Wabash College opens the 2024 season Saturday when the Little Giants face the St. Norbert College Green Knights at Little Giant Stadium at 1 p.m. It will also be Military Appreciation Day with a presentation of colors by the Boilermaker Battalion ROTC color guard and special recognition of the members of the Wabash ROTC program. Wabash will also honor the 18 members of the senior class participating on the Little Giant football team before the start of the game.
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Wabash is playing its 137th season of football with a record of 717-401-59. Wabash ranks fifth among Division III schools in all-time victories and 12th in winning percentage with a mark of .635. The Little Giants and Notre Dame are the only Indiana schools to win more than 700 games in college football program history.
The Little Giants are in their 24th season as North Coast Athletic Conference members. Wabash has won or shared nine NCAC titles in the past 17 seasons (2002, 2005, 2006 [tied], 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 [tied], and 2019 [tied]). Wabash is 146-29 in NCAC contests.
Wabash owns an 82-46-8 record in season-opening contests dating back to its first program win - a 4-0 win over Butler University on October 25, 1884, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The last season-opening loss for the Little Giants came in 2019 in a 31-28 contest at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Wabash has not lost a season-opening game at home since a 38-6 defeat at the hands of Ohio Northern University in 1999.
Wabash owns a 10-5 record at Little Giant Stadium as the facility enters its fourth season of operation. The Little Giants opened the stadium on September 18, 2021, with a 36-28 victory over Allegheny College. Wabash has not lost a home opener in three seasons at Little Giant Stadium.
Wabash is 90-37-5 in home season openers overall. There are five seasons (1884, 1886, 1887, 1898, and 1899) in which no home games were played by Wabash football teams.
A Quick Look At The Little Giants: Wabash begins its 2024 campaign with four starters returning on offense from last year’s squad. First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection Quinn Sholar and Second Team All-NCAC honoree Cameron Ford anchor a line that also includes returning starters Kanon Kelley and Enrique Ruiz. The Little Giants used its prowess up front to average 235.9 yards per game on the ground, the top mark in the conference and 15th-best in the nation. Blake White will start at quarterback for the this first time. He’ll look to top target Connor Thompson, who caught 13 passes for 207 yards and two TDs in 2023. Xavier Tyler will start at running back after producing 405 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground last season.
Nine starters are back on defense, led by Gavin Ruppert, who led Wabash in tackles last season with 73 stops. Brock Robertson finished second on the team in tackles with 28 and starts at safety this season. Jordan Cree rotated into the lineup and recorded 41 tackles as a freshman. Hewill start at defensive tackle this season. Steven Thomas returns for a fifth season after making 30 tackles, 5-1/2 tackles for losses, and two sacks as a starter in 2023. Brody Frey starts for a second consecutive season at defensive end after posting 25 tackles, 4-1/2 tackles for losses, and 2-1/2 sacks last year. Owen Volk made 20 tackles with 4-1/2 tackles for losses and two sacks in 2023. Mike Holsclaw and Michael Hegwood return in the defensive backfield for the Little Giants in 2024. Both were starters in 2023, with Holsclaw netting 24 tackles and one interception. Hegwood finished with 17 tackles and three pass breakups.
SCOUTING ST. NORBERT COLLEGE
St. Norbert College opens the 2024 season today in Crawfordsville after posting a 7-4 overall record in 2023. The Green Knights tied for second place in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with a 6-2 record and represented the league in the Cousins Subs Lakefront Bowl. St. Norbert lost to Monmouth 21-14 in the post-season bowl game.
Head coach Dan McCarty begins his ninth season at St. Norbert with a 59-24 record. His squad averaged 27.5 points a contest last year while opposing teams to an average of 17.3 points per game. Junior quarterback Peyton Lyon returns after throwing for 1,908 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. He completed 55.9 percent of his passes while averaging 173.5 passing yards in 11 games. Senior Austin Miller led the Green Knight receivers with 42 catches for 289 yards. Fellow senior Mitch Van Vooren caught 32 passes for 535 yards and three touchdowns. Paul Bageanis added another 30 receptions for 479 yards and a team-best five TDs in his junior season.
St. Norbert averaged 163 yards a game on the ground last season but lost 890 yards from top rusher Owen Kudick due to graduation. Senior running back Patrick Oden ran for 281 yards and three scores while appearing in eight games last season. Sophomore Will Darden is slated to back up Oden after not appearing in any varsity contests in 2023.
The Green Knights ranked 34 among Division III teams on defense with 33 takeaways last season. Senior linebacker Sam Barnett ranked tenth in the conference with three interceptions for an average of 0.3 per contest. He also paced the defense with 99 tackles, including 68 solos. He was one of five players with ten or more tackles for losses, finishing with 10.5 for 66 yards. Junior linebacker Kyle Santos made 84 tackles with 12 for losses totaling 44 yards. Senior end Daylan Lujan recorded a team-best seven sacks for 60 yards.
