One full year after the gut-wrenching, 47-yard-last-second-field-goal, go-down-in-history loss to the Tigers in Greencastle, the Little Giants finally have a chance for redemption and retribution this Saturday, as the Monon Bell Classic returns to Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium.
For the majority of the football players, the absence of the Bell from the lobby of the Allen Center was a new experience, and not one they want to get used to.
“It’s been brutal, honestly,” said junior quarterback Matt Hudson, who will make his second Monon Bell Game start on Saturday. “I don’t think any of us have experienced something like we did last year. It’s given us motivation throughout the year.”
Like last year, Hudson and the No. 3 Little Giants come into this game undefeated and playoff-bound. Likewise, this will be 7-2 DePauw’s last game of the season, and they will look to spoil Wabash’s perfect season. Hudson believes the Little Giants will be more prepared this time.
“I think we’re more focused than last year,” Hudson said. “Last year, I think we kind of took this game for granted. We knew we were going to the playoffs, and we overlooked this game a little bit. They definitely wanted it more last year, but we’re definitely much more geared for this game than last year. I’ve told some of the younger guys, if we don’t win this game, this wasn’t a successful season.”
The Little Giants rolled through the end of their conference schedule heading into this weekend, tuning up Oberlin and Hiram 60-7 and 63-0, respectively. Though happy with the team’s dominant play, Head Coach Erik Raeburn said he is a little concerned about the fact that they haven’t played a close game in a few weeks. Because if there’s one thing you can count on Saturday, it’s that the game will be close.
“That’s one of the negatives [of dominating opponents],” Raeburn said. “I’m happy with how we’ve played, but that is a concern. We had a tough game against Wittenberg that went right down to the wire and tough games against Wash. U and Wooster, so we’ve been there. Hopefully our guys will be ready to shift gears.”
Even though this is Raeburn’s first Monon Bell Game, he does have some experience in big games. Raeburn was an assistant coach for Mt. Union for four National Championship games. He said this game is as big, if not bigger.
“I haven’t ever been involved in a rivalry that’s this fierce and this intense,” Raeburn said. “I wouldn’t say the National Championship games were as intense. There are thousands of people there, but not all of them have a vested interest in a team; there lot of people there who are just there because they live nearby or they’re big DIII football fans. That’s not going to be the case on Saturday. This is definitely the most intense rivalry I’ve ever been a part of.”
Raeburn’s squad comes into the contest boasting one of the top offenses in the country, bolstered by Hudson’s consistent performance and an impressive running game. Hudson has thrown for 2376 yards and 25 touchdowns in his second season as starter. Senior running backs Bobby Kimp and Adam Pilli, junior Evan Sobecki, and sophomore Derrick Yoder have combined for 1673 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. The running back by committee system has worked extremely well, averaging over 200 yards a game while giving the Little Giants balance offensively.
Much of the success of the running game must be attributed to the big boys up front as well. Seniors Jeremy Morris and Tony Neymeiyer anchor a large and experienced offensive line who have been excellent at protecting Hudson as well as opening holes for the running backs all year. Morris said he isn’t surprised that the team has been able to improve the running game so drastically in just one year.
“We could have ran the ball like this last year, its just a change in mentality,” Morris said. “We [the O-line] like to run the ball, its just something we’ve focused on this year.”
Offensively, it all starts up front for the Little Giants on Saturday, as they face off against a tenacious and experienced defensive line, led by senior Mike McNelis and junior Alex Fitch, who have combined for 47 total tackles and 4.5 sacks on the year. Since the weather, which is predicted to be cold and rainy, will not be favorable for either quarterback, establishing the running game will be crucial.
“That’s one thing we struggled with last year,” Hudson said. “With the weather conditions, we’re going to have to run the ball well this year. It’s going to be a dogfight up front.”
Morris said the key to controlling the line of scrimmage is simply communication. “It’s all about just making sure we’re all on the same page,” Morris said. “Communication is the biggest thing, just like any other week.”
Behind the defensive line, the Tigers defense is bolstered by sophomore linebacker Ryan Pruess and senior defensive back Marc Hoeppner. Pruess has 60 total tackles on the year with 3.5 tackles for loss, and Hoeppner has 51 total tackles and two interceptions.
Hudson will look for big plays out of sophomore receiver Kody Lemond, who has 59 catches for 1073 yards and 13 touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers are led by junior quarterback Spud Dick, who has 2669 yards and 23 touchdowns through the air. Dick has a plethora of weapons at his disposal, including sophomore receiver Alex Koors, who has 50 grabs for 865 yards and nine touchdowns, and junior Bryan Mulligan, who has 48 catches for 471 yards and four touchdowns.
“[Dick] is outstanding and he’s got a really good group of receivers. He’s the best quarterback we’ll face all year and he’s throwing to the best receivers we’ll face all year.” DePauw has struggled a bit running the ball this year, coming into this weekend ranked just xxxx in rushing nationally. The defense will look to shut down the run early so they can focus on shutting down Dick and the passing game. Look for senior defensive linemen Darryl Kennon, Wabash’s all-time sack leader, and Jared Lange to wreak havoc in the backfield, especially if they can negate the run and pin their ears back on the pass rush.
In this game, past records, stats, and accomplishments really mean nothing. In this fierce and long-fought battle, heart, will and emotion will decide the victor. Expect two nasty, motivated teams to meet on Saturday for what shapes up to be another great addition to the storied rivalry.
“I always tell people that, in this game, you can just throw the records out the window,” Hudson said. “That’s part of what makes this game so special.”