SPRINGFIELD, OH - As it has so many times since Wabash joined the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2000, the latest football game between Wittenberg and Wabash featured wild swings of momentum capped by a dramatic ending. Unfortunately for the Tiger faithful assembled on a perfect day for November football, the visiting Little Giants were the last to ride the wave of momentum, scoring the winning touchdown with just 45 seconds left in the game to spoil Senior Day for more than 20 Wittenberg Tigers and capture a 31-28 victory.
The win pushed Wabash to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the NCAC, setting up a showdown with arch-rival DePauw for the league championship on Nov. 16. Wittenberg fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the NCAC, heading into a season-ending two-game road swing at Wooster and Hiram. The Tigers are tied with Kenyon for fourth place in the league standings currently.
After celebrating the senior players and a host of other seniors, including cheerleaders, athletic trainers, and support staff members, the Tigers opened the game with all of the momentum, starting with a short touchdown run by quarterback JJ Miller (Amelia, OH / Williamsburg) to cap an 8-play, 76-yard scoring drive on their opening possession. The lead expanded to 13-0 early in the second quarter when Christian Manville (Westerville, OH / New Albany) hauled in a three-yard touchdown pass from Miller before Wabash finally founding its footing, responding with 10 points in the final two minutes of the first half to close to within 13-10 at halftime.
A series of Wittenberg miscues allowed Wabash to seize control of the game in the third quarter as the Little Giants capitalized on a short field to short a pair of touchdowns. Miller responded, however, on Wittenberg's first possession of the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kade Ray (Sun City Central, FL / Jule F. Sumner). After the two teams traded unsuccessful possessions, the Tigers marched 66 yards in 12 plays to take a 28-24 lead on another Miller to Manville touchdown connection with 1:56 remaining.
The Little Giants had the final answer, however. Armed with two timeouts, Wabash engineered a seven-play, 75-yard drive that required just 1:11 in clock time, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brand Campbell to TJ Alexander. The Wabash defense did the rest, registering two sacks of Miller to close out the game.
Miller finished the game 21-of-28 through the air for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Eric Rasheed (Fletcher, NC / Hendersonville) led the receivers with four catches for 88 yards, followed by Manville with seven receptions for 71 yards, and Troy Teepe (Brookville, IN / East Central) with five catches for 50 yards. On the ground, Manville had 15 carries for 77 yards.
Defensively, Tyre Smith (Sarasota, FL / Riverview) led the way with 10 tackles, followed by Luke Jackson (DeGraff, OH / Indian Lake) with nine. Dalton Allen (Delaware, OH / Hayes) had another big game with eight tackles, including two sacks.