Late Rally Dooms Tigers In Loss To Wabash

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Brad McKinley

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The brief history of Wittenberg vs. Wabash North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) football is filled with strange twists and turns. The two teams added another chapter in a 13-10 win by the opportunistic Wabash Little Giants at Edwards-Maurer Field.

The Tigers must regroup and hope for some help from other NCAC teams as they dropped to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC with the loss. The fourth-ranked Little Giants advanced to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference, in the process setting up another key NCAC showdown at Wooster, which is 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, next Saturday.

Two teams that had been rolling up tremendous offensive numbers in recent weeks played a turnover-filled, penalty-marred defensive slugfest. And the Tigers were in position to secure the unlikely win, leading 10-3 with five minutes left when a fumble opened the door for the visitors.

The Little Giants, who were averaging nearly 500 yards and an NCAA Division III-best 46 points per game coming in, took advantage, taking just three plays to march 34 yards and tie the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hudson to Kody LeMond.

Three punts later, Wabash took possession with 28 seconds left and Hudson and LeMond hooked up again, this time striking for 35 yards to the Wittenberg 19-yard-line. After a Wabash penalty and an incomplete pass, Spencer Whitehead, who received a punt in the first half on his knees to lead to one of the Tigers' two scoring drives, nailed a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left to stun the boisterous Wittenberg crowd.

The events of the final five minutes wiped away a trendous Wittenberg defensive effort. Sophomore linebacker Brad McKinley (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) was nothing short of sensational, leading all players with 12 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss of 13 yards. He added a nine-yard sack, three passes broken up and an interception that he returned 17 yards.

That interception was one of five Wabash committed on the day, but the Tigers repeatedly were unable to take advantage. Junior cornerback Brandyn Brown (Louisville, Ky./Male) added seven tackles, a pass broken up and an interception and junior safety Keenan Freeman (Fairborn, Ohio/Greenon) added his first career interception, which he returned 37 yards to the Wabash 15-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter.

Wittenberg was unable to score in the final 36 minutes, however, as the Little Giants turned in an outstanding defensive effort of their own, holding the injury-riddled Tigers to a season-low 184 yards of total offense, compared to 324 for Wabash. The Tigers were shut out after sophomore soccer player turned kickerDavid Rome (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Hawken) hit a first-quarter field goal and sophomore quarterback Andrew Durbin (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) in the second quarter.

Durbin, who started the season as the Tigers' third-string quarterback, finished 10-of-20 for 119 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked four times and fumbled three other times, although Wittenberg recovered two of them. Freshman tailbackTrevor Luckenbill (West Milton, Ohio/Milton-Union) added 60 hard-earned rushing yards on 18 carries, while three Tiger receivers caught three passes each. It was freshman Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) who led the team with 44 receiving yards.

Hudson took just one sack, but he was pressured constantly and threw three interceptions after just one in the first five games of the season. He gutted it out, however, finishing 24-of-47 for 291 yards to help the Little Giants overcome a whopping 12 penalties for 104 yards, compared to 10 Wittenberg penalties - including eight false starts - for 69 yards. LeMond, ranked among the national leaders in all receiving categories, caught 10 passes for 149 yards and the game-tying touchdown.