Wittenberg’s second game comes 21 days after its first

The canceled football game was one result. Wittenberg (0-1) returned to practice Monday in preparation for its home opener against Howard Payne University (1-2) at Edwards Maurer Field at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s just very unfortunate,” Wittenberg coach Jim Collins said Wednesday, “but it’s behind us. As I told our team when we got everybody back, we’ve got to focus on going forward.”

Wittenberg hasn’t played since a 24-14 loss at Baldwin Wallace on Sept. 8. Many players left campus and returned home last week when classes were conducted virtually.

The football team still held practices off campus last week, but players were not required to attend. They were voluntary workouts. They practiced twice at the Athletes in Action complex in Xenia, once at Archbishop Carroll High School in Dayton and once at the stadium formerly used by Urbana University.

Collins said everyone was excited to get back to work on campus on Monday, especially the fifth-year seniors who lost their freshman season to the pandemic, in preparation for their home opener.

“You’re not guaranteed anything,” Collins said. “These opportunities are limited, so you better make the most of every single day you’re out there and have a sense of urgency with everything you’re doing.”

The game against Hiram would have been Wittenberg’s North Coast Athletic Conference opener. Collins doesn’t know how the cancellation will affect the league standings if Wittenberg and Hiram play seven games instead of eight like everyone else.

“We’ve talked with the league and with Hiram about potentially making that game up at the end of the year,” Collins said. “I don’t know all the details yet. I think they’re to be determined.”

Wittenberg will play Howard Payne for the first time. The school is located in Brownwood, Texas.

Wittenberg was originally scheduled to play the University of Dubuque this season after winning 28-27 at Dubuque in the 2023 season opener, but that game got pushed back to a future season.

Howard Payne plays in the American Southwest Conference, which includes Hardin-Simmons, a team Wittenberg beat on the road in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in 2001. The conference has only four members this season because of defections, and each team will play two games against the other conference members.

Wittenberg and Howard Payne signed a one-game contract.

“They were scrambling for games and had an opening in Week 4,” Collins said. “We had the opening, and it worked out.”

Howard Payne was 6-4 last season after two straight 7-3 finishes. Prior to that, it suffered 15 straight non-winning seasons. This season, it opened with a 38-6 loss to Hardin-Simmons and then lost 29-27 to Nelson University. It beat Lyon College 41-14 last week on the road.

Looking back at his team’s opener, Collins lamented two turnovers in the first quarter that led to Wittenberg falling into a 10-0 hole.

“I think that was the difference,” Collins said. “We gained a couple of turnovers, but we also had a pick six called back because of pass interference. That’s how close that game was. We obviously have to play better. ... Across the board, as coaches, as a team, it wasn’t good enough. We know there are a lot of things we can correct, and that’s what we’ve done the past three weeks.”