chris Broecker on the stop
Charlie Koliesk on the catch
Charlie Kolisek up the sidelines
Anthony Stella breaks into the open
Houston Hodges and Nate Scola lead a herd of tacklers
Who is tackling whom?
Eddie Chemil on the stop
Anthony Stella will shed this tackler
Oh so close...
Kolisek drags a defender
CJ McMann on a special teams stop
Surrounded
Grant Klembara on the run
Grant Klembara carries a defender
Someplace in there is a Kenyon running back
Grant Klembara looks for an opening
Jon Laird breaks a tackle
Sean Hildebrand holds on
Derrick McQuisto and Cody Buresh on the stop
Eric Downing with the catch turns upfield
Eric Downing drags a defender
Eddie Chemil on the tackle
Wes Brown leads Grant Klenbara upfield
Michael Putko looks up field
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Another game, another easy win.“Every time I came around the corner, they (offensive line) had it blocked right and there was almost nobody for me to juke out," Klembara said. "Those guys did a good job today and I credit those long runs to them.”
Klembara converted to running back in the last week. He recorded 7 tackles and a tackle-for-loss in last Saturday's victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The running back position is not completely new to him — he played there as a freshman.
The talented Texas junior gashed the Kenyon defense with quick moves and complemented Anthony Stella’s power running. The duo combined for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“Obviously, we run the ball a lot so we don’t feel like one guy can carry it every time,” Raeburn said. “Somebody keeps stepping up.”
The Little Giant offense was more balanced than any prior outing. Michael Putko threw for 217 yards on 17-of-26 passing and 3 touchdowns. Jon Laird caught 5 passes for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“We were really impressed with them (Lords defense) through their first six games,” Raeburn said. “Their run defense had been outstanding so we knew if we didn’t have balance, we would have a tough day. It was really important for Michael and the receivers to play well, and I think we did.”
Defensively, Wabash allowed little Kenyon success. The Lords didn’t gain a first down until their sixth drive, and only converted one third down on 13 attempts.
“We knew they were going to try and run it down our throat,” defensive lineman Evan Rutter said. “But our run defense has been real tough. The whole week we were talking that it’s disrespectful they think they were going to come in here and overpower us. We all took it personally and knew it was just man on man, and that we needed to come out and be stronger and more physical than they were.”
Rutter helped bottle up the Lords’ run game, which only gained 66 yards on 33 attempts.
Stella started the scoring with a one-yard dive after Laird adjusted on a 46-yard reception to put the offense on the goal line. Laird finished the second Wabash scoring drive when he hauled in a Putko 14-yard pass, 14-0.
“We’re prepared when we’re called on even though we’re asked to block a lot,” Laird said. “Today, we couldn’t run the ball as much as we’re used to and we had confidence in our passing game and receivers stepping up to make plays.”
Klembara didn’t take long to establish himself as another Little Giant threat. He accounted for 64 total yards and his first career touchdown, including a 50-yard run, 21-0.
Ian MacDougall booted two field goals and Putko found Houston Hodges off the play action over the middle, 34-0. MacDougall is a perfect 10-for-10 this season.
Kenyon removed the goose egg in the fourth quarter, but Wabash responded with scores from Laird and Matt Gibson to close the game.
Nate Scola led the Little Giant defense with 8 tackles, including 3 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. Rutter had 6 tackles and half a sack.
The Little Giants travel to Oberlin next Saturday to play the Yeomen. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.