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The Little Giant football team blitzed Hiram right out of the gate en route to a 54-7 victory and outright North Coast Athletic Conference championship.
Ninth-ranked Wabash is now 9-0 for the season and finished a perfect run through the NCAC at 7-0. The win is Wabash's 16th in a row, the longest winning streak in Wabash football history.
The Little Giants host DePauw University at Hollett Little Giant Stadium on Saturday, November 16 in the 109th Monon Bell Classic, then will represent the NCAC in the NCAA Division III tournament on November 23.
Wabash's special teams scored twice, the defense once, and Jake Knott threw four touchdown passes in the first quarter. Wabash sprinted to a 40-0 halftime lead and has outscored the opposition 75-0 in the first half of the last two games.
Knott played only half the game, but hit 8-of-9 passes for 118 yards and touchdowns to Nick Dawson, Ryan Short, Brandon Clifton, and Josh Bronaugh.
Bronaugh later ran a kickoff back for a touchdown, covering 100 yards for the longest kick return in Wabash history and the second longest play ever. Bronaugh's heroics came after Mark Balawender returned a fumbled kickoff return for a seven-yard touchdown earlier in the game. Wabash's special teams units have scored four touchdowns in the last three games.
Bronaugh had 200 combined punt and kickoff return yards in the contest.
Rookie running back Chris Ogden ran for 102 yards on 20 carries, and fellow freshman tailback Matt Boston scored his first collegiate touchdown and rushed for 47 yards.
Junior Chris Morris, along with three defensive starters, sat out the game with injuries.
Still, the defense, which intercepted five passes and held Hiram to 12 yards rushing and 86 total yards (minus-four in the first half), furnished the exclamation mark. Rookie linebacker Tamarko White raced 58 yards with an interception return for the game's final touchdown.
Chad Springer led the defense with seven tackles, three tackles for loss, an interception, and he forced and recovered a fumble.
The NCAC championship is Wabash's first in any sport since joining the NCAC three years ago. It's Wabash's fifth conference crown in the last 12 years and first since 1998.
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