Wabash College Athletics

1890: Wabash and DePauw meet for the first time on Philistine Field in Crawfordsville. DePauw won the game, 34-5

1897: Wabash and DePauw did not play for the next three seasons.

1900: Two games were played, with each team winning once. Wabash won, 6-0, on October 6, while DePauw won 26-11, on November 12.

1903: The "Color Line" was drawn. Wabash fielded an African-American player named Sam Gordon and DePauw refused to play, staying in the locker room until Methodist ministers from DePauw and Wabash graduate and Civil War General Lew Wallace got involved. Wallace and the ministers met privately with team members from DePauw and urged them to play the game. Wabash won, 10-0, that year, but in 1904, the two teams did not play their scheduled Thanksgiving Day contest because of another Wabash African-American player, William Cantrell.

1910: Wabash and DePauw did not meet because Wabash player Ralph "Sap" Wilson died of a head injury suffered in the St. Louis game. Wabash was 4-0 after beating St. Louis and had outscored its opponents, 118-0, but Wilson's death resulted in the cancellation of the season's remaining games. Wilson's now-
legendary last words were, "Did Wabash win?" Those words were engraved on his tombstone and remain today in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Crawfordsville.

1920: DePauw won by a score of 3-0 on a 52-yard drop kick by Harold Galloway. It was the last DePauw victory until 1928.

1921: Wabash coach Pete Vaughan began a streak of six-straight shutout wins over DePauw, outscoring the Tigers 118-0 from 1921-26. Wabash enjoyed a 30-game home unbeaten streak during the era, going from 1919 until 1926 without losing at home.

1932: The Monon Bell enters the rivalry. A gift from the Monon Railroad, the steam locomotive's 300-pound bell has served as the victor's trophy since 1933 because the 1932 contest ended in a 0-0 tie. After 12 inches of snow fell the day before, the field was in such bad shape that neither team could muster a score. Wabash got close to the goal line, but running back "Red" Varner slipped on his way to the endzone.

1933: DePauw's Tigers went undefeated and unscored upon, including a 14-0 win in the Monon Bell Game. Interestingly, DePauw was coached by Gaumey Neal, a 1920 Wabash grad and a former Little Giant player. The Tigers continued their outstanding play well into the 1934 season, but Wabash won the 1934 Monon Bell Game to snap the Tigers' 13-game winning streak.

1943: Wabash coach Pete Vaughan scheduled DePauw twice, once for a Homecoming game in Greencastle on October 16, and then on November 13 in Crawfordsville. The November game was canceled due to World War II, so Wabash played in Greencastle two years in a row, in the falls of 1942 and 1943.

1945: Two great coaches met for the last time in a 13-7 DePauw victory. Wabash's Pete Vaughan ended his coaching career with a record of 13-11-3 against DePauw, while Gaumey Neal retired with a 9-5-2 mark against his alma mater.

1951: Garland Frazier's Little Giants finished with a 7-0-1 record after a 41-12 win over DePauw, which settled for a 7-1 mark. Both teams entered the game undefeated, but the Little Giants left with a 29-24-5 lead in the series.

1952: Wabash again routed the Tigers, this time 47-0 behind the hard running of Stan Huntsman, who gained 248 yards. Huntsman went on to serve as the head track & field coach at the University of Texas and was the head coach of the United States Track & Field Team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

1954: Wabash claimed an easy 28-0 victory to increase its overall edge in the series to eight games, 32-24-5, the largest advantage in the series by either team. From 1951 to 1954, the Little Giants outscored the Tigers, 158-12.

1965: "Operation Frijoles," the most intricate and famous of all Monon Bell thefts, took place. Wabash sophomore Jim Shanks dreamed up the scam and helped carry out the plan. After Wabash won the game by a 16-6 score, one of just two Little Giant wins in the decade of the 1960s, fans charged the field with sombreros and ponchos to mock the DePauw fans.

1967: "The Mud Bowl." Fearing a Monon Bell theft attempt after a 9-7 win in 1966, DePauw students stole the Bell from themselves and buried it in the end zone of Blackstock Stadium! When snow and ice covered the field that day, Wabash slipped away with a 7-0 win, finishing 2-7 on the year. DePauw was better but had to settle for a record of
6-2-1. Eventually, the Bell was pulled from the mud as Wabash evened the series at 34-34-7.

1972: Sports Illustrated's John Underwood followed the Monon Bell rivalry and watched Wabash win, 20-14, knotting the all-time series at 36-36-7. His story was featured in SI's College Football Kickoff Issue the following fall.

1977: Wabash won, 30-6, and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division III national championship game. The Little Giants, under the direction of All-America quarterback David Harvey, finished the season with an outstanding record of 11-2.

