A Bell Buzzkill
We’ve all heard and repeated the scenario about the Bell game before. “At kickoff, you throw the records away.” It’s something we like to tell the outsiders as part of the lore of the Monon Bell Classic.
Until it really happens.
I cannot top Jim Amidon’s apt assessment, so I won’t even try. The Indianapolis Star’s rendition of how the events transpired follows my rant. You can find more video here. We were also SportsCenter’s #7 Play of the Day. (Too bad they couldn’t pronounce either “Monon” or “Wabash” correctly.)
“It’ll go down as one of those great Monon Bell showdowns. It was a great game.” That’s what we say to outsiders and Dannies we associate with in a wincing effort to be magnanimous gentlemen. What we say to ourselves and the ranks of the Wabash faithful is
As a member of the “cursed class” that lost the Bell all four years, the sound of the Monon Bell ringing during that game brings me more dread than joy. But, in athletics, like life, we take nothing for granted.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, indeed.
So we, and not the trophy-toting Dannies, move on to our next contest in the playoffs against Mt. St. Joseph.
DePauw 24, Wabash 21
DePauw backup place-kicker delivers another Monon miracle
Park Tudor grad hits 47-yard field goal as time expires to lift the Tigers over Little Giants
By Jeff Rabjohns
jeff.rabjohns@indystar.com
November 11, 2007
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — There are moments, and then there are Monon Bell moments. There are heroes, and then there are Monon Bell heroes.
Jordan Havercamp, a backup kicker who missed an extra point earlier in the game, walked onto the Blackstock Stadium field for his first field goal attempt of the season with 2.4 seconds remaining in one of college football’s storied rivalries.
With one swing of his powerful right leg, the sophomore stepped forever into Monon Bell Classic lore.
The Park Tudor graduate connected on a 47-yard field goal with plenty to spare as time expired, giving the Tigers a 24-21 upset of previously unbeaten Wabash in the 114th meeting between the schools.
“This is huge,” said Havercamp, who transferred to DePauw after a year at Dennison. “My first year at DePauw, and I’m going to remember this forever.”
DePauw’s starting kicker, Brendan Smith, missed a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, making him 5-for-14 for the season. So DePauw coach Matt Walker made the call to go with Havercamp, and he gave DePauw its only lead of the game.
“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Walker said. “It doesn’t get any bigger than that. A 47-yard field goal to end the game in the Monon Bell.”
The kick came six years to the day of the most recent ‘Monon Miracle,’ Jake Knott’s pass that went off Ryan Short’s hands and was caught by Kurt Casper for a 52-yard touchdown as time expired to give Wabash a 27-21 win.
DePauw wins the bell for the first time in three years and trails just 53-52-9 in college football’s 12th oldest rivalry. The Tigers lead 37-34-6 since the 300-pound bell was introduced as a traveling trophy in 1932.
Seventh-ranked Wabash falls to 9-1 while DePauw is 8-2 with the NCAA Division III playoff pairings to be announced this morning.
The game-winning drive began when Jevon Pruitt intercepted Matt Hudson at the DePauw 4 with 1:23 to play. Marks had runs of 11 and 14 yards, and Spud Dick completed two passes for 25 yards in the drive.
After a timeout, Havercamp hit the winner in front of 8,000 fans.
“It was awesome, an awesome performance by him,” Marks said.
Marks was pretty good, too. The holder of every DePauw rushing record had 278 yards of total offense, carrying a school-record 45 times for 181 yards and catching seven passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
His first touchdown reception was a shovel pass he turned into a 36-yard score on third-and-14. His second score was a similar play that went 8 yards. DePauw followed with a two-point conversion to tie the score at 21 with 3:37 to play, capping the Tigers’ longest drive (83 yards) of the season.
“This is the best ending to my complete and total career in football, the best way I would ever want to go out,” the senior said as teammates rang the bell at midfield.
Marks, who has 3,873 career rushing yards, surpassed 100 yards on the first play of the second half.
“It’s nice to have a kid like Jeremiah Marks, who when in doubt, you can give it to him and let him pound it out 3 or 4 yards at a time,” Walker said. “What an incredible way to end a career that clearly is going to go down as one of, if not the best in the history of DePauw football.”
Plenty of star performances preceded Havercamp’s heroics.
Dick, a sophomore from Lawrence Central, threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Bryan Mulligan had a Monon Bell record 15 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Wabash sophomore Matt Hudson threw for 322 yards and a touchdown, and senior receiver Mike Russell had eight catches for 151 yards. Bart Banach added a 65-yard touchdown reception that put the Little Giants up 21-13.
