SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (October 22, 2022) – The Denison University football team was victorious 28-10 on the road at Wittenberg University on Saturday afternoon at Edwards-Maurer Field, knocking the Tigers out of first play in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. Quarterback Drew Dawkins finished by completing 13 of his 15 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns while also adding an 80-yard rushing touchdown.

It was your classic ball control game in the first half as Denison (6-2 overall, 4-2 NCAC) struck first with a lengthy 11-play, 80-yard drive on its second drive of the game that finished with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dawkins to a leaping Josh Aiello on a slant in the endzone with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. Dawkins was a perfect 5-for-5 on the drive with each completion going for a first down.

Then after Wittenberg's (4-3, 4-2) second drive of the game ended with an interception by Anthony Rooney at the Big Red five-yard line, a three-yard sack on third down just past midfield by Collin Hill on the next Tiger's drive got the ball back to the Big Red for another lengthy possession.

It was a 13-play, 56-yard drive spanning six minutes and 25 seconds as the Big Red continued to chew up yardage and time, but after the first incompletion of the game by Dawkins (9-for-9 to start) and a stop by the Wittenberg defense on third down, the Big Red missed a 35-yard field goal that would have given them a two-score lead.

Then with 19 seconds left before halftime, the Tigers answered the miss by Denison with a 24-yard field goal to cap a 12-play, 73-yard drive.

The first drive of the second half saw a big tackle for loss on third-and-two by Jonathan Bearden and Clay Denstorff, and then on the very first play by the Big Red, Denison took back the momentum as a run for Dawkins saw the fifth-year senior find a seam and take it 80 yards to the house to make it 14-3.

In the final three minutes of the third quarter and with Wittenberg threatening to score, Rooney and the Big Red defense again made a stand in the redzone with a breakup on fourth-and-three from the Denison eight-yard line.

After a great 67-yard punt by Daniel Cunningham forced Wittenberg to start from within its own 15-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Sam Secrest came up with a six-yard sack on third-and-seven, and then a short punt by the Tigers set Denison up at the Wittenberg 39-yard line.

Four plays later, a 23-yard touchdown pass from Dawkins to Billy Guzzo made it 21-3 with just under 10 and a half minutes left to play.

With Wittenberg clinging to hope after scoring a touchdown with 4:25 remaining, an onside kick by the Tigers set Denison up at the Wittenberg 46-yard line, and three plays into drive, Trey Fabrocini took it to the endzone from 35 yards out to essentially put the game out of reach with under three minutes to go.

Fabrocini finished with 89 rushing yards on 19 attempts while as a team, the Big Red rushed for 209 yards. Fabrocini also added three catches out of the backfield while DJ Johnson led the group of Big Red wideouts with four receptions for 42 yards.

As a team, Denison was outgained 400-340 in total yardage and gave up 22 first downs to the Tigers compared to 16 for the Big Red, but the defense did its job by limiting Wittenberg to a 5-for-14 rate on third down, 0-for-3 on fourth down, and a 2-for-4 conversion rate in the redzone. Jeff Moore was all over the field to lead that defensive effort, finishing with 16 total tackles while Jack Nimesheim was next with nine tackles, followed by Bearden with seven, Nathan Hallenbeck with six and Hill with five.

Next up, Denison will play its final road game of the season at The College of Wooster on Saturday, November 5. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. from Wooster, Ohio, as the Big Red look to claim victory in the Battle of the Old Red Lantern for the eighth year in a row.