Two first-half touchdown passes from Russ Harbaugh (Evansville, IN/Evansville Bosse) to Brandon Clifton (Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon) helped Wabash to a 21-0 halftime lead and a 44-17 victory over Oberlin College in North Coast Athletic Conference football on Saturday.
Clifton finished the game with five receptions for career-best 158 yards. His first TD catch came on the fourth play of the game. The Little Giants kicked off to Oberlin to start the contest, then forced a fumble when freshman Adrian Pynenberg (Montgomery, IL/Oswego Community) punched the football loose from running back Travis Oman. Junior Josh Foster (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) scooped it up, giving Wabash the ball at the Oberlin 44. On the next play Harbaugh found a wide open Clifton for a 7-0 score.
The Little Giants took advantage of another big play in the second quarter. Billy King (SO/DB/Peoria, AZ/Peoria) took a Yeomen punt 14 yards to the Wabash 43 yard line. Harbaugh hit Clifton at the Oberlin 30, and the senior receiver outraced the Yeomen defense to the endzone for a 57-yard score, the longest play from scrimmage for the Little Giants this season.
Five minutes later junior Chris Ogden (Schererville, IN/Lake Central) capped a six-play, 20-yard drive with his first touchdown of the season, plowing into the endzone from a yard out to make it a 21-0 game.
The Wabash defense had not given up a score on the road in two previous games, but it looked like that mark would fall at the end of the second quarter. On second down deep in its own territory, Oberlin quarterback Ryan Squatrito had a pass tipped that worked its way to receiver Cassius Harris. Harris hauled in the errant throw and raced 75 yards before Charles Jackson (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) brought him down at the Wabash four yard line. The defense held on the next two plays, but on third and goal from the three, the Little Giants called timeout as Oberlin changed the offensive set to confuse the Wabash defense. As the timeout was called, Squatrito threw a screen pass to Oman. The Little Giants continued the play, but were called for a personal foul after being told that the play had actually been stopped. The foul gave Oberlin a fresh set of downs from the one. But the Yeomen would be denied on four consecutive plays, led by Darryl Kennon (SO/DL/Tempe, AZ/McClintock) with a stuff of Squatrito at the goal line on fourth down, keeping Oberlin off the scoreboard in the first half.
Mark Server (JR/Plainfield, IN/Plainfield) added field goals of 27 and 24 yards to open the scoring in the third quarter. Oberlin ended the Little Giants’ road shutout streak in the third when Chris Schubert took a fake punt and raced 36 yards to keep the Yeomen’s fourth drive of the third quarter alive. Squatrito finished the drive with a one-yard run to make it a 27-7 contest.
The Little Giants came right back with a three-play drive that started with a 53-yard kickoff return by Dustin Deno (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) and ended with freshman Austin Gorrell (Franklin, IN/Franklin Community) scoring his first career TD, barreling through the Oberlin defense on a 14-yard run. Freshman Mike Russell (Terre Haute, IN/North Vigo) scored his second TD of the season on a 30-yard catch and run to open the fourth quarter, giving Wabash a 41-7 lead. A field goal and a TD catch by Oberlin’s Chris Pisani were answered by Server with another 24-yard field goal to finish the game.
Harbaugh finished with 233 yards on 12-of-23 passing with two TDs. Dustin Huff (SO/QB/Martinsville, IN/Martinsville) came into the game in the third quarter, throwing for 72 yards and a score on the Russell touchdown. Gorrell led the Little Giant ground game with 86 yards on 14 carries.
Freshman Jared Lange (FR/DL/Terre Haute, IN/Terre Haute North) led the Wabash defense with seven tackles. The Little Giants held Oberlin to 28 yards on the ground overall after recording ten sacks for 70 yards and 15 tackles for losses totaling 80 yards. Lange and Kennon each had two sacks for eight yards.
Wabash (5-0, 3-0 NCAC) returns to Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium on Saturday to play the College of Wooster (5-0, 2-0 NCAC) in a 1 p.m. contest.
QUICK HITTERS
--- Brandon Clifton moves to 18th on the Wabash all-time receptions list with 93.
--- Clifton’s two TDs tie his single-game best effort. He had two touchdown reception at Oberlin in 2002. His 158 receiving yards tops his previous best of 137 against DePauw that same season.
--- Wabash won its 25th North Coast Athletic Conference game. The Little Giants are 25-5 since joining the league in 2000.