CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN – Wabash returned to Little Giant Stadium for the first time in over month to earn a 56-7 North Coast Athletic Conference victory over Hiram College. The Little Giants scored two first-quarter touchdowns, eventually taking a halftime lead on the way to a 28-0 halftime lead.

The Little Giants improved to 5-1 on the year and 4-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference play to share the conference lead with arch-rival DePauw (6-0, 4-0 NCAC). The visiting Terriers fell to 0-5 and 0-3 in the NCAC.

The game was the first at home since Wabash opened 2-0 for the year with a 30-13 NCAC victory over Ohio Wesleyan University on September 14.

Brand Campbell led Wabash's passing attack with 137 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Xavier Tyler totaled 176 yards to lead the Little Giants' ground attack and added one touchdown, picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Cole Dickerson also tacked on 56 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground, picking up 6.2 yards per carry.

Campbell's most prolific target was Conner Thompson, who caught four passes for 58 yards and two scores. Kannon Chase caught three passes for 25 yards and one TD. He added a five-yard rushing touchdown for the game's first score.

Michael Hegwood collected four tackles and one interception. Tanner Crouch added one interception, and Nick Page had one interception in the win. Brock Robertson paced the defense with six tackles. The interceptions extended the Little Giants' streak of consecutive games with at least one pick to seven dating back to last year's Monon Bell Classic versus DePauw.

The Little Giants won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while coughing the ball up once, with Wabash turning those takeaways into 14 points. Wabash put together a stellar outing on the ground, racking up 280 rushing yards while averaging 6.5 yards per carry and out-rushing Hiram by 223 yards. The Wabash offense extended drives well, converting on 60 percent of third-down attempts. The Little Giants also went 1-for-1 on fourth down.

Wabash's defense limited Hiram's offense, giving up 163 total yards. The Little Giants kept Hiram under 150 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing 106 passing and 57 rushing yards. The Little Giants' defense disrupted the Hiram passing attack on the way to pulling down three interceptions and breaking up four Terriers passes.

Wabash took care of business in the red zone, scoring six times on six trips inside Hiram's 20-yard line, with all of those scores being touchdowns.

Game Notes
» Kannon Chase and Connor Thompson scored two touchdowns apiece in the game.
» Wabash outgained Hiram 417-163, including a 280-57 advantage on the ground.
» Wabash won the turnover battle 3-1 after picking off three passes. The INTs increased the streak of interceptions by the Wabash defense to seven consecutive games dating back to the 129^th Monon Bell Classic last season.
» The Little Giants scored first with 8:32 left in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Wabash had its highest scoring quarter in the third period when it put up 21 points.
» Wabash converted 6 of 10 third downs while Hiram was successful on 3 of 15.
» Brody Rucker punted four times for the Little Giants with an average of 46 yards per punt, pinning the Terriers inside their own 20 one time. He finished 8 of 8 on extra-point attempts.
» Wabash went 1-for-1 on fourth down.
» The Little Giants didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» The Little Giants ended the game on a strong note, scoring 28 unanswered points to close out the contest.
» Campbell completed 65% of his passes on the day, going 13-for-20 while averaging 6.8 yards per attempt.
» Miles Miller led the Terriers passing attack, completing 15 of his 21 attempts for 80 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.
» RJ Johnson led the Hiram rushing attack with 27 yards.
Parts of this story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.