The Wabash College football team opens its 2017 campaign Saturday against a very familiar foe.
 
The Albion Britons travel south from Michigan for the 1 p.m. contest at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium. The Little Giants will honor the senior members of the 2017 team prior to kickoff with the ceremony beginning at 12:40 p.m.
 
Wabash and Albion have faced one another each of the past three seasons. The Little Giants advanced in the 2015 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs against the Britons with a 35-14 win in Crawfordsville. Last year Wabash took a 20-3 lead before Albion took over the third period, eventually claiming a 34-27 lead with 6:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Little Giants tied the score with 12 seconds left in regulation on a 13-play, 67-yard drive that concluded with an 8-yard TD pass to Oliver Page. Tyler Downing added the final score in overtime to give Wabash the 41-34 victory after a stalwart stand by the Little Giants on defense.
 
Wabash went on to finish 8-2 for the season with losses to Wittenberg and DePauw. The Little Giants bring back a corps group on offense, led by juniors Ryan Thomas and Page, along with senior Kirby Cox, at the wide receiver position. Page led the Little Giants last season with 50 receptions for 727 yards and nine touchdowns. Thomas made 23 catches for 334 yards and three scores. Cox finished the year with seven receptions for 79 yards. Dylan Buresh added seven catches for 60 yards and one score and is back for his senior season as the Little Giants' starting tight end.
 
Downing returns at running back after missing six games due to an injury suffered at Hiram. He carried the ball 36 times for 214 yards with four touchdowns, including a 116-yard effort at Albion last season where he scored three times. Sophomore Isaac Avant rushed for 300 yards and two TDs in his rookie season. He is listed as the starter at running back and will be backed up by Downing and Saint Joseph's College transfer Ike James, Matt Penola, the leading rusher for Wabash last season with 666 yards and 10 TDs, moves to the H-back position and will still see plenty of action this year.
 
Four-year starter Tim Leath, a 2016 All-NCAC First Team selection, anchors an experienced offensive line at right guard. He is joined by returning starters Kyle McAtee, Second Team All-NCAC center a year ago, left guard Wyatt Guitierrez, and right tackle Daniel Kimball. Junior Russell Berning will man the left tackle position for the Little Giants.
 
The Little Giants enter the 2017 season somewhat inexperienced at the quarterback position, but with plenty of talent. No one on the Wabash roster has attempted a pass in varsity collegiate action. Junior Austin Nightingale brings the most experience, playing in eight games last season as a backup to starter Connor Rice. Sophomore Weston Murphy won the starting job in camp over juniors Nightingale and Tanner Skeel and freshmen Derek O'Connor and Nick Costin.
 
"There are three guys who are really, really close at the quarterback position," said Wabash head coach Don Morel, entering his second season as the leader of the Little Giants' team. "Weston Murphy is the guy we are going to go with. Austin Nightingale is a competitive guy and can play for us in a second. Tanner Skeel had a good camp, as well. Derek O'Connor out of Roncalli is going to be a great player. The preseason competition worked itself out, and it always seems to be the case at the quarterback position."
 
Wabash brings back a wealth of experience on the defensive side of the football. Injuries during the 2016 season provide ample opportunities for several backups to get earn playing time. Junior Evan Hansen is the top returning tackler from 2016. A two-year starter, Hansen earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors last year after making 64 tackles with 8-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 29 yards and 4-1/2 sacks for 23 yards. Brian Parks was a First Team All-NCAC cornerback last season. He finished with 30 tackles and one interception. Parks also finished among the leaders in the NCAC in pass breakups with 15, including two on the final two plays against Albion to preserve the overtime win for the Little Giants.
 
Seniors Brient Hicks, Klay Fullenkamp, and Deonte Simpson combined for 73 tackles and eight sacks as defensive linemen. All three will start up front for Wabash this season. Henry Webberhunt, Brock Heffron, and Luke Kseniak join Hansen at the linebacker position. Ryan Walters will line up opposite of Parks at cornerback, with seniors Jeff Houston and Satchel Burton at the safety positions.
 
The special teams unit provides the most experience for Wabash in 2017. Senior PJ Hadley anchors the field goal, extra point, and punt teams as the Little Giants' veteran long snapper. Alex Marr earned All-NCAC honors as a freshman punter for Wabash in 2016. He averaged 40 yards per punt after taking over in week three after Derek Fox was sidelined with an injury. Fox returns to battle for the punting duties after averaging 41.6 yards last year on 13 attempts. Sophomore Schuyler Nehrig handled the kickoff duties most of the season last year and will be called on to kick field goals and extra points in 2017.
 
The Little Giants face an Albion team ready to put the 2016 season in its rear-view mirror. The Britons went 1-9 overall after posting a 9-2 mark in 2015. Injuries and turnovers haunted Albion all season long, leading to the one-win campaign.
 
Junior Sam Blanzy returns in a dual role as backup quarterback and punter. He completed 82-of 123 passing attempts for 920 yards and five TDs with three interceptions and averaged 39.2 yards per punt last year. Freshman Kyle Thomas is expected to get the start at quarterback Saturday.
 
Junior tight end Brian Blanzy ranked second in receptions for Albion last season with 31 catches for 482 yards and three TDs. Senior wide receiver Tyler Sykes led the Britons with 66 receptions for 536 yards and four scores, but is not listed on the Albion offensive two-deep heading into the game. Junior tailback Zach Serzo led Albion in rushing last season with 82 carries for 427 yards and one TD in 2016. He ran for 15 yards on four carries against Wabash in last year's meeting.
 
Five of the top-eight tacklers from 2016 return on defense for the Britons. Senior linebacker Jose Rodriguez paced Albion with78 total tackles, including 46 solos. He added six tackles for losses of 37 yards and four sacks after missing all but four games in 2014 due to an injury. Rayshawn Robinson, a junior cornerback, finished last year with three interceptions to lead the team in that category in addition to making 39 tackles. Richard Annorat made 54 stops in 2016 (29 solos, 25 assists).  Geordon Carter made 47 tackles in seven games one season after ranking second on the team in total tackles.
 
"Albion is an outstanding football program with a phenomenal coaching staff that has been together for a long time," Morel said. "They will come here Saturday ready to try and beat us. They came within a play of beating us last year. Traditionally Albion has been a no-huddle team on offense with a run-pass option. They go very fast and seem to run about 8,000 plays a game. Defensively they have some very good players returning, especially up front. We struggled to run the ball effectively against them last year. They're a physical team with tremendous pride. They won't go 1-9 this year."
 
Tickets for Saturdays game are available for purchase online at http://www.ticketor.com/wabash. Prices for the individual game tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for students and children ages 5-18. Children under 5 are admitted free.
 
All Wabash home football games are broadcast live and can be viewed at http://www.wabash.edu/live. Audio of the broadcast is also made available on WNDY (91.3 FM), the Wabash College radio station. Pregame begins at 12:20 p.m. with The Don Morel Show.