Wabash College is ready to bounce back from its first North Coast Athletic Conference loss at Denison last Saturday with another road conference game this weekend. The Little Giants travel to Gambier, Ohio, to play Kenyon College in a noon kickoff.    
 
Game Info: Wabash College (4-2, 3-1 NCAC) at Kenyon College (1-5, 1-3 NCAC)
Location: McBride Field (2,200) in Gambier, Ohio
Game time: Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 12 p.m.
 
Wabash is a game back of Wittenberg (5-1, 4-0 NCAC) and a game-and-a-half behind conference leader DePauw (7-0, 5-0 NCAC) in the NCAC standings with four games remaining on the Little Giants' schedule. Wittenberg and DePauw meet Saturday at Wittenberg at 1 p.m. Wabash plays Wittenberg at home next Saturday before heading to Hiram on November 4. Wabash and DePauw meet in the 129^th Monon Bell Classic on November 11 at Little Giant Stadium.
 
A Wabash rally on its final drive of the fourth quarter fell short in a comeback effort Saturday at Denison. The Little Giants led 24-21 until Denison scored with 2:41 remaining in the game to claim a 28-24 victory to hand Wabash its first loss in North Coast Athletic Conference play.
 
Senior quarterback Liam Thompson ran for 41 yards, one touchdown, and threw for 280 yards and two scores in the losing effort. His 28-yard run in the third quarter gave the Little Giants a 24-14 lead. Penn Stoller caught seven passes for 120 yards and one touchdown. Derek Allen, Jr. added six receptions for 64 yards and a score. Wabash forced a pair of turnovers with a fumble recovery by Brody Frey and an interception from Avery Epstein but could not convert the turnovers into any points.
 
Series: Wabash has a 17-1 overall record against Kenyon College and has not lost to the Owls since the Little Giants joined the NCAC with a 12-0 record in conference games. Kenyon won 7-0 in the first meeting between the two schools in 1942. Wabash won every meeting since that game, including a 49-25 victory in Crawfordsville last year. The Little Giants are 8-1 in games played in Gambier, Ohio. Wabash defeated Kenyon 59-34 when the two teams played in Gambier in 2021. Liam Thompson threw for 431 yards and three TDs and ran for three more touchdowns in that win.
 
Moving Up The Passing List: Thompson's 280 passing yards at Denison moved him to within 154 yards of taking over second place on the NCAC's career passing yardage list. Kenyon's Thomas Merkle threw for 10,227 yards from 2016-2019 for second place. Mason Espinosa holds the conference record with 11,069 career passing yards. Thompson needs an average of 250 passing yards over the next four games to pass Espinosa as the all-time leader. Jake Knott '02 holds the Wabash all-time passing record with 11,213 yards. Thompson would need to average 285 yards over the final four games of the regular season to break that record.

Top Receivers: Derek Allen, Jr. joined Cooper Sullivan on the Wabash top-ten all-time receiving yards list with 2,198 total yards. Sullivan is sixth on the list with 2,558 yards, while Allen is tenth with 2,198 yards. Sullivan is also tied for fifth with 171 career receptions, one behind Mike Russell in fourth with 172. Both players are tied for seventh in career touchdown receptions with 19.
 
Rucker Tops Kicking List: Brody Rucker added a 35-yard field in the 2nd quarter for his fourth made attempt of the season. The sophomore leads the NCAC in total made field goals with four and in field goals per game with an average of 0.57 per contest. Rucker leads the conference in kick scoring with 39 points for an average of 6.5 points per game. He is 27-of-27 in extra-point attempts this season.
 
Scouting Kenyon:
Kenyon enters the week off a bye after a 48-7 loss at Ohio Wesleyan on October 7. The Owls scored their lone victory of the season three weeks ago with a 40-16 home win against Hiram College. Kenyon ran for 253 yards and converted 10-of-18 third downs against Hiram while limiting the Terriers to three first downs on 12 attempts and an 0-for-3 effort on fourth down. Kenyon ranks tenth in the nation in fourth-down defense, holding opponents to a .182 successful conversion rate.
 
Sophomore running back Jordon Benjamin is second in the conference in rushing with an average of 98.5 yards per game. Benjamin has run for 591 yards and five touchdowns in six games for the Owls. Junior Drake Lewis adds another potent threat in the Kenyon backfield with a 69.3 yards-per-game rushing average. He ranks seventh in the conference in rushing and has scored four running touchdowns this season.
 
Freshman quarterback Henry Wendorf has thrown for 569 yards and three touchdowns this season. The rookie has completed 48.5 percent of his attempts (49-of-101) with six interceptions. Junior Park Penrod has played in all six games at quarterback for the Owls and has thrown for 230 yards and one score with three interceptions. David Livingston's 22 receptions lead the team in that category. Dylan Carlquist has caught 11 passes for a team-best 209 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Freshman safety Dominic Simpson leads the team in tackles with 45. Simpson also has a team-high three interceptions this season. Andy Canonico has recorded a team-best 5.5 tackles for losses of 22 yards with two sacks for 17 yards from his defensive end position.