Wittenberg plays at Wabash as it tries to bounce back from first NCAC loss

Both teams trail DePauw with three games to play
Wittenberg players, including Isaac Grilliot 
 (71) and Josh Collins (11), run onto the field before a game against DePauw on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Wittenberg players, including Isaac Grilliot (71) and Josh Collins (11), run onto the field before a game against DePauw on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. David Jablonski/Staff

The Wittenberg Tigers experienced the lowest of lows and highest of highs in back-to-back weeks last season, losing 42-35 at home to Wabash and then winning 30-7 at DePauw. It hopes to reverse the order of those results this season.

Wittenberg lost 41-35 in overtime to DePauw last weekend at Edwards-Maurer Field and now travels to Crawfordsville, Ind., to play Wabash at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re going to take some time to look at the mistakes we made,” coach Jim Collins said Thursday. “We’re going to watch the good things we did and build on those. And then we’re moving on because the next game is the most important, and going 1-0 at the end of the week is what the goal is.”

Wittenberg and Wabash (both 5-2, 4-1) trail DePauw (8-0, 6-0) by 1½ games in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Here’s what those three teams face in the coming weeks.

• After playing Wabash, Wittenberg plays at Ohio Wesleyan and hosts Wooster in its final two games.

• Wabash plays Hiram next week and then closes the regular season in the Monon Bell game at DePauw.

• DePauw plays Kenyon at home on Saturday with a chance to clinch a share of the championship.

Wittenberg beat Wabash 35-14 in its last trip to Crawfordsville in 2021. It is 6-7 at Little Giant Stadium since Wabash joined the league in 2000. Collins, in his second season at Wittenberg, last visited Crawfordsville in 2005 when he was the head coach at Capital. Wabash won 14-11 in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

“The Wittenberg-Wabash game through the years, as you check out the scores, it’s been a great rivalry,” Collins said.

Wabash won 67-18 at Kenyon last week to rebound from a 28-24 loss at Denison.

“Their quarterback, Liam Thompson, is a really dynamic playmaker,” Collins said. “He’s leading their team in passing and rushing, so that’s unique. He’s a big part of why they’ve had a lot success on offense. Defensively, they’re physical and they’re tough and they run to the football and they play team defense. That’s what you expect out of a Wabash football team.”

About the Author