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TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- DePauw University withstood Rose-Hulman's second half rally to earn a 23-13 victory in the 2011 football opener for both squads on Saturday night.
Ethan Schweir finished 29-42 through the air for 276 yards, and Jon Ellis rushed for 75 yards to lead the DePauw offense.
Junior Mitch
Snyder (Casey, Ill./Casey-Westfield) threw for a
career-high 280 yards on 25-42 with two touchdowns to pace the
Rose-Hulman offense. Senior Jordan Nielson (Syracuse,
Utah/Clearfield) set career-highs with seven receptions
for 117 yards, and freshman Dominic Sena (Moss Beach,
Calif./Half Moon Bay) added six catches for 84 yards and
one touchdown.
Junior Kyle
Kovach (Munster/Andrean) added 115 all-purpose yards on 35
rushing, 33 receiving and 39 kickoff return yards.
Defensively, five Fightin' Engineers reached double figures in tackles. Junior Ryan Gallagher (Greenwood) and senior Matt Green (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) had 12 stops each. Junior Jordan Martin (Shelbyville/Triton Central) had 10 tackles and one forced fumble, freshman Marcus Washington (Frankfort) added 10 stops, and sophomore Chad Compton (Lafayette/McCutcheon) also had 10 tackles and one sack.
The result marked a
significant improvement for Rose-Hulman from the 2010 season opener
that DePauw won by a 45-16 count.
DePauw relied on a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown to take a 14-0 lead at halftime. Robby Schuler returned an interception 38 yards for a score, and Taylor Wagner returned a punt 38 yards for a second touchdown.
Rose-Hulman relied on
a key defensive play and a school record tying touchdown drive to
move within 14-6 in the third quarter. The defensive play
featured Martin forcing a fumble on the Rose-Hulman one-yard line
that was recovered by senior Brad D'Agnillo (Cincinnati,
Ohio/Colerain) to thwart a Tiger touchdown.
Rose-Hulman marched 99 yards in 12 plays to score its first points of the season on a 15-yard pass from Snyder to Sena. Key plays on the drive included a third-and-eight conversion on a pass to Kovach; an 11-yard catch on third down by senior Sutton Coleman (Lebanon, Va.); a leaping 35-yard catch on third-and-eight by Nielson; and a 12-yard catch by Nielson to reach the redzone.
DePauw answered with a
29-yard field goal by Eric Malm on its next possession to increase
its lead to 17-6 entering the fourth quarter. The Tigers
moved the lead to 23-6 on a 14-yard run by Schweir early in the
fourth quarter.
Rose-Hulman marched 79 yards in five plays to move within 23-13 midway through the fourth quarter. Snyder and Sena connected on a 55-yard strike to move the Engineers in the redzone, before Snyder and Nielson hooked up on a seven-yard scoring strike.
Rose-Hulman had another one more scoring chance and crossed the DePauw 30-yard line, before the Tigers held on fourth down and ran out the clock with a 10-play drive.
DePauw improved to 1-0 on the season, while Rose-Hulman stands 0-1. The Fightin' Engineers travel to Kalamazoo College on Sept. 17.