1980: Wabash was undefeated, but DePauw scored a two-point conversion for a 22-22 tie. Wabash finished 8-0-1 and DePauw was 7-2-1. After knocking Wabash out of the playoffs, DePauw coach Jerry Berndt left the school to take over the head coaching reigns at the University of Pennsylvania.

1981: DePauw forced Wabash out of the playoffs again with a 21-14 win, snapping the Little Giants' 24-game unbeaten streak. New DePauw coach Nick Mourouzis had pre-printed T-shirts which read, "40-40-8," and he passed them out after the closely-played game.

1982: Wabash pounded DePauw, 31-6, to finish 10-0 under Stan Parrish. The Little Giants, despite the undefeated season, were denied a trip to the playoffs, and Parrish left for another job after the season. His five-year record at Wabash was a remarkable 42-3-1.

1984: Wabash celebrated 100 years of football with a 41-26 win in a game televised by SPN Cable Television. The 67 combined points were the most scored in the series since 1893. A crowd of 6,500 saw Wabash record its sixth win, with one tie, in nine years.

1985: Wabash ended DePauw's NCAA Division III playoff hopes with a 28-8 win in Greencastle. All-America quarterback Tony DiMicola of DePauw was sacked five times. Wabash tailback Bill Kaiser rushed for 211 yards on a Division III-record 58 carries and kicker Joe Bevelhimer booted five field goals in five tries, including 49 and 50-yarders.

1986: Wabash's third straight win over DePauw featured fourth-quarter heroics. Trailing by 17 points, the Little Giants rallied for a 24-23 victory on a Tim Pliske field goal.

1989: DePauw evened the series, 44-44-8, with a 41-14 whipping of Wabash in Greencastle. DePauw's point total was the most scored against the Little Giants in the series since the 1893 game. The Tigers won the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference title and the Monon Bell again in 1990, one of coach Nick Mourouzis' best teams ever.

1991: Wabash won the Bell and the ICAC title with a 23-18 victory. In that game, rookie tailback David Kogan rushed for 136 yards and the game-winning touchdown against a fine DePauw defense. The win brought the Bell back to Wabash after four straight years in Greencastle.

1992: The series symmetry remains perfect. Wabash and DePauw met in Crawfordsville for the 99th game with the series at 45-45-8. The game would end in a 17-17 tie after the Little Giants' Alex Costa kicked a field goal with nine seconds left, sending the rivalry to its 100th game knotted up, 45-45-9. Wabash won its second consecutive league title with a record of 5-0-1.

1993: Wabash won the 100th Monon Bell Classic with a 40-26 victory in front of 8,400 fans, Sports Illustrated, and a national satellite television audience. The win gave the Little Giants a 46-45-9 lead in the series.

1994: ESPN2 positioned its cameras on the start of the second century of Monon Bell games and Wabash provided plenty of highlights in a 28-24 victory. Tiny George Lino (5-6, 135) returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, rushed 84 yards for another score, and finished with 276 all-purpose yards.

1995: This Bell Game will be remembered only for the early-morning snowfall, sub-freezing temps, and Chris Ings' dramatic fourth-quarter touchdown dive in a 7-2 Wabash win.

1997: A crowd of 6,075 braved cold temperatures, as Wabash and DePauw battled in blizzard-like conditions. The field had to be plowed prior to the game and DePauw's maintenance crew actually drove tractors onto the field (at the opposite end) during play! The teams struggled offensively, with the Tigers posting a 14-7 win for their second straight Monon Bell victory.

1998: "The Halloween Heist" was a success, as a group of eight Wabash students were successful in lifting the Bell from its perch in DePauw's Neal Fieldhouse and returning it to Crawfordsville two weeks before the game. With an undefeated season and a playoff berth on the line, Wabash was crushed, 42-7, by the Tigers and the Bell returned to Greencastle for the third straight year. The 42 points scored by the Tigers were the most since DePauw posted a 48-34 win in 1893, just the fourth game in the all-time series.

1999: The Bell stayed in Greencastle for the fourth consecutive season after a 21-7 victory by DePauw. Despite a record performance by Jay Dee Flynn in his final game as a Little Giant and Jake Knott's re-writing of the record book with 439 passing yards and 485 yards of total offense, the lone Little Giant score came on a 73-yard Knott to Flynn pass in the first quarter. Flynn broke the Wabash single-game receiving yardage record with 10 catches for 220 yards.

