Box Score
Wabash 28, Ohio Wesleyan 0

Junior quarterback Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.) turned in one of the most prolific passing performances in Ohio Wesleyan history, but Wabash turned to a handful of big plays during the final 20-plus minutes to pull away for a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Saturday at Selby Stadium.

The loss snapped the Bishops' 10-game winning streak, the second-longest skein in Ohio Wesleyan history.  The decision, along with Wittenberg's win over Denison and Kenyon's win over Allegheny, results in a 4-way tie for first place in the NCAC between Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash, Kenyon, and Wittenberg.

Ohio Wesleyan had the first chance to score, taking the opening kickoff and marching to a first down at the Wabash 9-yard line.  Espinosa hit his first 7 passes on the drive, including connections of 13 and 11 yards to senior wide receiver Nick Ziegenbusch (Sugarcreek/Garaway) and a 10-yard play to junior wide receiver Dave Mogilnicki (Middleburg Heights/Midpark).  A third-down toss to sophomore tight end Calvin Cagney (Indialantic, Fla./Melbourne) gave the Bishops a first down at the Little Giant 9, and a connection to sophomore wide receiver Steven Uhler (Brunswick) made it third-and-goal at the 2.  Flushed from the pocket on third down, Espinosa was pushed out of bounds on the Little Giant 1, and facing fourth-and-goal, Ohio Wesleyan went for the touchdown, but sophomore wide receiver Scott Jenkins (Cuyahoga Falls/Cuyahoga Falls) was stopped short of the goal line.

The Bishops had another drive later in the quarter, with Espinosa finding Mogilnicki on a pair of third-down plays to move the chains, then hitting Uhler for 10 yards to set up a third-and-3 situation from the Wabash 23.  Sophomore running back Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) was tripped up for a loss of 1 on third down, however, and sophomore kicker Miles MacKenzie (Denver, Colo./East) saw his 42-yard field goal try into the northerly wind get pushed wide right.

Driving with the wind after the quarter change, the Bishops moved inside the red zone again on an Espinosa-to-Cagney connection that set up third-and-1 from the Wabash 19, but Espinosa's third-down pass was tipped and picked off by Wabash's Austin Hodges at the Wabash 8.

Meanwhile, the Bishop defense allowed Wabash past midfield only once during the first period, that coming when Wabash's Tyler Holmes picked up 8 yards but fumbled the ball away, with junior safety Rayce Risser (Columbus Grove) recovering for the Bishops.  The Little Giants' first snap in Bishop territory came on their second play of the second quarter after Hodges' interception, and Ohio Wesleyan promptly got the ball back when senior linebacker Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township) made a diving interception at the Bishop 43.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the second half in much the same way as it did the first, marching into Wabash territory, albeit with the help of a roughing the punter penalty that kept the drive going.  Given the reprieve, Jenkins moved the chains with a 3-yard pickup on third-and-1 from the Wabash 36, and Espinosa hit Mogilnicki for 12 yards and a first down at the Little Giant 21.  A pair of tosses to Uhler moved the Bishops to the 13, but the drive stalled there, and MacKenzie's 30-yard field goal try was blocked by Wabash's Cody Buresh, keeping the game scoreless.

The scoreless tie wouldn't last much longer.  Facing a third-and-12 from the Wabash 18-yard line, Chase Belton lofted a pass down the right sideline, finding Houston Hodges in stride, and Hodges was off to the races for an 82-yard scoring play.

The Bishops moved into Wabash territory on their ensuing possession, but the drive fizzled out at the Little Giant 39, and after a punt, Belton went deep down the left sideline, finding Sean Hildebrand on a 71-yard scoring play on the final play of the third quarter.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the fourth quarter with another drive into Wabash territory, but the Little Giants forced a punt from the Wabash 45, and after moving the chains once, Hodges broke loose on an inside handoff and galloped 67 yards to give the visitors a 21-0 lead with 9:28 left in the contest.

Wabash added some insurance on its next possession, with a 38-yard Holmes run moving the Little Giants to the Bishop 28-yard line.  Facing a fourth-and-8 on the Bishop 26, Belton found Hodges open in the corner of the end zone to make it 28-0.

Espinosa completed 52 of 75 passes for 428 yards.  The 52 completions breaks the school record of 47 set by Mike Wallace at Denison on Oct. 3, 1981, while the 75 attempts is the second-highest single-game figure in school history and the 428 yards ranks third on the Bishop single-game list.

Uhler caught 13 passes for 123 yards, and Mogilnicki had 13 catches for 122 yards, with the 13 receptions tying for third place on the Ohio Wesleyan single-game list.  Sophomore running back Kevin Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) caught 10 passes for 66 yards, and Ziegenbusch added 9 catches for 72 yards.

Junior linebacker Justin Segal (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) led the Bishops with 10 tackles, including half a tackle for loss, and forced a fumble.  Risser finished with 9 stops, broke up a pass, and recovered a fumble; junior end Jonathan Valentine (Franklin) had 2½ sacks among his 6 tackles; and senior end James Huddleston (Pontiac, Mich./Saint Marys Preparatory) made 6 tackles, including half a sack and 2 for loss.

Belton completed 10 of 17 throws for 235 yards and 3 scores.  Holmes ran for 210 yards on 23 carries, and Houston Hodges led the Little Giants with 4 catches for 120 yards and 2 TDs.  Justin Woods led Wabash with 16 tackles.

Box Score