CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Since the Wabash Little Giants arrived on the North Coast Athletic Conference scene in 2000, the football rivalry with Wittenberg has evolved into something very special. For the third time in the last four years, the two teams played a game that those in attendance will remember for a long time.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they came out on the short end of the stick, falling by a 26-20 margin. For the third time this season, Wittenberg led a quality opponent in the second half on the road, only to suffer the loss thanks to a couple of big plays and, in this case, a costly turnover. This loss drops Wittenberg to 3-4 overall and, more importantly, 3-1 in the NCAC, a game behind the Little Giants, who are now 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
A year after Wittenberg won at home by a deceiving 49-35 margin, the Tigers put themselves in position again in 2005, taking a 20-14 lead on a 65-yard catch-and-run by senior wide receiver Jered Glover with 11:34 showing on the clock in the third quarter. However, those would be the final points the potent Tiger offense could muster against the Little Giants, whose defense ranks among the best in the nation and hadn't allowed more than 10 points in a game all season.
Just like last year, ironically, it was a late turnover that truly proved decisive. A year ago, Wittenberg punter Jacob Thomas uncorked a 73-yard punt, which was muffed in the wet conditions and recovered by the Tigers with just two minutes left in the game. The ensuing touchdown put the game out of reach.
This year, Wabash answered the Tigers with a 37-yard hook-up between senior quarterback Russ Harbaugh and senior wide receiver Eric Summers, tying the game at 20 after a missed extra point. That was followed by the lone turnover of the game by either team, an interception by Wabash's senior linebacker Josh Foster, which was returned 22 yards and set up a two-yard touchdown run on third down by Brandon Roop in the waning moments of the third quarter. Despite another missed PAT, it served as the game-changing sequence as the two teams traded blows but no points in the final 15 minutes.
Things couldn't have started much better for Wittenberg as the Tigers marched downfield on their first two possessions and scored on a 25-yard Mark Porter field goal and an eight-yard run by Glover. Wabash scored a touchdown late in the first quarter and then, after Porter's second three-pointer of the game, put together a key drive just before halftime, going 67 yards in 15 plays and chewing up 6:41 off the game clock. Roop capped that drive with a two-yard run with just 16 seconds remaining before halftime and the 21st-ranked Little Giants headed to the locker room with a one-point advantage.
The final statistics tell the story about just how close this game really was. Wittenberg outgained Wabash 378-345 for the game, but the Little Giants finished with 20 first downs, including a key conversion on third-and-10 on the game's final drive that allowed them to run out the clock, compared to Wittenberg's 16. Both teams finished 8-of-14 on third-down conversions as Wittenberg's senior quarterback Ryan Holmes was 16-of-25 for 272 yards in his first complete game of the 2005 season and Harbaugh, who was coming off a 452-yard performance at Wooster last week, wound up 22-of-33 for 271 yards.
Holmes moved into second place on Wittenberg's career passing records list, surpassing his predecessor, Greg Cornett, who threw for 4,336 yards from 1999-2002. Holmes now has 4,560 passing yards in his career, 1,015 shy of the record held by National College Football Hall of Fame honoree Charlie Green (1961-64).
On the ground, senior tailback Tristan Murray topped the 100-yard mark for the fifth time this season, posting 101 yards on 27 carries, in addition to his four catches for 61 yards, including a 50-yard screen pass in the first quarter. Glover added 100 yards on three receptions, pushing into third place on the Wittenberg career receiving yards chart. Murray's rushing total, Glover's receiving total and Holmes' passing total were all the best for a Wabash opponent in 2005.
Defensively, the Tigers got a terrific game from their linemen, as senior tackle Tyler Jenkins led the way with nine tackles, including two for loss. Linebacker Anthoni Fazio, often supplementing the line's efforts with pressure off the edge, finished with eight tackles, including a sack, and he added a pass broken up. For the fourth time this season, however, the Tigers were unable to generate a turnover in a game.
The Tigers remain in the hunt for an NCAC title, but they must get a lot of help to earn the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2001. Most importantly, Wittenberg must bounce back with a Homecoming and Reunion Weekend showdown against Ohio Wesleyan next Saturday, then take care of things in the final two weeks of the season against arch-rivals Wooster and Allegheny.