The Monon Bell left Wabash College Saturday for the first time in four years after a 14-7 victory by the DePauw University Tigers in the 111th Monon Bell Classic at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium before a record crowd of 11,504. The victory by the Tigers draws the all-time series even at 51-51-9.
The two defenses gave up fewer than 240 total yards of offense to its opponent. It was the rushing attack for DePauw that was the difference in the game. The Tigers ran 55 times for 221 yards, only the third time this year that the Wabash defense has given up 200 yards or more on the ground.
Over 7,000 Wabash fans watched helplessly as the Tigers’ junior quarterback Ross Wiethoff marched DePauw to a 7-0 lead after breaking free for a 40-yard touchdown run on the opening drive. The Tigers showed the packed house what it would end up doing all afternoon – running the football over and over again with five rushes for 24 yards prior to Wiethoff’s 40-yard burst.
The Little Giants were their own worst enemy in the second quarter. With the ball deep in its own territory, Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh (JR/Evansville, IN/Evansville Bosse) fired a pass toward Brandon Clifton (SR/Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon) near the DePauw sideline. Brendan Berigan stepped in front of the pass, returning the interception 13 yards to give the Tigers a first and goal at the one. Two plays later Jason Murphy scored to give DePauw a 14-0 halftime edge.
The Little Giants went to the back of the playbook for its lone touchdown, finishing an 11-play drive in the opening minutes of the third quarter with a pitch to sophomore running back Aaron Lafitte (Goodyear, AZ/Ironwood). Lafitte sprinted to the right sideline, then tossed a pass back to the left to Harbaugh, who dived into the endzone for the touchdown.
That would be the last time the Little Giants saw the DePauw goal line. Wabash only crossed the midfield stripe two more times in the second half, once reaching the DePauw 49 and the other on a drive late in the fourth quarter that ended at the Tigers’ 45.
The Little Giants had an opportunity to tie the game slip away in fourth quarter. Junior linebacker Josh Foster (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) stepped in front of a Wiethoff pass attempt, but could not finish off the interception try with 40 yards of open field in front him. The Tigers punted the football on the next play, then held Wabash on four straight plays before grinding 7:03 off of the game clock on their next offensive series on a 12-play drive.
Wabash had 226 yards of offense. Harbaugh was 9-of-21 for 90 yards and one interception. Junior Eric Summers (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) led the receivers with three catches for 33 yards, including a 22-yard grab on a pass from Harbaugh. Freshman Austin Gorrell (Franklin, IN/Franklin Community) ran for 97 yards on 13 carries, including the longest run of the day for Wabash with a 22-yard scamper.
Adrian Pynenberg (FR/Montgomery, IL/Oswego Community) led the Little Giants in tackles for the second consecutive game, recording a season-best 15 (nine solo, six assisted). He had two of Wabash’s five tackles for losses. Reggie Foley (SO/Houston, TX/Bellaire) added nine stops and one of two Little Giant sacks.
Freshman Jeremiah Marks led DePauw with 87 yards on 20 carries. Wiethoff was 2-of-7 passing for 10 yards. Both passes went to All-American Jamarcus Shephard.
The Little Giants finish the season 6-4 overall, 4-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
QUICK HITTERS
--- The final attendance figure of 11,504 is a record for Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium and the Monon Bell Classic.
--- Senior Brandon Clifton finished his Wabash career with 124 catches, 10th-best in Wabash history. His 1,879 receiving yards are eight-best in school history. He is also tied for ninth on the all-time TD reception list with 15.
--- Wabash is 24-23-5 against DePauw in Crawfordville.
--- The 14-7 final was the lowest scoring game since a similar score in 1997. The Tigers won that game in Greencastle 14-7.
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