Monday, May 03, 2010
The Rivalry Game! Every school has one!
Bill's blog from October 20, 2008:
As the season winds down there are plenty of big games left on virtually all schedules. Most of the “BIG” games between long-standing rivals are yet to be played: Auburn - Alabama; Michigan - Ohio State; USC - UCLA; Pittsburgh - West Virginia; DePauw - Wabash … what did I just say? DePauw - Wabash a “BIG” rivalry listed in the same sentence as all those well-known match-ups? Yes I did and there are many more that are rarely mentioned, but are nonetheless fiercely contested.
Let’s look at the DePauw - Wabash rivalry game coming up on Saturday. For starters this will be the 115th game in a series that Wabash leads 53-52-9. There may be more visible rivalries, but few have been going for 115 years. Another thing this game has going for it is the Monon Bell. They have been playing for that Bell since 1932 and DePauw leads this part of the series 36-34-6. As you surmise this is a closely fought series between two Div III schools located just 35 miles apart in West Central Indiana.
I’ll tell you about the Monon Bell and the history, tradition and lore surrounding it later this week, but back to the field. Matching the closeness of the series are several “SportsCenter highlight finishes.” Each of the last three games have been decided by three points, but last year’s three point DePauw win was about as dramatic as it gets. Sophomore transfer student Jordan Havercamp entered the game with just 2.4 seconds remaining and broke a 21-21 tie with his 47 yard field goal as time expired. It wasn’t “just another FG” obviously, but even better than the end of the game dramatics, it was his first try ever as a DePauw Tiger and it came on the last play of the season. Great theater!!!
Think Havercamp’s FG was a once in a lifetime? Well, maybe for him, but it was the second time such a thing had ended a DePauw - Wabash game. In 1955, Fred Williams knocked home an 18 yarder as time expired and it was HIS ONLY FG of the season. Amazing!
Of course, Wabash had its “Monon Miracle” in 2001 when with 2.7 seconds remaining and trailing by a point, QB Jake Knott unleashed a pass from his own 48 yard line that bounced off one receiver at the DePauw 5 yard line and landed in the arms of another in the end zone for the win.
So that brings us to Saturday’s 115th renewal of the rivalry. Last year Wabash arrived in Greencastle with a perfect 9 - 0 record and saw their undefeated season disappear on the wings of Havercamp’s field goal. DePauw was 7 - 2 entering the game. Unbelievably, this Saturday in Crawfordsville another 9 - 0 Wabash team will host another 7 - 2 DePauw squad. Will history repeat, will Wabash turn the tables and go undefeated, will there be more last second heroics? Stay tuned!
As the season winds down there are plenty of big games left on virtually all schedules. Most of the “BIG” games between long-standing rivals are yet to be played: Auburn - Alabama; Michigan - Ohio State; USC - UCLA; Pittsburgh - West Virginia; DePauw - Wabash … what did I just say? DePauw - Wabash a “BIG” rivalry listed in the same sentence as all those well-known match-ups? Yes I did and there are many more that are rarely mentioned, but are nonetheless fiercely contested.
Let’s look at the DePauw - Wabash rivalry game coming up on Saturday. For starters this will be the 115th game in a series that Wabash leads 53-52-9. There may be more visible rivalries, but few have been going for 115 years. Another thing this game has going for it is the Monon Bell. They have been playing for that Bell since 1932 and DePauw leads this part of the series 36-34-6. As you surmise this is a closely fought series between two Div III schools located just 35 miles apart in West Central Indiana.
I’ll tell you about the Monon Bell and the history, tradition and lore surrounding it later this week, but back to the field. Matching the closeness of the series are several “SportsCenter highlight finishes.” Each of the last three games have been decided by three points, but last year’s three point DePauw win was about as dramatic as it gets. Sophomore transfer student Jordan Havercamp entered the game with just 2.4 seconds remaining and broke a 21-21 tie with his 47 yard field goal as time expired. It wasn’t “just another FG” obviously, but even better than the end of the game dramatics, it was his first try ever as a DePauw Tiger and it came on the last play of the season. Great theater!!!
Think Havercamp’s FG was a once in a lifetime? Well, maybe for him, but it was the second time such a thing had ended a DePauw - Wabash game. In 1955, Fred Williams knocked home an 18 yarder as time expired and it was HIS ONLY FG of the season. Amazing!
Of course, Wabash had its “Monon Miracle” in 2001 when with 2.7 seconds remaining and trailing by a point, QB Jake Knott unleashed a pass from his own 48 yard line that bounced off one receiver at the DePauw 5 yard line and landed in the arms of another in the end zone for the win.
So that brings us to Saturday’s 115th renewal of the rivalry. Last year Wabash arrived in Greencastle with a perfect 9 - 0 record and saw their undefeated season disappear on the wings of Havercamp’s field goal. DePauw was 7 - 2 entering the game. Unbelievably, this Saturday in Crawfordsville another 9 - 0 Wabash team will host another 7 - 2 DePauw squad. Will history repeat, will Wabash turn the tables and go undefeated, will there be more last second heroics? Stay tuned!
Labels: alabama, auburn, crawfordsville, depauw, greencastle, michigan, monon_bell, monon_miracle, ohio_state, pittsburgh, sportscenter_highlight_finishes, ucla, usc, wabash, west_virginia
# posted by ESPN Founder : 2:44 PM
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