The Little Giants never led until the final 30 seconds of the game before scoring the go-ahead touchdown.
Wabash trailed 7-0 at halftime and were still down by seven with 10:34 remaining in the third quarter when officials saw the first flash of lightning, bringing the game to a stop. After a one hour and six minute delay, the two teams came back on the field and ran seven plays before lightning brought a delay to the proceedings once again.
The Hornets were the first team to take advantage of the second break, this time a one hour and four minute delay. Kalamazoo marched 55 yards in eight plays to take a 14-0 lead.
That gave the Little Giants the wakeup call they needed. Wabash answered the Kalamazoo score with a five-play drive that was capped by a 42-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Jake Knott (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) to junior receiver Josh Bronaugh (Crawfordsville, IN/North Montgomery) to cut the lead to 14-6 after missing the extra point. The Little Giants held Kalamazoo to a field goal on the next possession, giving the Hornets a 17-6 lead going into the final period of play.
Junior running back Chris Morris (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) finished off a seven play drive to start the fourth quarter with a 16-yard grinding run to draw Wabash to within five. The Little Giants converted the two-point conversion on a pass from Knott to Nick Dawson (LaFontaine, IN/Wabash) to cut the Kalamazoo lead to three.
The Hornets' Gavin Mooney nailed another field goal midway through the final period to put Kalamazoo in front 20-14 before Wabash mounted the game-winning drives in the final four minutes of play.
The Little Giants ended a 14-play drive with an incomplete pass on fourth down to give the football to Kalamazoo deep in its own territory with 5:48 left in the game. The Little Giant defense held on three straight plays to force a punt, which Bronaugh returned to the Kalamazoo 27. Two plays later the Little Giants were in the endzone for the game-tying score as Knott hit senior tight end and preseason All-American Ryan Short (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) with an 18-yard strike to knot the game at 20-20.
Another four-and-out defensive stand by the Little Giants got the ball back in the hands of Knott and the offense. Wabash moved down the field, scoring on the sixth play of the drive on a one-yard rush by Knott to take its first lead of the game with 30 seconds left in the game. The Little Giants finally got their first turnover of game on the final play from scrimmage as freshman Josh Foster (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) grabbed the tipped pass by Kalamazoo quarterback Bryan Gnyp to end the game.
Wabash, ranked in three preseason polls, moves to 1-0 for the season. The Little Giant offense had to work against a stingy Kalamazoo defense that recorded five sacks in the game. The Little Giants allowed only seven sacks in ten games in 2001.
The Little Giants held Kalamazoo to 26 yards on the ground. Senior lineback Nate Boulais (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) led the defense with 10 tackles, including four solo stops and 1-1/2 tackles for losses totaling five yards. The Little Giants made six sacks in the game, led by junior defensive end Val Benoit (LaJoya, TX/LaJoya) with 1-1/2 sacks for 12 yards.
Morris carried 25 times on the offensive side of the football for Wabash for 133 yards and one score. Knott threw for 309 yards (26-43-2) and two TDs. Short led the Little Giants with 12 receptions for 134 yards and one TD.
Wabash will play Earlham College in a non-conference game on Saturday evening, September 21 at 7 p.m. at Richmond High School