Wabash’s football team carries plenty of confidence heading into Saturday’s 1 p.m. North Coast Athletic Conference showdown at Wittenberg. The No. 6-ranked Little Giants carry a perfect 5-0 overall record and 3-0 NCAC mark into the contest against the Tigers, who are 4-1 overall and 3-0 in league play.
Wabash’s offense has rushed for more than 200 yards in each of its last three games, continuing that trend with a 222-yard effort in Saturday’s 37-12 win at Washington-University St. Louis. That rushing attack has opened up the passing game, as junior second-year quarterback Matt Hudson comes into Saturday leading the conference with his average of 296.6 yards per game. Sophomore Kody LeMond had three touchdown catches against Washington and comes into Saturday averaging 152.8 yards per game.
"The running game is one of the areas we have seen the biggest improvement in from the first game of the year to now, especially in the last three weeks," Wabash coach Erik Raeburn said. "And the running game has opened up the passing game. We are playing with confidence, and we are going to need that going into Saturday."
Wabash’s offensive success hasn’t gone unnoticed.
"They are big up front and they wear you down," Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham said. "Then Wabash has a good group of receivers and their new young guy LeMond has stepped up and is an electric young man."
While Raeburn is in his first year at the Little Giant helm, he understands the Wabash/Wittenberg rivalry. Wabash or Wittenberg have either won outright or shared the league title eight of the last 10 years. The last two games have been decided by a touchdown or less, with Wittenberg winning in Springfield 19-17 in 2006 and Wabash winning at Crawfordsville 24-17 last year.
The Little Giants have won their first five games by an average of 33 points. Raeburn, however, is preparing his players for a tougher battle Saturday.
"We are preparing them for a full 60-minute game," Raeburn said. "In our other games this season, we have had the games in hand by the fourth quarter. But our guys are competitors and part of being a competitor is enjoying playing in big games like this."
Wabash has won or shared the last three conference titles. The next two weeks will go a long way in determining the Little Giants’ fate. After Saturday, Wabash hosts Wooster, which is also undefeated in league play, Oct. 25. Wittenberg lost in the second game of the season at home to Washington, but comes into Saturday on a three-game winning streak.
"They had that early-season setback, but if those teams were to play 10 times, Wittenberg would win nine of those," Raeburn said. "They are as good as advertised and playing at home even makes them better."
In the second game of the season, Wittenberg starting quarterback Aaron Huffman suffered a season-ending elbow injury to his non-throwing arm. Senior Matt Brumfield has stepped in and passed for an average of 140.8 yards per game in four contests. He has completed 47 passes for 563 yards and five touchdowns.
"He is doing a great job throwing the football," Raeburn said. "He doesn’t get rattled when he’s put in pressure situations."
Freshman tailback Trevor Luckenbill leads the Tiger rushing attack with his average of 81.4 yards per game. Freshman wide receiver Josh McKee has 32 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior Patrick Williams has 26 catches for 332 yards and one touchdown.
Junior Brock Graham missed last Saturday’s game against Washington after suffering a concussion in the Homecoming win over Allegheny. Raeburn expects Graham to be ready Saturday. Senior safety Brent Banach, who was injured against Allegheny and missed the Washington game, is questionable for the Wittenberg contest.
James Panell suffered a possible season-ending knee injury against Washington. Panell was rotating with David Mann on defense, and Wabash won’t rotate at that spot any more. He also played on all the special teams, and Raeburn will use a variety of athletes to take Panell’s spot on special teams.