Wittenberg Stunned by Wabash, 41-14
It was nothing short of a stunner. The North Coast Athletic Conference has been Wittenberg's playground for almost a decade, but against Wabash College on Saturday the Tigers were stunned, 41-14.
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - It was nothing short of a stunner. The North Coast Athletic Conference has been Wittenberg's playground for almost a decade, but against Wabash College on Saturday the Tigers were stunned, 41-14. It was Wittenberg's first NCAC road loss since 1997 and first time the Tigers have been beaten in the regular season by double digits since 1996.
The game was as lopsided statistically as it was on the scoreboard. Wabash, the defending NCAC champion and winner of two 2002 games against Wittenberg, outgained the Tigers 476-301 for the game and held the ball for 36 minutes, compared to 23 for the Tigers.
In the first quarter, the Little Giants set the tone immediately, taking the opening kickoff and methodically driving downfield until a 22-yard touchdown run by Aaron Lafitte made the score 7-0. Lafitte added another 22-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter and a third-quarter score from seven yards out. Lafitte became the first player to top 100 yards against Wittenberg in 2003 as he accumulated 157 yards on 27 carries.
Wabash moved out to a 24-0 lead by the end of a nearly flawless first half thanks to a field goal and a 36-yard touchdown pass from Russ Harbaugh to Eric Summers. Wabash outgained the Tigers 299-40, had possession of the ball for nine more minutes and gained 18 first downs to Wittenberg's three in the first half.
The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with 3:37 left in the third quarter as Raymar Hampshire wrapped up a 68-yard, 12-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run. But Wabash got Lafitte's third score, a 41-yard field goal and then put an exclamation point on the victory with an interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The Tigers responded with a 34-yard touchdown hook-up between quarterback Ryan Holmes and wide receiver Skip Ivery.
Individually, Holmes finished with 249 yards on 19 completions in 39 attempts. He had one touchdown and his first three interceptions of the season. Hampshire finished with 49 yards rushing on 16 attempts and wide receiver Jered Glover led the receivers with 104 yards on eight receptions.
Defensively, senior linebacker Gary George led the way with 11 total tackles, including two for a loss of 11 yards. Freshman safety Mitch Fonseca added 10 tackles and sophomore safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir wound up with eight tackles, including one for loss, and a fourth-quarter interception.
Wittenberg, which was ranked No. 10 in the most recent American Football Coaches Association poll, dropped to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC heading into next week's game against Hiram back home in Springfield. The Little Giants, who started the season ranked as high as No. 4 in one preseason publication, improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC.