Wabash returned to the field that started what has now become a 14-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon as the 10th-ranked Little Giants handed Oberlin a loss in the North Coast Athletic Conference game.
For Knott, it was another assault on the record book. Finishing the game 14-for-29 for 266 yards and five touchdown passes, the fourth time in his career he’s thrown for five TDs in a game. The senior became the first Wabash quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards in his career. He also threw his 101st career touchdown pass on his fifth scoring toss. He also passed former Purdue quarter Mark Herrmann for third place on the Indiana career passing list. Herrmann finished his career with 9,946 yards as a Boilermaker. Knott has now thrown for 10,033 in four years at Wabash.
Last season the Little Giants were in a dogfight offensively with Yeomen, finally taking a 56-26 victory to start the winning streak. This year’s meeting started out that way in the first quarter as the Little Giants were held to a 35-yard field goal by freshman Mark Server (Plainfield, IN/Plainfield). The Wabash defense kept Oberlin off the scoreboard in the opening period, forcing an interception by the Yeomen on the opening drive when Stu Johnson (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison) stepped in front of a pass. The Little Giant defense added six sacks and 12 tackles for losses to its season totals. Freshman Brandon Powell (Griffith, IN/Griffith) added a second interception on a deflected pass in the second quarter.
The Little Giants broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring the Yeomen 28-3. The scoring started with a 32-yard run by junior Chris Morris (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) to put Wabash in front 10-0. After an Oberlin field goal made it 10-3, it was all Wabash from there. Knott hit junior H-back Nick Dawson (LaFontaine, IN/Southwood) with a 16-yard scoring pass, followed by a 49-yard strike to sophomore Brandon Clifton (Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon) for another TD. Senior tight end Ryan Short (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) caught his team-leading ninth touchdown pass on a four-yard toss from Knott to give the Little Giants a 31-3 lead.
Wabash scored two more times in the third period on passes to Clifton (12 yards) and Short (eight yards). The final touchdown came when sophomore Dustin Deno (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) answered another field goal by Oberlin with a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to complete the scoring for Wabash.
The win was the 11th consecutive against an NCAC opponent. The undefeated Little Giants (7-0, 5-0 NCAC) will face undefeated Wooster next Saturday in Crawfordsville for what could be the conference title and a shot at the playoffs for the winner.