2001: The game was labeled an "instant classic" by Indianapolis Star writer C. Jemal Horton. Wabash jumped out to a 14-0 lead, only to see DePauw tie the score in the third quarter. A fourth-quarter TD by Wabash was answered by the Tigers with only :14 remaining in the game. The Little Giants moved the football to the 48-yard line with 2.7 seconds left in regulation. Quarterback Jake Knott fired the ball downfield on the final play of the game to Ryan Short at the four-yard line, who tipped the ball to Kurt Casper for the game-winning score.

2002: The only way to get a ticket the week of the game was to buy on E-Bay. Over 9,100 fans gathered to watch All-American tight end Ryan Short haul in four TD passes in the first half on the way to a 35-7 victory by Wabash to even the all-time series record at 50-50-9. Short became the all-time leader in Indiana collegiate history in career touchdown receptions by a tight end after making his 45th touchdown catch in a Wabash uniform. The Little Giant defense forced six turnovers to lead Wabash to its first undefeated regular season since 1982.

2003: DePauw Head Coach Nick Mourouzis, coaching in his final game for the Tigers, could only watch as Little Giants Chris Morris, Aaron Lafitte, and Blair Hammer became part of Wabash football history while leading the Little Giants to a 37-20 Bell Game victory. Morris became the all-time leading rusher in Wabash history with 3,247 career yards, Lafitte became the first freshman to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, and Hammer set the career sack record. The Little Giants took a 51-50-9 lead in the series and claim the Bell for the third year in a row in a game televised nationally on HDNet (the first Division III game ever broadcast in high definition).

2004: The two teams met before a then-record crowd of 11,504 and a national tv audience on DirecTV. DePauw's two first-half scores held up as first-year head coach Bill Lynch led the Tigers to a 14-7 victory. He became only the second DePauw coach to win in his first Bell game.

2005: A defensive battle and a late touchdown pass from Russ Harbaugh to Kyle Piazza in the fourth quarter brought the Bell back to Wabash and propelled the Little Giants to an undefeated regular season and the number-one ranking in the North Region going into the playoffs. A sack by Frank Knez on the final offensive drive by DePauw capped a defensive effort that held the Tigers 165 yards under their season rushing average. Harbaugh's 37-yard pass to Piazza put Wabash up 17-7 to give the Little Giants a one-game lead in the overall series.

2006: The Little Giants picked up their second consecutive Bell win with a 317-yard passing game from quarterback Dustin Huff and two spectacular catches by senior Tim Schirack. A record crowd of 11,669 saw Schirack's nine-yard TD catch in the second quarter give Wabash a 14-0 lead. DePauw closed the gap to 21-14 before Frank Knez tackled Spud Dick in the endzone for a safety with 4:58 left to put the Little Giants up two scores. The Tigers added a last-minute touchdown, but Wabash left the field with the Bell and a 53-51-9 all-time lead in the series while drawing to within a game of DePauw at 35-34-6 since the trophy was added to the rivalry in 1932.

2009: "I will not fail you!" Three weeks removed from suffering a collapsed lung, senior quarterback Matt Hudson promised Head Coach Erik Raeburn to get Wabash a first down on fourth-and-one on the Little Giants' own 18-yard line. Hudson converted the quarterback sneak and led the Little Giants on a 14-play, 92-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive to give Wabash a 32-13 lead. Wabash held on to win 32-19 to take a one-game lead in the overall series against the Tigers and return the Monon Bell to the Wabash campus for the first time since 2006.

2010: In one of the biggest blowouts in the history of the rivalry, Wabash scored 21 points in the third quarter and routed previously undefeated DePauw 47-0. A Tyler Burke touchdown run and Chase Belton touchdown pass, plus two Spencer Whitehead field goals posted the hosts to a 19-0 lead at the break. Wabash completely dominated, holding the Tigers to seven first downs and just 95 yards of total offense.
 
2011: Wabash made it a perfect 10-0 season and sent DePauw to a losing season with a second straight blowout in the Monon Bell Classic — a defensive slugfest. The Little Giants jumped out in front 31-0 in the first half and sent DePauw fans home before halftime. Wabash got interception returns for touchdowns from Jonathan Koop and Denzel Wilkins; scored on Pat Clegg's fumble recovery; and got a 44-yard punt return from Wes Chamblee. Wabash managed just 180 yards of total offense, held DePauw to 150 yards, and the Little Giants forced five turnovers.
 
2012: The Little Giants shut out the Tigers for the second time in three years, winning 23-0 in a game again dominated by Wabash's smothering defense. DePauw managed just 142 total yards, held the ball for only 20 minutes, and punted nine times. Wabash put up 275 rushing yards and 432 yards overall, but 18 penalties slowed the Little Giants' attack. Tyler Holmes rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown for Wabash, which won the Bell for the fourth straight year.
 
