DePauw Opens Football Season with 23-13 Win at Rose-Hulman

September 3, 2011

September 3, 2011, Terre Haute, Ind. — DePauw scored a pair of special teams touchdowns in the first half and never trailed on the way to a 23-13 win at Rose-Hulman in the season opener for both schools.

The teams exchanged a pair of punts in the first quarter before DePauw's Robby Schuler intercepted Mitch Snyder's pass at the Rose-Hulman 38 and returned it for a touchdown with 8:23 remaining in the opening quarter.

Early in the second quarter, DePauw's defense pinned the Engineers deep inside their own territory and Taylor Wagner returned Eric Schaible's punt 38 yards for a score which made it 14-0 with 13:17 left in the half.

The Engineers returned the ensuing kickoff to the DePauw 48 and drove to the Tigers' 16 before DePauw's defense stopped the hosts on downs.

DePauw started its last drive of the half on its own 10 and drove to the Rose-Hulman 40 before time expired.

The Tigers were on the verge of scoring on their opening drive of the second half as they drove to Rose-Hulman 1 before Armani Cato fumbled on second-and-goal and the Engineers' Brad D'Agnillo recovered.

Rose-Hulman used 12 plays to drive 99 yards with Snyder tossing a 15-yard scoring pass to Dominic Sena. The point-after was off the mark and DePawu still led 14-6 with 6:05 left in the third.

DePauw came right back with Eric Malm's 29-yard field goal with five seconds left in the third which pushed the Tigers' lead to 17-6. The Tigers converted a pair of third downs to keep the drive alive.

On the next possession, Rose-Hulman had apparently converted a fourth down when Snyder teamed with Alex Sonnenberger for an 8-yard gain, but Schuler recovered a fumble at the DePauw 25 after Ben Brandstatter forced it.

The Tigers then used seven plays to cover 75 yards with quarterback Ethan Schweir covering the final 14 with a keeper. Malm's extra point gave DePauw a 23-6 lead with 10:02 left.

Snyder connected with Sena for a 55-yard pass play on the Engineers' third play of the next series and then found Jordan Nielson in the end zone for a 7-yard score two plays later which closed DePauw's lead to 23-13.

The Engineers later drove to the DePauw 29, but Michael McManis stopped Sutton Coleman for a 5-yard loss on a fourth down pass play.

DePauw outgained the Engineers 388-331 and held a 40:01-19:59 advantage in time of possession. Jon Ellis rushed for 75 yards in 26 carries, while Schweir completed 29-of-42 passes for 276 yards. Bobby Coburn, Taylor Wagner and Steve Ganser each caught six passes in the win, while Wagner totaled 174 all-purpose yards.

Kyle Kovach rushed for just 35 yards to pace Rose-Hulman, but Snyder completed 25-of-42 passes for 280 yards. Nielson caught seven for 117 yards, while Sena and Kovach each hauled in six.

Brandstatter paced the DePauw defense with 11 tackles, while Mitch Dwenger added eight. Ryan Gallagher and Matt Green each totaled 12 tackles for the Engineers with three different players notching one sack apiece.

DePauw returns to action on Saturday, September 17, when it travels to Allegheny College.