The Little Giants outgained Wittenberg on the ground (114 rushing yards to 111) and in the air (198 yards to 143). But two plays gave the Tigers a short field, allowing them opportunities for scores.
Wabash put the first points on the scoreboard on a first quarter 27-yard field goal by Olmy Olmstead (Alexandria, OH/Granville. Wittenberg answered five series later after a Wabash had blocked the Tiger's field goal attempt. On the first play from scrimmage, the Little Giants turned to ball over as Jason Jackson picked off a pass and returned it to the Wabash 25 yard line. Four plays later the Tigers scored their first touchdown on a one-yard run.
The Little Giants reached had one more trip to the red zone late in the first half, but missed a 35-yard field goal to trail by four at the half.
The second-half kickoff was a problem for Wabash for the second consecutive weekend. Last week Wheaton returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. This week Wittenberg returned it 49 yards to the Wabash 25. Once again the Tigers took advantage of the short field, moving 25 yards in seven plays to score on a three-yard pass to take a 14-3 lead.
Wabash looked like it might have a chance to answer as Kurt Casper (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, but the football came squirting out on the hit by the Tiger defense to give the ball back to Wittenberg.
The rest of the game belonged to the defenses. Wabash held Wittenberg to 96 yards of total offense in the second half, not allowing the Tigers to get any closer to scoring again than the midfield stripe.
One other turnover hurt the Little Giant's scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter. After being stopped in the shadow of their own goal line, the Tigers were forced to punt to Wabash. It looked as if Wabash would get the ball in Wittenberg territory, but a fumble while trying to make a fair catch gave the ball to the Tigers at midfield. The Wabash defense held once again, but the offense would not get into Wittenberg territory again in the game.
Nate Boulais (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) led the Little Giant defense with eight tackles, 1-1/2 tackles for losses, and a half-sack. Nick Fanelli (Crown Point, IN/Lake Central) had six tackles, 1-1/2 tackles for losses, and a half-sack. Dustin Deno (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) added four tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups.
Chris Morris (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) had 10 carries for 45 yards for Wabash. Quarterback Jake Knott (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) was 19-36 passing for 198 yards, one interception, and two sacks. His longest pass of the day went to tight end Nick Dawson (LaFontaine, IN/Wabash Southwood) (photo above), who had the longest reception of his career with the 53-yard catch and run.
Casper led the receivers with eight receptions for 105 yards. He moved past Chris Wiesehan ’94 and into second place on the Wabash career receptions list. Casper has 173 career catches for 2,133 yards.
Wabash is 1-2, 0-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Little Giants continue conference play on Saturday, traveling to Oberlin to play the Yeomen.