CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Wabash College returns home Saturday seeking to snap a two-game losing streak when it hosts unbeaten Washington University in St. Louis in a North Coast Athletic Conference football matchup featuring the league's five leading scorers.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Frank Navarro Field at Little Giant Stadium. The Little Giants enter at 4-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play. WashU, ranked eighth in the D3football.com poll and seventh in the American Football Coaches Association poll, is 6-0 overall and leads the NCAC at 5-0 in its first season as a conference member.
Wabash junior running back Cole Dickerson leads the conference with 72 points and 12 touchdowns. WashU quarterback Levi Moore ranks second with 60 points and 10 touchdowns, while Bears running back Brayden Lewis is fourth with 42 points on seven touchdowns. Dickerson, Moore and Lewis also rank first, second and third, respectively, in NCAC touchdown scoring.
The kickers complete the conference's top five. WashU's Matias Adrogue ranks third with 56 points, converting all seven field-goal attempts and all 35 extra-point tries. Wabash's Tyler Church is fifth with 39 points on seven field goals and 18 extra points.
The Little Giants return to Crawfordsville after consecutive road losses decided by a combined eight points. Wabash lost 24-23 at Denison before falling 24-17 at John Carroll last Saturday. The Little Giants led the Blue Streaks 17-10 in the fourth quarter but surrendered two touchdowns in the final 3:11. Their final possession reached the John Carroll 2-yard line as time expired.
Wabash is 3-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 94-27. Maintaining that success will require slowing one of Division III's most productive offenses.
WashU ranks second nationally in scoring at 53.3 points per game and 11th in total offense at 489.3 yards per contest. The Bears average 262.5 rushing yards and 226.8 passing yards, gaining 6.8 yards per carry. They have outscored opponents 320-76, including shutout victories over Rhodes, Oberlin and Kenyon.
The Little Giants counter with a defense ranked 11th nationally in both rushing yards allowed, at 54.2 per game, and total yards allowed, at 220.5. Wabash leads the NCAC in rushing defense and sacks, ranking sixth nationally with 3.67 sacks per game. The Little Giants limited John Carroll to 13 rushing yards last week.
Carson Foxen leads Wabash with 34 tackles, followed by William Harris with 33. Harris has recorded at least one sack in four consecutive games. Dakota Johnson leads the team with five sacks, while Camden Singer has a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss.
Moore presents a challenge as both a passer and runner. The senior has completed 62 of 96 passes for 907 yards and 11 touchdowns with one interception. He also has rushed for 317 yards and nine touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass. Moore became WashU's career scoring leader during last week's 65-0 victory at Kenyon.
Lewis leads the Bears with 429 rushing yards, averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Makael Carter has 15 receptions for 315 yards and four touchdowns, while Drew Bomar leads WashU with 18 catches for 310 yards and three scores.
Dickerson anchors the Wabash offense with 678 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 129 carries, averaging an NCAC-leading 113 yards per game. He has rushed for a touchdown in all six games and gained at least 115 yards in three consecutive contests. Dickerson finished with 115 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 35 carries at John Carroll.
Senior quarterback Brand Campbell enters Saturday with 4,885 career passing yards, nine shy of Dave Broecker's seventh-place total in Wabash history. Campbell also needs one touchdown pass to match Broecker's seventh-place mark of 45.
Luke Adams leads Wabash with 29 receptions for 368 yards after catching six passes for 87 yards last week. Nick Witte has 12 receptions for 271 yards and leads the conference at 22.58 yards per catch.
Extending possessions will be another key matchup. Wabash leads the NCAC and ranks 17th nationally with a 51.2% third-down conversion rate. WashU has allowed opponents to convert just 25% of their third-down opportunities and yields 12.7 points per game.
Saturday marks the programs' first conference matchup and their first meeting since Wabash earned a 34-14 victory in St. Louis in 2012. The Little Giants lead the series 27-16-2 and have won 12 consecutive home meetings against the Bears. The series began with a 13-3 Wabash victory in Crawfordsville in 1915.
