Wabash scored twice in the final three minutes of Saturday's Homecoming football game against Denison University for a 34-20 victory over the Big Red.
 
The Little Giants (2-1, 2-0 NCAC) took the lead with 2:55 left in the fourth quarter when freshman quarterback Liam Thompson hit fellow first-year wide receiver Cooper Sullivan with a 27-yard touchdown pass to take a 27-20 advantage. Denison (2-1, 1-1 NCAC) quickly moved to midfield on the next drive before Wabash defensive back Patrick Kelly recorded his second interception of Big Red quarterback Drew Dawkins to give the ball back to the Little Giant offense.
 
Wabash needed only three plays to score once again, this time on an Isaac Avant 64-yard scamper to race untouched into the end zone with 1:25 remaining in the game.
 
Dawkins came into the game for Denison as the Division III leader in passing efficiency. Wabash victimized him for three interceptions with Jackson Garrett with his first pick of the season to join Kelly with two interceptions in the game.
 
Denison took the early 3-0 lead with a 25-yard field goal from Pat Kramer in the first quarter. The Little Giants took their first lead of the game with 2:08 remaining in the opening period when Thompson raced down the right sideline for a 50-yard TD run and a 7-3 score. Schuyler Nehrig extended the lead to 10-3 with a 26-yard field goal with 10:04 on the second-quarter game clock. Denison responded with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped with a five-yard run by Hunter Biddle to even the score at 10-10. Nehrig added a career-long 44-yard field goal in the closing minutes of the first half to send Wabash to the locker room with a 13-10 lead.
 
The Big Red opened the second half with a lengthy drive that used 15 plays to move 93 yards and chew up 8:25 of game clock ending with a five-yard touchdown pass from Dawkins to Dallas Griffiths to give Denison a 17-13 lead. Wabash was unable to answer on the next drive, closing out the series with a failed fourth-down attempt in its own territory. The Big Red appeared ready to extend the lead but Kelly intercepted Dawkins in the end zone to end the Denison threat.
 
Wabash regained the lead when Thompson found Sullivan for his first career touchdown reception on a 40-yard pass for a 20-17 lead with 10:49 left to play in the game. Kramer added another field goal for Denison with 6:20 remaining in the game.
 
The Little Giants came right back with a seven-play drive that ended with the Thompson-to-Sullivan 27-yard pass play to provide a 27-20 lead with 2:55 on the clock. Sullivan caught a game-high seven passes for 168 yards and two scores. Thompson finished the game 18-of-23 passing with two TDs and one interception. He ran for a net 37 yards on three carries.
 
Avant's final big run added 64 yards to his season-debut total of 111 yards for the game. Avant, one of 22 senior football players honored prior to the kickoff, missed the first two games of the season for Wabash due to an injury. Ike James came into the game as the DIII leader in average rushing yards per game but was limited to 49 yards on 22 carries.
 
Denison's Alex Minton came into the game as the DIII scoring leader with an average of 21 points a contest. Wabash held him out of the end zone despite 188 rushing yards on 27 carries. Dawkins added 68 rushing yards to go with his 153 passing yards for the Big Red.
 
Brandon Yeagy led the Wabash defense with 13 tackles, including a sack for three yards. Jackson Garrett, playing in his first game of the season, added ten tackles along with one interception.
 
Wabash takes on Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, October 5, at Hollett Little Giant Stadium at 1 p.m.