CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — In a game that featured a bit of everything, the Wittenberg Tigers came alive following a 2-hour, 35-minute lightning/change-of-venue delay to defeat the host Wabash Little Giants in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams. The win, Wittenberg's 25th straight in the regular season, improved the Tigers to 4-0 on the 2000 campaign, while Wabash slipped to 1-2 overall.
The Little Giants came out inspired in front of its typically rowdy crowd on community day. With 4:18 left in the first quarter, the NCAC's leading receiver, Ryan Short, caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jake Knott to put Wabash ahead 7-0.
Wittenberg answered in that familiar fashion, putting together its first sustained drive of the game early in the second quarter and punching the ball in from five yards out on a Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) scamper off right tackle. The score was Donaldson's 55th rushing touchdown, breaking the NCAC record previously held by Stanley Drayton of Allegheny.
That's when Mother Nature stepped in and, as it turned out, may have offered the Tigers some assistance. Lightning strikes were seen in the area and all fans and spectators were removed from Little Giant Stadium with 6:58 remaining in the first half. As the rains continued, it became apparent that the game would have to be moved from the university facility because it had no lights. So everyone made the move to Crawfordsville High School's stadium a few miles away, which offered proper lighting for a game that obviously would now carry over into the early evening's darkness.
When play resumed, the Tigers immediately forced a Wabash punt and then embarked on a pair of drives that would give Wittenberg the lead for good. Junior wide receiver Mike Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville), who paced the Tigers with seven catches in the game to move into eighth place on the Wittenberg career list with 76, hauled in a 41-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis). Then senior placekicker Ryan Walker (Newark, Ohio/Newark) booted a 20-yard field goal through the uprights with two seconds left before an abbreviated halftime to stretch the lead to 17-7.
In the second half, Wittenberg was on the verge of scoring on its first drive, marching downfield before stalling inside the Wabash 10-yard line. Walker's field goal attempt never materialized because of a bad snap, and Wabash took over. But just seconds later, sophomore defensive back Elio Harmon (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge) turned the tables and broke the game open with a 27-yard interception return that made the score 24-7.
After Walker added a field goal just two minutes later, Wabash responded with its final points of the night on a 46-yard Todd Bower field goal that made it 27-10. But Wittenberg was too much as the Tigers' air attack and a tremendous defensive effort took care of things to round out the scoring. Senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) scored on a beautifully executed 58-yard halfback option pass from Donaldson that was made possible by tremendous downfield blocking by Aljancic. And senior Josh Garber (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) caught his first TD pass of the season, a 4-yard reception from Crane, to round out the scoring with 13:57 left in the game.
Crane, in his second start in his home state of Indiana, put together his best day as a collegian, completing 19 of 31 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Aljancic, Storts and junior wide receiver Steve DeGraffinreed (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) accounted for 17 of those receptions and Aljancic and Storts each topped the century mark in yards receiving.
Defensively, Wabash's potent offensive attack was bottled up after losing the early momentum, accounting for just 173 yards. Senior linebacker Trevor Yost (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) had a huge game, leading both teams with 13 tackles.