Wabash rallied for the go-ahead score with three minutes remaining in the Little Giants' season-opening game at Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday. The host Pointers provided the final score to snatch a 31-28 victory to give Wabash its first opening game loss since 2006.
 
Wabash (0-1) trailed 24-21 after Wisconsin-Stevens Point's (1-1) Victor Ponterio kicked a 29-yard field goal with 7:46 remaining in the contest. Two offensive series later the Little Giants took the football on their own eight yard line and marched to the Pointers' 41. Ike James broke free to cap an eight-play, 92-yard drive with a 41-yard run down the left sideline for his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon and a 28-24 Wabash lead.
 
Stevens Point quarterback Matt Urmanski responded by completing seven out of eight passes on the ensuing drive for the Pointers. He finished with a seven-yard toss to wide receiver Devin Baldridge to give the lead back to the Pointers with 1:23 left to play in the game. Urmanski finished the game 24-of-35 passing for 329 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Wabash made one final push to midfield in the closing minutes but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete to end any comeback effort for the 21^st-ranked Little Giants.
 
James showed no ill effects from a knee injury he suffered last season in the game against Stevens Point that ended his 2018 season after two games. The Lowell, Indiana product rushed for 167 yards on 24 carries including his longest rush of the day on the 41-yard touchdown run. The Little Giants ran for 265 yards as a team overall.
 
Freshman Liam Thompson became the first freshman to start at quarterback for Wabash since Jake Knott opened the 1999 campaign. Thompson showed his elusive running ability with a 22-yard scramble for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game for the Wabash offense to answer a 64-yard scoring pass from Urmanski to Joe Aguilar on a toss-back to the quarterback. Thompson finished his first collegiate start completing 16 of 31 passes for 151 yards and ran for an additional 61 yards.
 
Stevens Point took advantage of a Wabash turnover for its second score of the game. The Pointers recovered a strip-sack of Thompson in Wabash territory and scored two plays later on an 18-yard run by Jahi Stigall to take a 14-7 lead.
 
Jonte Webb hauled in a 35-yard pass from Urmanski to push the Pointer's advantage to 21-7 at halftime. Wabash came out of the locker room on the attack in the second half. The Little Giants took the opening kickoff of the half and marched 65 yards in eight plays to eventually score on a three-yard James run to cut the lead to 21-14. Wabash tied the score on its next offensive series after a missed Stevens Point field goal with a one-yard run by James to cap a 16-play, 71-yard drive for a 21-21 game.
 
Ponterio connected on his 29-yard field goal with 7:46 left to play in the game to set up the final scoring series for each team in the closing minutes of play.
 
Wabash produced a total of 416 yards of total offense on 75 plays. The Pointers finished with 471 yards on their 66 offensive plays. The Little Giants committed the only turnover of the game leading to seven points for Stevens Point.
 
Jared Bertram led the Wabash defense with eight tackles. The Little Giants made five tackles for losses but were unable to produce a sack of Urmanski in the game.
 
Wabash begins North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, September 21 with a 1 p.m. contest at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.