CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana -- Junior quarterback Liam Thompson broke the Wabash single-game record for passing touchdowns with a seven-TD effort to lead Wabash to a 59-23 victory over Hiram at Little Giant Stadium Saturday. Six different players scored touchdowns, led by three scores from Penn Stoller to keep the Little Giants in a tie for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.

The Little Giants improved to 6-2 on the year and 5-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference play, while the HIR fell to 1-7 and 1-6.

Thompson completed 28-of-37 passes after starting the game connecting on 14 of his first 15 attempts. He finished the game with 392 yards through the air to to with 55 yards on the ground. He broke the previous single-game record of six touchdown passes set by Jake Knott against set against Hiram College in 2000. Knott matched that six-TD effort a week later against Allegheny. Matt Hudson also threw six touchdown passes in 2008 at Denison.

Cooper Sullivan reeled in four catches for 127 yards and one score. Stoller got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in six balls for 92 yards and three touchdowns. The Little Giants also got 61 yards receiving from Heisman Skeens in the contest.

Donovan Snyder paced the Little Giant rushing attack by accumulating 83 yards over the course of the game, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Snyder also tacked on one receiving touchdown. Xavier Tyler also added 73 yards and one touchdown on the ground, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Gavin Ruppert recorded a  16 tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack and Owen Volk had six tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack in the win. Giovonni Zappala made three tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one recovered fumble.

The Little Giants won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing one turnover while avoiding any giveways, with Wabash turning that takeaway into seven points. Wabash also had an outstanding day offensively, logging 625 total yards, 212 on the ground and 413 through the air, while averaging 7.9 yards per play and out-gaining Hiram. The Wabash offense did a good job extending drives, converting on 64.7 percent of third-down attempts going 11-for-17 on the day. The Little Giants also went 1-for-1 on fourth down.

Wabash's defense was tough against the run, limiting Hiram to just 64 yards on the ground as a team. The Little Giants limited Malcolm Rogers, the league's leading rusher, to 91 yards on 16 carries with no TDs. Rogers entered the game averaging 127 yards a game. 

Wabash's offense made the most of its trips to the red zone, scoring on six of its six trips, with all of those scores being touchdowns.

KEY MOMENTS
Wabash put points on the board on nine different occasions on their way to scoring 59 points. The Little Giants got on the board first, taking the lead for good at 7-3 with 6:55 remaining in the first quarter. hit Stoller for a 17-yard touchdown reception to end a 15-play, 97-yard drive. The Little Giants then rode that lead to victory, increasing their advantage by 32 points along the way.

» Wabash outgained Hiram 625-423, including a 212-64 advantage on the ground.
» Wabash won the turnover battle 1-0 after recovering one fumble.
» Wabash had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 21 points.
» Wabash converted 11 of 17 third downs while Hiram was successful on 7 of 17.
» Thompson's seven TD strikes give him 28 for the season, matching his 2021 total. Knott owns the single-season touchdown record with 35 in 2002.
» Ruppert led the Little Giants with 16 tackles.
» Wabash scored three touchdowns in the first quarter.
» Wabash scored three second-quarter touchdowns.
» Wabash went 1-for-1 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» Wabash scored on an 80 yard strike from to .
» Wabash won the time of possession battle 30:18 to 29:42.
» The Little Giant offense came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring 17 unanswered the rest of the way.
» Liam Thompson completed 75.7% of his passes on the day, going 28-for-37 while averaging 10.6 yards per attempt.
» Sean Tejada led the Terriers' passing attack, completing 45 of his 62 attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns. 
» Raequan Davis-Hereford was Hiram's leading receiver with 105 yards and one touchdown.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.