Little Giant fans who watched Saturday’s 64-14 victory over Earlham at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium in Crawfordsville, IN saw Wabash rush for a record-tying six touchdowns and 233 yards in the lopsided victory. The Little Giants jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. Last week Wabash managed just 27 yards on the ground in its loss at Kalamazoo.
On the opening drive of the game the Little Giant defense held the Quakers to two yards of total offense, forcing Earlham to punt. Sophomore Eric Summers (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) (photo) stepped in front of the punt to block the kick. Freshman defensive back Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria) was right there to scoop up the loose football at the one yard line to score his first career touchdown in a Wabash uniform.
Another three-and-out series by the Quakers gave the ball back to Wabash after a successful punt. The Little Giants marched 54 yards, scoring its second touchdown of the game when senior tailback Chris Morris (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) walked in from four yards out for his first of three rushing touchdowns.
Morris scored his next two touchdowns on the next two offensive series of the first quarter for Wabash, giving the Little Giants a 28-0 lead after the first stanza. He only saw action again at the start of the second half, finishing the day with seven carries for 46 yards. Morris moved into third place on the Wabash career rushing list. His 2,601 career rushing yards moved him past Stan Huntsman ’54, who finished his career with 2,595 yards.
Freshman Aaron Lafitte (Goodyear, AZ/Ironwood) took over in the second quarter. The rookie tailback had three carries on the first series of the second quarter, capping the drive with a 38-yard run for his first career TD as a Little Giant.
The 5-8 freshman wasn’t done there. After an Earlham fumble near the goal line, Lafitte broke free on the second play of the drive. He sailed downfield, made two huge cuts to stay in the open field, finishing the 81-yard run in the endzone for another touchdown.
Sandwiched in between Lafitte touchdown runs was a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown by All-American senior Josh Bronaugh (New Ross, IN/North Montgomery).
Trailing 49-0, the Quakers responded with its first touchdown drive since the season opener against Rose-Hulman, moving the football 73 yards on ten plays to score on a six-yard pass from Justin Rummell to freshman James Jewell. While the Quakers scored six points on the play, Wabash answered with two points on the PAT try. Freshman Darryl Kennon (Tempe, AZ/McClintock) blocked the extra point kick. Sophomore Tamarco White scooped up the ball at the 15-yard line and raced the rest of the way to score the first defensive extra point try in Wabash College history and push the Little Giants’ lead to 51-6.
Earlham got the football back on the kickoff after Wabash fumbled the ball away at midfield, scoring the final points of the half. Rummell found sophomore Darreck Parkevich for a 14-yard touchdown strike to make it a 51-14 game at the half.
Sophomore quarterback Russ Harbaugh (Evansville, IN/Evansville Bosse) found fellow sophomore Brandon Roop (Newburgh, IN/Castle) on the first drive of the second half on a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it a 57-14 contest. Sophomore running back Chris Ogden (Schererville, IN/Lake Central) completed the Wabash scoring with a 12-yard scamper in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter for the final touchdown for the Little Giants.
Lafitte led the Little Giant ground attack with 155 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Ogden added 42 on eight attempts. Harbaugh had 118 yards and was nearly perfect, completing 9-of-11 passes. Junior Brandon Clifton (Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon) had three receptions for 58 yards. Roop had three catches for 24 yards. Summers made two catches for 71 yards.
Sophomore Mitch Tanney (Lexington, IL/Lexington Community)saw his first career passing attempt at quarterback for the Little Giants, finishing the day 5-of-8 for 89 yards.
The Little Giant defense held Earlham to 30 yards on the ground and 182 yards in the air. Senior Stu Johnson (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison), who missed last week’s game against Kalamazoo with a leg injury, led the Wabash defense with seven tackles. Senior All-American Blair Hammer (Carmel, IN/Carmel) moved closer to tying his brother’s all-time sack record. B.J. Hammer ’00 finished his Wabash career with 27-1/2 sacks. Blair’s sack against Earlham gives him 23-1/2 for his career. Sophomore Josh Foster (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) added an interception, and sophomore Aaron Selby (Crawfordsville, IN/Southmont) had a fumble recovery.
Wabash evens its record at 1-1 with the victory. Earlham falls to 0-3. The Little Giants will be back at Hollett Little Giant Stadium on Saturday, September 27 to play the Huntingdon Hawks. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.