GRANVILLE, Ohio — Behind a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives engineered by quarterback
Brian Rager and a stifling defense that made multiple stops in the final stanza, the Denison football team earned a 24-23 upset win over (RV) Wabash on Saturday afternoon.
Nick Pellicciotta sealed the game with an interception with 39 seconds remaining, as the Big Red move to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in NCAC play, winning their fourth consecutive game.
The Big Red turned its opening possession into a nine-play, 85-yard scoring drive, as two Little Giants penalties and a 16-yard
Brian Rager completion to
AJ Winders set up the ground game.
Blayton Reid ran for 13 yards and then scored from 14 yards, as the consecutive runs gave Denison an early 7-0 lead. The Little Giants matched it on the next drive as a heavy dose of Cole Dickerson fueled a scoring series, as Wabash scored with 6:47 remaining in the opening quarter to level the game.
Denison would punt on its next drive to try and reclaim the lead, and Wabash capitalized as its second drive spilled over into the second quarter and resulted in a second Dickerson score with 12:13 to play in the half. Trailing 14-7, Denison would get back on the board, as a Rager to Winders connection of 29 on third and long moved the offense into enemy territory, with the Big Red eventually settling for a 34-yard
Sean Brechbill field goal, making it a 14-10 game.
The scoring pattern looked to continue the trend as Wabash shuffled quarterbacks to Jackson Gilbert, but the series would end in a turnover, as Denison's defense tightened in the red zone.
Rory Ralston stripped Javon Garry at the 15 yard line, denying Wabash's offense as
Nick Pellicciotta recovered the loose ball for the Big Red. With 2:53 remaining in the half after the fumble, Denison was able to slowly move the ball across midfield, but a sack killed the chance to add points, as the score stood at 14-10 at the intermission.
On the first snap of the third quarter, Wabash and Brand Campbell went for the shot play, as its quarterback connected with Keith Jackson for a 65-yard touchdown 10 seconds into the period. Although the sudden change stunned Denison, the Big Red focused back in on the extra point, as
Cole Davis blocked Tyler Church's kick, making a critical play to set the score at 20-10.
Wabash would tack on a field goal from Church in the third quarter on its second possession of the quarter to extend its lead to 13 points, as they were able to capitalize off a pair of Denison turnovers on downs.
Trailing 23-10 with 3:43 to play in the third quarter, Rager and the offense took over, looking to overcome their early half shortcomings. Short gains by Reid and
Graham Tonkonogy helped move the sticks, while a 24-yard hookup on fourth and five from the 26 between the quarterback and Tonkonogy set the Big Red up inside the five. One play later, Rager dove in for a two-yard score, cutting Denison's deficit to six points at 23-17.
The defense stepped up for the Big Red after the touchdown drive, as
Cole Harris picked off Campbell in Denison territory, giving the ball back to the offense with 7:16 remaining in the game. Taking over at the 23, Denison methodically marched the field, getting strong runs from Reid and Rager, with a 17-yard keeper from the signal caller driving the series into the high red zone. A pair of completions to
AJ Winders moved the ball inside the twenty, and on the first play after the two-minute timeout, Rager hit his fellow junior with a 14-yard pass, moving the ball to the one-yard line.
After two negative run plays, the Big Red faced third and goal from the three, and with 52 seconds left, put the ball in the air as Rager hit
Luke Reed for a touchdown with 47 seconds left to tie the game, while Brechbill's kick put the Big Red ahead 24-23.
Needing a stop to complete the comeback, the defense made a final stand, as the front-four pressure forced a game-clinching interception, with
Nick Pellicciotta coming up with the play for Denison, sealing the 24-23 home victory.
Rager was instrumental to the team's victory, as the quarterback logged his second consecutive game with a passing and rushing score, throwing for 187 yards while running for another 69.
Blayton Reid had a strong day on the ground with 88 yards and a touchdown, and in the air, both
AJ Winders and
Graham Tonkonogy had five receptions and over 70 yards receiving.
Defensively,
Colton Morrow flew around the field and made a game-high eight tackles, while
Rory Ralston had seven stops with a forced fumble. Pellicciotta made three tackles, grabbing the game-ending interception and a fumble recovery.
Cole Harris had three stops and the interception that set up the game-winning drive.
Sean Brechbill was perfect on his kicks on Saturday, converting al of his three extra points and a 34-yard field goal.
Up Next: Denison will recover duing the upcoming bye week, and get back to work on Saturday, October 17, as they travel for the first time in a month to a top-25 DePauw squad for a 1:00 p.m. game in Greencastle, Indiana.