2013: Wabash led 35-7 at the break, which sent DePauw fans home at halftime in a game that was never as close as the final 38-21 score. Michael Putko threw three touchdown passes, and Sean Hildebrand scored on a 10-yard run and 26-yard catch to propel the Little Giants to their fifth straight Monon Bell victory. The Little Giants finished 9-1 on the year.
 
2014: Wabash overcame a late-season loss to Wittenberg and beat DePauw in Crawfordsville 27-3 for the College's sixth straight win over the Tigers. The win also gave Wabash a 9-1 record and sent the Little Giants to the playoffs. It was yet another defensive slugfest with Wabash delivering plenty of blows — holding DePauw to just 151 yards and six first downs in the game. Neither team committed a turnover. Drake Christian caught 13 passes, including a nine-yard touchdown, and Mason Zurek rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Tutsie hit a pair of field goals, and Connor Ludwig scored on a blocked punt return.
 
2015: Wabash was a dominant team all year and capped a 10-0 regular season with a 45-17 win over the Tigers in Greencastle. Mason Zurek broke the single-game record by rushing for 278 yards and two touchdowns. His 55-yard run right before halftime set up Andrew Tutsie's second field goal, a 36-yarder that staked Wabash to a 31-10 lead at halftime. Connor Rice threw for three touchdowns, including a pair to freshman Oliver Page. The Tigers gained a lot of yards but turned the ball over three times. Wabash won the Monon Bell for the seventh straight year and the Little Giants won a pair of playoff games before ending the year with a 12-1 record.
 
2016: DePauw ended Wabash's seven-game winning streak in the rivalry when Matt Hunt hit his brother on a 13-yard scoring strike with 38 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 37-34 win. Wabash had taken a 34-30 lead with just over two minutes to page when Connor Rice hit Oliver Page from 20 yards out in a game that featured two ties and five lead changes. Rice threw for 336 yards on 26-of-36 passing with two touchdowns in his last Monon Bell Game.
 
2017: Wabash reclaimed the Monon Bell thanks to innovation and trickery. Coach Don Morel dialed up two fake field goals on the same 17-play, 72-yard, 7-minute drive that ended with an Ike James touchdown run, one of three for the first-year starter. But it was a two-point conversion pass from Weston Murphy to Kirby Cox that gave Wabash its only lead in the game, 22-21, with 5:49 to play. DePauw had the statistical advantage in all aspects of the game, but two DePauw fumbles doomed the Tigers.

2018: Wabash jumped out to an early lead when Jake Reid found Ryan Thomas for a 79-yard touchdown pass 53 seconds into the contest. Byshup Rhodes recovered a fumble and returned it 54 yards as Wabash took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter. Schuyler Nehrig hit a 25-yard field goal and Reid found Ivan Martinez at the end of the second period, which ended 24-14 in favor of Wabash. It was a defensive shootout in the second half, though, with DePauw scored the only points: a 26-yard field goal from Jake Tanner. Wabash won 24-17 on a chilly day in Crawfordsville as the Little Giants emerged victorious in the 125th Monon Bell Classic.

2019: Wabash took a 13-10 lead with 1:36 left to play in the game, but DePauw hit a 62-yard TD pass in the final minute of the game to earn a 17-13 victory to win the Monon Bell game for the first time since 2016.

2021: After the 2020 fall season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wabash and DePauw met in the 127th Monon Bell Classic at the new Little Giant Stadium on the Wabash campus. The visiting Tigers silenced the home crowd early by taking a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Wabash rallied with a pair of touchdowns in the second period before adding two more in the third to tie the game at 28-28. Liam Thompson provided the eventual game-winning score with a 1-yard TD pass to Jackson Claybourne to give the Little Giants the 42-35 home victory and a Bell win in the new stadium.

2022: DePauw jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back in a 49-14 victory over Wabash to reclaim the Bell and earn the North Coast Athletic Conference title and automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

2023: The first overtime game in the history rivalry needed two extra sessions to determine a winner. Tied at 27-27, DePauw took the ball in the first overtime, but fumbled on its second play from scimmage. Wabash set up for a game-winning field goal, but the kick was blocked to force a second OT. The LIttle Giants kicked a 33-yard field goal to end its series, but DePauw scored on its third play in the second overtime for the 33-30 victory.

2024: Wabash scored late in the second quarter to take a 14-7 deficit to the locker room at halftime. DePauw, ranked as high as eighth in one national poll and ninth in another, scored on the opening play from scrimmage in the second half. A fumbled Wabash kickoff return and interception led to another Tigers' score on the way to a 42-21 victory by the home team.