Wabash defeats Wooster as key conference matchups unfold

O-line earn D3football.com honors after offensive outpouring over Fighting Scots

Week five of North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) football put together several key matchups for deciding how the conference standings would turn out. On Saturday, October 5, Wabash took on Wooster, while DePauw faced Ohio Wesleyan, Kenyon pummeled Oberlin and Denison beat out Wittenberg.   

The closest match of the weekend saw Wittenberg lose their first NCAC contest of the year to Denison, who advanced to 3-0. Heading into the season, which team had suffered a bigger loss after graduating the class of 2024 was up in the air. Now it’s clear that Denison, who managed to return their star running back Trey Fabrocini, is still a powerhouse in the conference. Wittenberg, who had a bye week and postponed against Hiram, has yet to prove that they are still one of the leaders in the NCAC.

The biggest, most unexpected change the conference has seen this year is the rise of Kenyon from a bottom-standing team to a solid member of the conference. With a win over a failing Wooster, a shutout-blowout of Oberlin and a close game against Denison under their belts, the Owls could turn out to be a dark horse team that shapes the conference standings from the middle of the pack. Wittenberg, Wabash and even DePauw will need to bring their A-game to avoid an embarrassing upset. 

Ohio Wesleyan looked like a conference title contender through the first quarter of their matchup with DePauw. Forcing two turnovers, stopping the Dannies’ drives one-after-another and moving the ball effectively, the Battling Bishops were up 14-8 after 12 minutes of play. Then the Tigers put on the jets and proceeded to win 53-14. Winning by a wider margin than Wabash had, DePauw boosted their odds of being the better team ahead of the Bell Game, but showed some cracks with two ugly turnovers. Ohio Wesleyan returns to the middle of the conference standings for now.

Instead of repeating the 45-35 slugfest of last season, the Little Giants steamrolled Wooster 55-19 to solidify their position in the NCAC’s top three, while ending Wooster’s hopes of getting back into the top half of the conference. For Wabash, handing out their first 50+-point game was a huge victory to prove they can still move the ball after the loss of their starting quarterback. Wooster on the other hand moves to 0-3 and has drifted to the bottom-third of the NCAC standings.  

On defense the Scarlet and White were solid but slightly less dynamic than in their first three games. They gave up a 70-yard touchdown and a pair of field goals in the first half, which was their worst first half so far this season. But they returned in the second half to keep Wooster scoreless through the third until the game was out of reach. The Little Giants had one interception in the game, but had multiple opportunities that they couldn’t take advantage of.

“We struggled to finish the job on takeaways in the game,” said Associate Head Coach Jake Gilbert ’98. “We were in great position. We just dropped interceptions in our hands multiple times and should have had a fumble recovery. We just have to finish.”

At quarterback, Brand Campbell ’27 went 15-20-1 for three touchdowns and 232 yards. Campbell showed he was more than capable of finding his receivers deep, with his 15.4 yards per completion. 

TJ Alexander ’26 made the most of his three receptions, taking them for 109 receiving yards and one trip to the endzone. Connor Thompson ’25 was the most consistent target. He kept the sticks moving with 80 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown. 

On the ground Wabash hit the Fighting Scots with a swarm of eight-different rushers. Leading them all and ascending to the top-spot in the NCAC for rushing yards per game and pre carry, Xavier Tyler ’26 put 185 yards on Wooster, averaging 12.5 yards per carry. Javon Garry ’26 found his niche as the goal line go-to for Morel’s offense. Garry crashed through twice for 12 of Wabash’s points. 

“Us putting up 55 just shows the immense talent and potential we have on offense, despite being a bit younger and more inexperienced team than in recent years,” said Alexander. “Wabash fans should be extremely excited about the future of the new look offense – especially with the amount of improvement we still have to do before we can achieve our ultimate goal, which is bringing the bell home on November 16th and winning a conference championship.”

Behind the success on the ground and through the air was a spectacular performance for the Little Giants on the offensive line. Five o-linemen Jax Bower ’27, Quinn Sholar ’26, Enrique Ruiz ’25, Kannon Kelley ’25 and Cameron Ford ’25 were added to the D3football.com Team of the Week for their efforts. The offensive line has seen a shifting roster as they, like the rest of the team, look for their identity this season. However, under strong senior leadership the line has been a leading factor in the team’s success.

“We talk every week about playing with poise and penalty free and violent – within the rules of the game,” said Assistant Football Coach Olmy Olmstead, who coaches the offensive line. “It’s hard to do all three of those things together. And so far, we’re doing a pretty good job of that… This is probably the best senior class, both in quantity and quality, that we’ve had here as an offensive line for a long time. I’m really, really proud of this group of seniors who are putting together a senior season they’ll remember and be proud of for a long time.”

With the win under their belt, the Little Giants maintain a second-place standing in the conference. They still have to beat Kenyon, Wittenberg, Denison and DePauw in the hardest four-week stretch any NCAC team will see all season. But they will get to start with the worst of the bunch, Kenyon, and work their way up to DePauw in the 130th Monon Bell Classic. 

Until then, Wabash gets to go up against Hiram and Oberlin, two easy wins that let the Scarlet and White complete the transition to Campbell at quarterback and prepare for the stiff competition down the road.