INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- Wabash scored two second-quarter touchdowns to answer a 21-0 start for the Butler Bulldogs in Saturday evening's first football contest between the two Indiana schools since 1976. The Little Giants trailed by ten at the break but were outscored 23-0 over the final two periods in a 47-21 loss to the Bulldogs.

Wabash (1-1) fell behind after Butler scored on its first three possessions of the game. The Bulldogs were methodical on offense, scoring on a nine-play drive of 75 yards, a seven-play, 80-yard drive, and a six-play, 54-yard drive. 

The Little Giants next offensive possession appeared ready to give the ball back to the host Bulldogs after three plays, but punter and backup quarterback Blake White hit TJ Alexander with an 11-yard pass to maintain possession. That seemed to provide the spark Wabash needed. Liam Thompson completed passes to Penn Stoller and Derek Allen, Jr. to bring the Little Giants into Butler territory. Rushes by Cade Campbell and Thompson moved the ball to the Bulldogs four-yard line. 

Wabash head coach Don Morel reached back into his bag of trick plays and pulled out a wide receiver pass from Jacob Riddle to a wide-open Campbell in the end zone for a touchdown and a 21-7 contest. 

The spark carried over to the Wabash defense. The Little Giants limited Butler to 26 yards on the next series to force Bulldogs punt. Wabash marched 75 yards in eight plays, capped by a 22-yard pass from Thompson to Allen, Jr. to trim the Butler lead to 21-14. That touchdown pass moved Thompson into sole possession of second place on the Wabash all-time passing touchdown list and third place on the NCAC list with his 80th career scoring pass. 

Butler took advantage of the remaining time in the period to score a 48-yard field goal from Luka Zurak with his longest career attempt for a 24-14 halftime edge.

The second half belonged to the host team. Butler outgained Wabash 105 yards to 38 in the third quarter while limiting the Little Giants to minus-four yards on the ground on six attempts. The Wabash defense mounted a goalline stand midway through the period, forcing an incomplete pass by Butler's Bret Bushka on fourth down at the Little Giants' seven-yard line to turn the ball over on downs. 

Butler put together its own defensive series, forcing a fumble in the end zone on the second Wabash play from scrimmage. The Little Giants recovered to give away two points on the safety. Butler added a touchdown on the next drive, moving 45 yards in six plays to take a 33-14 lead. 

Wabash managed just 77 yards of offense in the final period, while the Bulldogs scored on two 75-yard drives before Nick Bafia put the game away with 5:31 remaining. Bafia stepped in front of a Thompson pass and returned the interception 66 yards for the game's final score.

Thompson completed 22-of-32 passes for 256 yards and two scores with one interception. He was sacked three times. The senior quarterback ran ten times for 13 yards. Allen, Jr. led the Wabash receivers with ten catches for 99 yards and one TD. Stoller added six catches for 63 yards. Campbell led the Wabash ground game with 36 yards on six carries. He caught two passes for 20 yards and one score.

Joe Rios paced the Little Giants on defense with a team-best ten tackles. Will Netting recorded eight tackles. Brock Robertson and Jake Pasch each made six tackles.

Wabash opens North Coast Athletic Conference action next Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Little Giant Stadium against Oberlin College. The home opener for the Little Giants is also the school's Homecoming game. Wabash will also honor the senior members of the football before the 2 p.m. kickoff.

Game Notes

» Butler outgained Wabash 442-338 in the contest.

» Wabash tallied 14 points in the second quarter, accounting for 66.7% of their total score.

» Wabash converted 8-of-13 third downs while Butler was successful on 5 of 7.

» The Little Giants had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Joe Rios, who had ten.

» Wabash went 1-for-1 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.

» Wabash won the time of possession battle 32:16 to 27:44.

» Thompson completed 68.8% of his passes on the day, going 22-for-32 while averaging eight yards per attempt.

» Bret Bushka led the Bulldogs passing attack, completing 13 of his 18 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

» Jyran Mitchell led the Butler rushing attack with 82 yards and one touchdown.

Parts of this story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.