Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team played No. 8 Wabash tough, but in the end the Little Giants were too strong as they earned a 55-18 win over the Yeomen on Saturday afternoon at Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
While the final outcome was somewhat lopsided, the Yeomen had some positives throughout the game. The 18 points they scored were the most Wabash has allowed all season, while their 87 yards rushing is also the most anyone has totaled against the Little Giants as they entered the contest giving up an average of just six yards per game on the ground.
Oberlin finished with 281 yards of offense with 194 yards through the air. Senior quarterback
Lucas Poggiali was 20-of-41 for 181 yards.
Corey Fussinger ended with 63 yards receiving on six catches, while
Justin Cruz also snagged six balls for 60 yards.
The Little Giants took the opening kickoff and found paydirt after going 63 yards on seven plays in just two minutes.
However, the Yeomen answered right back with a 71-play scoring drive, which ended with a flare. The Yeomen caught the Wabash defense off guard on a trick play that saw Cruz throw a 13-yard TD to Poggiali in the corner of the endzone.
After Wabash's second score to go up 14-6, it would be Connor Karns of the Little Giants defense who made a big play, getting a strip-sack of Poggiali before scooping up the loose ball and returning it 11 yards for a score to cap the first-quarter scoring.
Early in the second quarter, Drake Christen fielded a short punt and returned it 30 yards for a TD to make it a 28-6 Little Giants lead. However, the Yeomen wasted no time answering back as
Justin Williams ripped off an 80-yard run right up the middle for Oberlin's second score of the game.
Wabash would tack on two fields in the period to take a 34-12 lead into the locker room at the half.
The two teams would trade touchdowns in the third quarter with NCAC leading rusher Mason Zurek turning the corner for a 76-yard score in the beginning of the period. At the end of the quarter, Poggiali capped a 10-play, 57-yard drive with a 10-yard jaunt to the end zone to make it 41-18.
Unfortunately, Wabash would leave no doubt in the eventual outcome, going on to add two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete the game's scoring.
The Yeomen defense had Little Giants quarterback Connor Rice out of rhythm all game long as he was just 9-of-24 for 160 yards. However, their ground attack made up for it with 291 yards. Zurek led the charge with 164 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Defensively,
Anthony Allen led the Yeomen with 10 tackles (7 solo), including a sack.
C.J. Ihle also added two sacks, while
Justin Bute had nine solo stops.
Wabash moved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, while the Yeomen dropped to 2-4 and 2-3 in league play.
The Yeomen will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Wooster. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
