2008 Woodie Awards
Tigers kick Kangaroos to win second straight game
By: Matt Clemens
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Sports
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Sophomore quarterback Spud Dick passed for 322 yards and a record-tying five touchdowns as the football team dominated Austin College in a 35-6 victory this weekened. DePauw won its second consecutive game to move to 4-2 in SCAC play and 6-2 overall. The Kangaroos move to 4-5 (2-4).
"We played really good everywhere on the field," said coach Matt Walker. "We protected well and we played really good outside. Everybody around him was playing well."
The Tigers, who had dropped their previous two home games by wide margins, set the tone early. Threatening to score deep in Kangaroo territory, Dick threw a simple screen route to senior receiver Jeff Bonner who hurried 19 yards into the end-zone capping off a nine-play, 69-yard drive.
Dick, who has completed 58 percent of his passes on the year, missed only three of his targets all day and for the second time this year, failed to throw an interception.
"I really liked the game plan going into [the game]," Dick said. "A lot of it goes to the receivers and the offensive line because all I did was make a short pass and they turned those into really big plays."
Dick got help on a number of those big plays from junior receiver Chris Gasbarra, who totaled four catches for 92 yards and three touchdowns. Gasbarra scored on receptions of 10, 18 and 57 yards, while senior running back Jeremiah Marks took one catch 39 yards into the end-zone.
Dick said it felt good to be playing this well in front of the home crowd again.
"It was huge for us," Dick said. "These last couple of weeks, we felt like we haven't really played to our potential. We were getting off to slow starts and we were letting teams hang around."
The DePauw defense, trying to get back on track after giving up 78 total points in its last two home games, only gave up 196 yards of total offense to the Kangaroos. Walker said the type of game that was played Saturday lent itself well to the Tigers' physical style.
"This was one of those rare games where you knew exactly what you were going to get," Walker said. "You knew they were going to come out and try to run the ball downhill at us and you knew we were going to come out and run the ball at them. It was a good, old-fashioned battle. That's kind of what we're good at."
"We played really good everywhere on the field," said coach Matt Walker. "We protected well and we played really good outside. Everybody around him was playing well."
The Tigers, who had dropped their previous two home games by wide margins, set the tone early. Threatening to score deep in Kangaroo territory, Dick threw a simple screen route to senior receiver Jeff Bonner who hurried 19 yards into the end-zone capping off a nine-play, 69-yard drive.
Dick, who has completed 58 percent of his passes on the year, missed only three of his targets all day and for the second time this year, failed to throw an interception.
"I really liked the game plan going into [the game]," Dick said. "A lot of it goes to the receivers and the offensive line because all I did was make a short pass and they turned those into really big plays."
Dick got help on a number of those big plays from junior receiver Chris Gasbarra, who totaled four catches for 92 yards and three touchdowns. Gasbarra scored on receptions of 10, 18 and 57 yards, while senior running back Jeremiah Marks took one catch 39 yards into the end-zone.
Dick said it felt good to be playing this well in front of the home crowd again.
"It was huge for us," Dick said. "These last couple of weeks, we felt like we haven't really played to our potential. We were getting off to slow starts and we were letting teams hang around."
The DePauw defense, trying to get back on track after giving up 78 total points in its last two home games, only gave up 196 yards of total offense to the Kangaroos. Walker said the type of game that was played Saturday lent itself well to the Tigers' physical style.
"This was one of those rare games where you knew exactly what you were going to get," Walker said. "You knew they were going to come out and try to run the ball downhill at us and you knew we were going to come out and run the ball at them. It was a good, old-fashioned battle. That's kind of what we're good at."
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