Wabash College continues its North Coast Athletic Conference football schedule with a road trip to Ohio Wesleyan University this Saturday. The Little Giants look to avenge an overtime road loss in 2021 to the Battling Bishops.
Game Info: Wabash College (2-1, 1-0 NCAC) at Ohio Wesleyan University (2-2, 1-1 NCAC)
Location: Selby Stadium (91,00) in Delaware, OH
Game time: Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 1 p.m.
Wabash is tied atop the NCAC standings after opening conference play with a 59-6 home victory over Oberlin last Saturday. Wabash scored on its first seven possessions, including three touchdowns and a field goal in the first quarter.
Liam Thompson threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores in the victory. Sophomore running back
Xavier Tyler ran for a team-best 71 yards and two TDs. Derek Allen, Jr. added a receiving touchdown and ran for a career-long 57-yard touchdown run. Ten Little Giant players combined for a season-best 293 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
Wabash recorded a season-high five sacks and limited the Yeomen to 71 yards of total offense with only 11 rushing yards.
Joe Rios made seven tackles to lead the LIttle Giants' defensive unit.
Nick Bastian recorded 1-1/2 tackles for losses totaling five yards and one sack for three yards.
Jordan Cree,
Steven Thomas, and
RJ Tolbert each made one sack, and
Brody Frey and
Owen Volk combined for a fifth sack for Wabash.
Series: Wabash owns a 28-15-2 record versus Ohio Wesleyan with a 14-8-1 mark in games played in Delaware, Ohio. The Little Giants defeated OWU 41-24 in last year's contest at Wabash after losing a 35-28 overtime contest to the Battling Bishops in Delaware in 2021. Wabash won ten of its previous 11 trips to Ohio Wesleyan dating back to 1986.
Scouting Ohio Wesleyan:
Ohio Wesleyan enters the weekend with a .500 record for the season and in conference play after a 28-7 loss at DePauw last Saturday. The Battling Bishops average 331.5 yards of offense through their first four games, averaging 82.8 rushing yards and 248.75 passing yards per game. Devon Haley is the team's leading rusher. The sophomore has carried the ball 51 times for 153 yards and one touchdown. Marquis Henry, a senior backup at running back, averages 25 yards a game on the ground and leads the Bishops with two rushing touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Kaden Buza has completed 48 percent of his passes this season for 525 yards and three touchdowns. Buza has thrown 83 times, completing 40 passes with four interceptions in three games. Senior Austin Womack has seen action in three games and is 35-of-52 passing for 393 yards and four TDs. Josh Hurst tops the Ohio Wesleyan receiving list with 27 catches for 280 yards and one touchdown. Four of Tyler Webb's 16 receptions have accounted for touchdowns. The sophomore has 248 receiving yards this season. Twelve different Battling Bishops have caught passes this season for 995 total yards and eight scores.
OWU has scored twice on the defensive side of the football this season. Drew Thornton returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown in the Bishops' 49-20 win over Wooster. Charlie Hornacek added a 16-yard interception return for a score in the closing seconds of a 35-21 victory over Otterbein in Ohio Wesleyan's season opener. Thornton leads the Bishops' defense with 44 tackles. He has two tackles for losses totaling 26 yards and one sack for 25 yards to go with his interception and three pass breakups. Marquel Henry, a two-time First Team All-NCAC selection at defensive end, tops the OWU list for sacks with three for 29 yards. Henry ended the Little Giants' hopes for a victory at Ohio Wesleyan in 2021 with a sack in overtime on fourth down that secured a 35-28 win for the Battling Bishops.
