Little Giant Stadium had a party Saturday afternoon, and Cole Dickerson ’28 was the guest of honor. Dickerson bulldozed his way to a career-high 206 yards and two touchdowns on the ground through 20 carries, shattering his previous career high and crossing 1,000 rushing yards for his career in the process. He added four catches for 32 yards for good measure. Through two games this season, Dickerson has rushed for at least two touchdowns in each.
The Wabash defense turned in the kind of performance that makes opposing offensive coordinators lose sleep, holding Wittenberg to a measly 74 total yards in a 31-0 North Coast Athletic Conference victory. It was not just a win, but a domination.
“I am incredibly proud of our defense,” said Head Football Coach Jake Gilbert ’98. “It’s so hard to earn a shut out, let alone against Wittenberg. Our defensive line had several sacks and tackles for loss. It was one of the best performances by a D-line that I’ve ever seen.”
Wabash (2-0, 1-0 NCAC) piled up a season-high 252 rushing yards, found the end zone in every single quarter and never let the outcome feel remotely in doubt. Wittenberg (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) finished with -40 rushing yards, a number that belongs on a blooper reel rather than a stat sheet, and the Little Giants did not allow the Tigers to pick up a single first down in the fourth quarter. It was Wabash’s first shutout since a 36-0 win over Denison last September, and this one arrived with an exclamation point.
Quarterback Brand Campbell ’27 did his part, completing eight of 15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown while adding a 20-yard rushing score of his own. His touchdown throw moved him into sole possession of eighth place on Wabash’s career passing touchdown list with 41, a mark that puts him in rare company in the program’s history books.
The quarterback rotation added an extra wrinkle to the afternoon. Campbell and Jackson Gilbert ’28 split drives under center for the second game in a row, with Gilbert taking every third possession. But the arrangement did nothing to slow Wabash down. Gilbert delivered a clutch 8-yard completion to Fancher that kept the fourth-quarter drive alive and allowed the Little Giants to chew even more clock. Jackson Gilbert’s performance showed he could operate the offense just as smoothly as Campbell. The rotation gave Wabash two different looks behind center without sacrificing a beat of rhythm, further proof that the Little Giants have options up and down the roster.
“We are playing Brand and Jackson both because they both deserve to play,” said Jake Gilbert. “They’ve both had great springs and falls so far. We trust them both and I’ve played two quarterbacks many seasons in the past. Brand is our starter. Jackson played in 7 games last year. They’ve both played a lot of high level football here, so we are happy to play them both.”
The scoring started early. Wabash needed just six plays and 63 yards to find pay dirt late in the first quarter, with Campbell hitting Luke Adams ’28 for 33 yards before Dickerson punched it in from four yards out with 4:39 left in the period.
From there, the defense took over the show. William Harris ’28 strung together back-to-back tackles for loss in a first-quarter series, and Samuel Poriah ’29 chipped in a third-down sack to keep the pressure building. Wabash doubled its lead late in the second quarter after Dakota Johnson ’28 sacked Wittenberg on fourth down at the Little Giants’ 27-yard line, setting up a 56-yard Dickerson touchdown run two plays later that made it 14-0 with 2:09 remaining before halftime. Poriah added another sack in the period as Wabash held Wittenberg to one first down and minus-31 rushing yards over those 15 minutes.
“We have a very solid group of guys on the D-line that are able to hold their gaps and stop the run,” said Poriah. “If we can hold our gaps, then our linebackers can hit their gaps, and if everyone does their job then the result is very few yards and few or no points”
Xavier Brooks ’29 opened the third quarter with a jolt, returning the second-half kickoff 50 yards to set up a Nick Witte ’28 touchdown reception from Campbell which pushed the margin to 21-0.
Camden Singer ’28 turned in a career day of his own, recording two third-quarter sacks, including a 12-yard sack on third-and-16, and finishing with five total tackles. Wabash then put the finishing touches on the win in the fourth quarter, as Javon Garry ’27 set up a 20-yard Campbell touchdown run that made it 28-0 with 14:02 to play. A 10-play, 5:29 drive later, Tyler Church ’28 booted a 34-yard field goal to complete the scoring with 6:49 remaining.
Wabash controlled the ball for 11:01 of the fourth quarter alone and did not permit a single Wittenberg first down in the period. Poriah finished with a career-high two sacks and Johnson recorded a sack for the second straight game as Wabash’s defense racked up five sacks overall.
Up next, Wabash hits the road for a Saturday, Sept. 19 kickoff at noon against Oberlin College. Oberlin is coming off of two major blowout losses, including a 55-0 loss to Denison University.