Wittenberg becomes second D-III program to reach 800 victories

Wittenberg (1-1) became the second NCAA Division III football program to reach the 800-win mark. Mount Union was the first, reaching the milestone in 2019. Wittenberg won its 800th game 13 years after its 700th victory.

This was the first meeting between Wittenberg and Howard Payne, a Texas school that is a member of the America Southwest Conference. The Tigers returned to action 21 days after their season-opening 24-14 loss at Baldwin Wallace. Their game last week at Hiram was canceled when Wittenberg shut down campus because of security threats.

Wittenberg took a 3-0 lead on a field goal by Lucas Swierk in the first quarter. That remained the score until Max Milton threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Eric Rasheed with 40 seconds left in the first half. After a missed extra point, Wittenberg led 9-0 at halftime.

Milton started the second half with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Rasheed, giving Wittenberg a 16-0 lead.

Howard Payne answered with its first scoring drive. Blessing Ngene scored on a 5-yard run with 11:06 left in the third quarter to cut Wittenberg’s lead to 16-7.

Later in the third quarter, after an interception by Wittenberg linebacker Mario Getaw, the Tigers extended their lead to 23-7 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Christian Manville.

Wittenberg’s defense gave it an even bigger cushion when defensive lineman Eli Renick sacked Howard Payne quarterback Zy Gravitt, who fumbled the ball. Renick recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown with 5:04 left in the third. The Tigers led 29-7 at that point.

Milton completed 19 of 32 passes for 303 yards with three touchdowns. Manville gained 116 yards on 29 carries. Rasheed caught four passes for 112 yards.