Thirty two seconds later, after a punt by Washington and Lee pinned Wittenberg at its own 10-yard line, J.J. Miller threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Kade Ray. The comeback began there and led to a 24-21 victory.
“It means a lot,” Miller said. “We bounced back. We had a rough first game. I had a terrible first game, actually. This was a hard-fought win. We fought.”
Wittenberg bounced back from a 31-13 loss at home to Baldwin-Wallace in its season opener on Sept. 6. It avoided its first 0-2 start since 2006 when it lost to Capital and Dayton to open the season. If Wittenberg had lost Saturday, it would have been the first time since 1945 it opened with two home games and lost them both.
Instead, the Tigers will take a 1-1 mark into the first of eight North Coast Athletic Conference games at Ohio Wesleyan at 6 p.m. on Sept. 20.
Sophomore Sumner Shroyer’s tie-breaking 24-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 45 seconds proved to be the difference for Wittenberg.
The defense made the lead stand by stopping Washington and Lee in the final minutes.
Tyre Smith made two big plays on Washington and Lee’s final drive, first a tackle for a loss of three yards and then a sack of the quarterback on 4th-and-12 at the Wittenberg 49-yard line. A pass breakup by freshman defensive back Jeremiah Jones on third down also helped the defense stop the Generals.
“The defense really did a great job,” Wittenberg coach Jim Collins said. “We would say we were ‘tigering up,’ because we were down 14-0, and we couldn’t stop them. Offensively, we weren’t clicking. It would have been really easy just to give in at that point.
“Our kids just kept fighting and fighting, waiting for someone to make a play. We started making some plays, and we got momentum and showed what we’re capable of because (Washington and Lee’s) a good football team.”
Washington and Lee, which fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2014, finished 8-3 last season and placed second in the Old Dominion Conference.
This was the first time the teams had played since 1957 and 1958. Wittenberg won those two games by a combined score of 112-26.
Washington and Lee built a 14-0 lead with two drives totaling 20 plays and 136 yards. It ran 48 plays in the first half to Wittenberg’s 18.
The Tigers faced only a 14-7 halftime deficit, though, because Miller threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Kade Ray on the second play of Wittenberg’s fourth drive. Until that play, Wittenberg had one first down on three drives.
“Coach told me earlier in the week there were going to be some deep balls,” Miller said. “It felt good to know the game plan and to execute it.”
Wittenberg was close to falling into a 21-0 hole. Then it got its first defensive stop, followed by a 77-yard touchdown pass from J.J. Miller to Kade Ray. Washington and Lee leads 14-7 at halftime. pic.twitter.com/vNlGSRs9el
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) September 13, 2025
Miller, a sophomore from Williamsburg, Ohio, blamed himself for the Week 1 loss. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 147 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
In this game, Miller completed 17 of 26 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Last week’s loss had nothing to do with J.J.,” Collins said, “and this week he played a great game. He showed a lot of courage. He ran the ball hard, and from a passing standpoint, he was on today. He was pinpoint. His timing was really good. And he did a great job protecting the football.”
Two mistakes by Washington and Lee helped Wittenberg tie the game and take the lead.
First, a bad snap on a punt attempt by Washington and Lee led to Wittenberg starting a possession at the Washington and Lee 20-yard line early in the third quarter. The Tigers failed to capitalize on that opportunity but forced a punt and took possession at the Washington and Lee 38.
This time, Miller ran two yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 14-14 with 5:55 left in the third.
On the first play of the next possession, Wittenberg linebacker Will Dix Jr. intercepted a pass. That led to a go-ahead 20-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Nikhai Daniel.
Washington and Lee tied the game with 8:41 to play on a 5-yard run by Anthony Crawford.
Wittenberg answered with its best drive of the game. It covered 71 yards in 13 plays and ran nearly five minutes off the clock before taking the lead on the field goal.
After the defense’s big stop, Wittenberg gained one first down to clinch the victory.
“We were able to finish the game off in the fourth quarter,” Collins said. “That’s the way you want to win. You want to go down on a game-winning drive, kick a field goal, get a stop, get the ball back and run out the clock.”
About the Author
