Wabash ground out 539 yards of total offense and outscored Allegheny 14-0 in the third quarter on the way to a 48-35 road victory over the Gators Saturday to open the 2019 North Coast Athletic Conference portion of the Little Giants' season.
 
Wabash (1-1, 1-0 NCAC) allowed 495 yards of total offense in the game, but limited Allegheny (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) to just 52 yards in the third quarter. The Little Giants took advantage of a fourth-down stop and blocked punt that led to a pair of touchdowns in the period. Ivan Martinez caught an 11-yard pass from Liam Thompson to give the Little Giants a 34-28 lead. Heisman Skeens provided a 41-28 advantage for Wabash after his four-yard end around for his first career touchdown.
 
The Little Giants rode senior running back Ike James in the second half, particularly once Wabash erased the 28-27 halftime lead held by the Gators. James finished the contest with 37 carries for 226 yards and two touchdowns. James carried the ball 22 times in the final two quarters for 139 yards.
 
Wabash stayed even with Allegheny in a first-half offensive shootout. The Gators opened the scoring with a 13-yard pass from Naz Greer to Dwaine Barber for a 7-0 Allegheny lead. Wabash answered with a four-yard run by James that capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive to even the score at 7—7. Allegheny regained the lead by taking advantage of a short field after a key punt return by Alex Victor. The Gators scored four plays later on a three-yard pass from Greer to Ben Bachik for a 14-7 lead.
 
The Little Giants tied the score on their first play from scrimmage. Thompson hit receiver Nick Hamman in stride for a 75-yard TD strike to tie the game at 14-14. Hamman caught a career-best seven passes for 192 yards and two TDs. His 192 yards are the seventh-most receiving yards in a single game for Wabash.
 
Allegheny scored to open the second period of action on an eight-yard pass to tight end Austin French to move in front 21-14. James provided the equalizing score to once again end an eight-play, 75-yard drive by scoring on a three-yard run. The Little Giants took a 27-21 lead by converting a gimmick play on fourth down. Backup quarterback Jake Reid took an option pitch from Thompson and hit a wide open Hamman in the end zone with a 27-yard pass to put Wabash in front.
 
That lead was short-lived when Victor took a short pass and raced 77 yards on the ensuing offensive drive for an Allegheny touchdown and a 28-27 halftime lead.   
 
Wabash took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched the ball to midfield before the Gators forced the only turnover of the game by intercepting Thompson for the first time this season. Wabash rallied on defense and forced Allegheny to punt. Andrew Sanders broke free and blocked the Gators' punt, setting up a short field for the Little Giants. Wabash capitalized with a TD pass to Martinez for a 34-28 lead. A five-play stop by the Little Giants put the ball back in the hands of the offense. Wabash marched 52 yards in nine plays with Skeens providing the score to push the lead to 41-28. The Little Giants held Allegheny to 13 total plays and 52 yards of total offense in the third period.
 
Wabash added a final touchdown with 6:08 to play when Mason Durrett scored from four yards out to push the advantage to 48-28. The Gators added a late score on a Victory six-yard reception from Greer with 2:19 remaining. Wabash covered the onside kick and ran out the game clock to earn its first win of the season and a 1-0 conference mark.
 
Nick Fox paced the Wabash defense with nine total tackles. Brandon Yeagy added six tackles. David Marsh and Malcolm Lang both recorded sacks for the Little Giants. Wabash finished with three tackles for losses totaling seven yards with Josh Myers and Artie Equihua splitting a tackle for loss to add to those from March and Lang.
 
Wabash continues NCAC play next Saturday when the Little Giants face Denison University at Hollett Little Giant Stadium in a 2 p.m. contest as part of the College's annual Homecoming festivities.