Nathan McCahill completed 23 of 30 passes, covering 242 yards while scoring 2 touchdowns and gaining one interception in Saturday’s cold afternoon as the Tigers (10-0) in dramatic fashion beat the Little Giants (7-3) 33 – 30.
The Tigers entered Saturday’s contest unbeaten and looking to win yet another Monon Bell Game. After multiple home and road games ending with a win, The Tigers entered this match-up with a winning streak of nine games out of nine looking to end the season as Monon Bell Winners two times in a row and achieve the NCAC Championship to clinch a Division 3 NCAA Spot.. The Tigers trailed every quarter but always showed toughness and determination to come back and in the final seconds of second overtime got the touchdown and an important block that gave them the all important win over the Little Giants.
The Little Giants entered the game looking to continue their 3 game unbeaten streak and win a historic game in the Monon Bell. Wabash have looked good in
home and away wins against Kenyon, Wittenberg, and Hiram 67-18, 52-20, and 52-13 respectively.
Wabash Head Coach Don Morel’s squad lost by a heavy margin, in the highly contested affair 49-14 last season. They were looking to change the tide and win this time around in front of their crowd at Little Giant Stadium but in the end, DePauw once again were able to get the touchdowns when they counted and won.
The Tigers led but also struggled defensively
This game was not easy for the Tiger’s defense in the first quarter; the Little Giants looked to score and pressured right from the start. The Tigers initially got points on the board with a No Huddle-Shotgun completed pass from McCaghill short middle to completed for wide receiver Robbby Ballentine as he covered 8 yards to score a touchdown and make the score, 7-0. DePauw’s defense then began showing woes as before the end of the quarter the Little Giants tied the game with running back Cade Campbell rushing left for 5 yards to get a touchdown and tie the overall score 7-7.
The second quarter, produced even more drama as each team kept scoring back and forth, with no teaming dominantly performing and ending with a narrow Tigers lead. Entering the second quarter running back Xavier Tyler rushed a yard gain for a touchdown and 14-7 score. Later in the quarter McCahill made himself present once again as he rushed middle for a 15 yard gain to score and tie the game 14-14 and Matthew Berry’s kick was good for a 17-14 lead for the Little Giants.
Little Giants lead, but the Tigers weren’t done and didn’t leave the first half trailing or with a tied score, but instead running back Gus Baumgartner rush of 17 yards gain for a touchdown and kicker Joseph Sullivan’s good kick gave the Tigers a narrow 21-17 lead to end the exciting first half.
The second half didn’t produce a winner
The Tiger’s offense continued scoring and the defense kept getting undone by the Little Giants offense due to the second half producing more back-and-forth scoring. The third quarter continued with quarterback Liam Thompson rushing a 7-yard gain to score and give Wabash a fighting chance producing a score now of 21 – 20.
While the third quarter only provided one touchdown, the fourth quarter then proved to be as exciting and unpredictable as the first half. The fourth quarter opens with running back Donovan Snyder rushing middle for a yard gain to score and give the lead back to Wabash 27-21. But in crazy drama, the Tigers once again came back and dramatically before the end of the fourth quarter and normal time score with Baumgartner once again becoming present and rushing through the middle for a yard gain to make the game 27-27.
Over Time produces the winner in dramatic fashion
Normal time ends with a score of 27-27. So, both the Tigers of DePauw and Little Giants of Wabash battled it out in overtime. Overtime opened with dramatic moments, initially Wabash kicker Brody Rucker field goal attempt from 34 yards is blocked and later his next attempt from 41 yards is good and gives the Little Giants the lead once again with a score of 30-27.
The game seems a sure win for Wabash, but unsurprisingly the Tigers will not be stopped and in the final seconds of overtime the quarterback McCahill shows up again and in the best moment to complete a 11 yard pass towards tight end Will Kasted who scores the winner of 33-30.
What’s Next?
The Tigers await their first opponent in the National Tournament as they look to continue their unbeaten run
The Little Giants will look to recover and recuperate then, with Don Morel’s guidance, rebuild this team to make a deep run next season and clinch a national tournament berth.
1 Comment