Wabash College roared back from a 14-point hole with 19 unanswered points and four takeaways to beat Hampden-Sydney College 29-20 Saturday, capturing the fifth edition of The Gentlemen’s Classic at Little Giant Stadium.
The win pushed Wabash to a perfect 5-0 record in the Classic. Before kickoff, the Little Giants honored 20 seniors and support staff in a ceremony marking the start of the 2026 campaign.
Hampden-Sydney struck first, needing just over four minutes to find the end zone on a 19-yard touchdown pass, aided by two Wabash penalties. The Tigers built the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter, and the Little Giants’ offense sputtered on its opening drives despite a strong 8-yard third-down run from Cole Dickerson ’28 and a 71-yard flipfield punt by Tyler Church ’28.
But Wabash’s response was immediate and sustained. Jackson Gilbert ’28 engineered a 79-yard touchdown drive, connecting with Nick Witte ’28 for gains of 21 and 33 yards before scoring himself on a 6-yard keeper to cut the deficit to 14-7. Late in the half, quarterback Brand Campbell ’27 moved the offense to the Hampden-Sydney 1-yard line before a goal-line fumble stalled the drive. The Wabash defense bailed the offense out, forcing a safety with 1:36 remaining in the first half to trim the margin to 14-9. Will Freeman ’28 capped the half with an interception on the final play.
“I think we really settled in defensively against their tempo,” said Head Football Coach Jake Gilbert ’98. “On offense we got a sense of how they were playing their front and made an adjustment. We started to run the ball better as the game went along.”
The Little Giants maintained their momentum to start the third quarter, driving 75 yards and taking their first lead of the game at 16-14 behind a Dickerson touchdown catch from Campbell. The Little Giants added onto their lead. A Tanner Crouch ’28 interception set up a Church field goal to make it 19-14, but Hampden-Sydney answered with a 13-play march to go back on top 20-19 with 17 seconds left in the quarter, missing the two-point try.
‘‘I feel confident in both my ability to rush and receive the ball,’’ said Dickerson. ‘‘I played some slot receiver last year so I’m not new to the passsing game as a running back.’’
From there, the fourth quarter belonged to Wabash. After the Tigers broke a 54-yard run into Little Giant territory, Crouch scooped a fourth-down fumble and returned it 25 yards, flipping field position. Church’s 45-yard field goal put Wabash ahead for good at 22-20. Moments later, Luke Purichia ’28 forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, recovered by Keith Jackson ’29 at the Hampden-Sydney 27-yard line. Dickerson carried on all seven plays of the drive that followed, capping it with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 29-20 with under two minutes remaining.
Hampden-Sydney’s final push stalled at the Wabash 14, a 31-yard field goal attempt sailing wide with 28 seconds left.
Wabash finished with 22 first downs and controlled possession for 35 minutes, overcoming the 14-point deficit by outscoring Hampden-Sydney 19-0 across the second and third quarters while forcing four turnovers.
“Turnovers always fix things,” said Coach Gilbert. “Extra possessions. Increased momentum. Better field position. It’s the most important thing!”
Dickerson led all rushers with 21 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown, adding four catches for 43 yards and a receiving score. Witte paced the receiving corps with 90 yards on four grabs.
Defensively, Dakota Johnson recorded eight tackles and two sacks, earning him the honor of the North Coast Athletic Conference defensive football player of the week. Crouch and Freeman contributed heavily, with both notching interceptions.
Campbell’s afternoon carried historical weight as well. The quarterback surpassed Dustin Huff for ninth on Wabash’s alltime career passing list, finishing the day with 4,207 yards.
Wabash opens North Coast Athletic Conference play Saturday at noon against a Wittenberg program in transition. The Tigers enter under first-year head coach BJ Coad, a Wittenberg alumnus hired in December after longtime assistant Jim Collins was let go in late October. Coad, who most recently coached at Division II Ohio Dominican, takes over a roster that finished 4-6 overall and 3-5 in NCAC play a season ago.
Wittenberg opened its 2026 campaign on the road at Washington and Lee on Sept. 5, its first test under the new coaching staff, before turning to a home-and-home stretch that includes the trip to Crawfordsville. The Tigers’ offense returns sophomore quarterback JJ Miller, who threw for over 2,600 yards a year ago and connected frequently with wide receiver Kade Ray. Wittenberg’s 2025 season was a story of inconsistency. Blowout wins over Ohio Wesleyan, Kenyon and Oberlin were offset by lopsided losses to DePauw, Wooster, John Carroll and Denison.
The two programs met last November in Springfield, where Wabash escaped with a 28-21 win despite Wittenberg piling up six sacks on defense. That result extended a stretch of tightly contested meetings between the two schools in recent years, and Saturday’s rematch will be the first of the series under Wittenberg’s new coaching regime.