Wabash remains at the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference football standings with an unblemished 6-0 league mark, 7-0 overall. The ninth-ranked Little Giants now face the toughest portion of their 2015 schedule, beginning with Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff versus Ohio Wesleyan University.
 
The Battling Bishops (3-4, 3-3 NCAC) come to Hollett Little Giant Stadium one week after ending DePauw's unbeaten streak to open the season. OWU blocked a punt and returned the loose ball for a touchdown and added an interception return for another score in a 27-22 home victory last week.
 
Wabash defeated Wooster 55-7 last Saturday, overcoming a slow start with a two-touchdown scoring effort in the final two minutes of the first half. Four interceptions in the second half — including two returned for touchdowns by Austin Brown and AJ Clark — created the large margin of victory.
 
"The last two minutes of the first half (versus Wooster) was a perfect example of playing team football," Wabash head coach Erik Raeburn said. "Derek Fox had a big punt, which put Wooster in tough field position. Our defense forced a three and out. AJ Clark pressured their punter and forced a bad punt. That gave the offense great field position and hit a quick score. Andrew Tutsie had another great kickoff. We pinned them deep and held again on defense. Then after another bad punt Connor Rice hit Ryan Thomas with a 38-yard pass for the second score heading into halftime. We got excellent execution on offense, fantastic defense, and special teams was key, as well. It was the best ending to a half so far this season"
 
Despite the lop-sided victory, Raeburn knows his Little Giants team still needs to clean up a few things.
 
"We gave up four sacks last week, so we have to get better protecting up front and we may have held on to the ball a little too long early in the game," Raeburn said. "We ran the ball a little better in the second half. Connor was very efficient throwing the football. He hit a couple of big pass plays, as well. I don't know if Wooster was trying to press because we had that second half lead, but we just kept coming up with a flurry of turnovers. Obviously Austin Brown and Clark had those pick-sixes, but we got another interception from Austin and one from Brian Parks to get the football back. We really did a great job defensively of creating takeaways with four interceptions and a fumble recovery."
 
Ohio Wesleyan will have the Little Giants' full attention. The Battling Bishops bring one of the best kickoff and punt return units in the nation to Crawfordsville, led by junior Tim Shadoan. The 5-6, 165-pound wide receiver leads the conference and ranks third in the nation in kickoff return touchdowns and ranks 32nd in return yards with an average of 25.9. Shadoan ranks second in the NCAC in punt returns with an average of 8.8 yards per try.
 
OWU employs a pair of dual threats at quarterback. Starter Dominic Orsini has thrown for 1,196 yards, completing 116-of-195 passes with four TDs and six interceptions. The junior also leads the Bishops in rushing with 293 yards and five scores in 85 attempts. Backup quarterback Cheyne Lacanaria starts at wide receiver, where he leads the team with 32 receptions for 280 yards. Lacanaria has also completed 20 passes in 46 tries for 251 yards and one TD.
 
 "If there was going to be any letdown by us in terms of focus heading into the final few weeks leading up to the Monon Bell game, any chance of that disappeared when Ohio Wesleyan knocked off DePauw last week," Raeburn said. "They got our attention and played really well. They are very good on special teams. They have the top returner in the conference and have blocked several punts. They were in good synch offensively last week against DePauw. Ohio Wesleyan is also coming off their best game of the season defensively. Clearly they're playing their best football of the season coming into this week's game against us."
 
Gary Brodek, Deion Centeno, and Keaton Leppla pace the OWU defense. Brodek leads the team with 76 tackles, 11-1/2 tackles for losses, and 4-1/2 sacks. He earned NCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors by recording a pair of sacks on DePauw's final drive of the game, including a four-yard loss on the Tiger's last offensive play on fourth down.
 
Linebackers Centeno and Leppla have combined for 72 and 69 tackles, respectively, and each has an interception. Brad Doston has added 57 tackles, 10-1/2 tackles for loss, and four sacks to the Bishops' defensive totals from his linebacker spot. Dotson returned his only interception of the season 32 yards in last week's win over DePauw.
 
The Little Giants' focus will squarely rest on Ohio Wesleyan Saturday, despite two big games looming in the next two weeks. Wabash finishes the home portion of the regular season next Saturday against Denison University (6-1, 5-1 NCAC) on Family Day, followed by the 122nd Monon Bell Classic at DePauw (6-1, 5-1 NCAC). DePauw and Denison play Saturday at 2 p.m. in Granville, Ohio.