Springfield, OH – The Wittenberg Tiger football team made their home debut at Edwards-Maurer Field, hosting the Little Giants from Wabash College. The back-and-forth battle between two of the NCAC's top offense's fell in favor of the Little Giants, 42-35. Wittenberg tallied 438 -yards of offense to Wabash's 553.
Wittenberg quarterback Collin Brown completed 20 of 28 passes for 265 yards with five touchdowns. Brown found three different receivers for multiple receptions on the afternoon. The two quarterbacks were evenly match averaging just over nine-yards per completion. Jake Saus reeled in all six of his targets for 65-yards, pulling down one touchdown. Drew Sterett tallied two touchdowns for a team-high 95-yards with four catches on six targets.
Garrett Gross notched his first 100-yard game of the season with 105-yards on the day on 19 carries. Gross added five catches out of the backfield on five catches for his only touchdown. Bryce Anderson and Reed Hall aided Wittenberg rushing effort adding 12 carries between the two for 32-yards.
The two sides started fast, finding the endzone on their first possession. Sterett brought the game back to even with his first touchdown of the afternoon with 4:16 remaining in the first-quarter. This capped off a 10-play 75-yard drive. Wabash found the endzone one more time before the end of the quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Wittenberg tied things back up, 14-14, with Brown hitting Gross on the crossing route giving Wittenberg their first score of the second-quarter. The two sides went into the half deadlocked, 21-21, with one final Wabash score before the halftime horn.
Wabash was the first to strike, coming out of the half. The Tigers found the endzone with just under a minute remaining in the third-quarter. Tyler May caught his third touchdown of the season, pulling down the 18-yard pitch-and-catch reception from Brown. Back-to-back scores by the Little Giants put pressure on the Tiger offense with less than six-minutes in regulation.
CJ Burnette put the Tiger offense in great field position with a near coast-to-coast kickoff return. Saus made his way into the endzone for the final Tiger touchdown, 42-35.
Cameron Snurr tallied a team-high 10 tackles with five solo takedowns. Anthony Pedro and Dane Flatter added nine tackles each. Christian Sweet posted an interception with a 17-yard return and four tackles. Tony Calovini, Mike Knock and Eli Renick each got to the Wabash quarterback for a sack.
Wittenberg will return to action next Saturday, October 8, traveling to DePauw University. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm.