  He also led the team in rushing with 17 carries for 75 yards.  Andy Hunt ended with 10 grabs for 124 yards and one score.

The Tigers improve to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the NCAC while Denison drops to 6-2 and 5-2 in conference play.  The Big Red will hit the road next Saturday when they travel to Crawfordsville, Ind. for a 1 p.m. kickoff against ninth-ranked Wabash.  The Little Giants improved to 8-0 after a 34-10 win over Ohio Wesleyan this afternoon.