BOX SCORE
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. -- Junior quarterback
Connor Creech (Winston-Salem, NC) passed for a game-high and career-high 148 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start, and senior running back
Terry Hicks (Clayton, NC) rushed for a game-high 156 yards, but (RV)Hampden-Sydney College dropped a 29-20 season-opening and non-conference football decision on the road at (RV)Wabash (IN) College on Saturday afternoon in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The visiting Tigers (0-1) led 7-0 after one quarter, 14-9 at halftime and 20-19 after three quarters against the host Little Giants (1-0), who rallied with 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the victory.
"Proud of the guys effort today," said third-year head coach
Vince Luvara. "Credit to Wabash, they are a very good football team. When you play a team of that caliber, you cannot turn the ball over four times and expect to win. But I am really proud of how the team fought and stayed together. We will learn a lot about ourselves from this game."
H-SC, receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) D3 Coaches Preseason Poll, took the opening possession of the game and drove 66 yards on 14 plays with Creech finding senior wide receiver
Tyler Hendley (Charlotte, NC) for a 19-yard touchdown pass on third and 14 with 10:01 on the first-quarter clock. Sophomore placekicker
Hank Webb (Salisbury, NC) added the first of his two PAT kicks for an early 7-0 advantage. Hicks covered 29 yards on the ground, while a roughing the kicker penalty against Wabash on fourth and five kept the drive alive for the Tigers.
Following the two teams trading punts, and the Little Giants missing a 46-yard field goal attempt, H-SC took its third possession and drove 71 yards on 11 plays with Creech scoring on a 20-yard run up the middle on fourth and five with 14:55 on the second-quarter clock. Webb added the PAT kick and the lead was 14-0. Hicks had runs of 13 yards and 12 yards, while Creech connected with junior wide receiver
Phillip Dube (Glen Allen) on a 10-yard completion on fourth and two to extend the drive.
Wabash, receiving votes in both the AFCA and D3football.com Preseason Polls, answered back with a six-yard touchdown run by Jackson Gilbert at 10:05 of the second quarter. Tyler Church added the first of his three PAT kicks for a 14-7 margin on the scoreboard. The Little Giants added a safety with just 1:36 left in the first half, providing for a 14-9 margin at halftime. Freshman defensive lineman
Matthew Wright (Canton, GA) had forced and recovered a Wabash fumble on the preceding play to prevent a possible touchdown drive by the home team after they had a first and goal at the H-SC three-yard line before the turnover.
The Little Giants took the first possession of the second half and drove 75 yards on 12 plays with Brand Campbell throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Cole Dickerson with 7:30 on the third-quarter clock. Church added the PAT kick and the hosts had their first lead at 16-14. H-SC turned it over on its next possession via an interception, and Wabash added a 40-yard field goal by Church to lead 19-14 at 5:08 of the third quarter.
The Garnet & Grey responded with a 79-yard drive on 13 plays that resulted in a six-yard touchdown pass from Creech to senior wide receiver
James Bishop (Jacksonville, FL)—the first of his career—with just 17-seconds left in the third quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed and the visitors were back in front at 20-19 after three quarters. Hicks had a 14-yard run early in the drive, while Creech had completions of 13 yards to sophomore wide receiver
Max Nitti (Appomattox) on third and 10, and 16 yards to Bishop, with the possession being kept alive on a third down pass interference penalty against the Little Giants.
Wabash missed on another field goal attempt, this time from 42 yards with 11:53 remaining. The Tigers took over at their own 25 and drove to the Little Giants eight-yard line, but a high snap on fourth and three was recovered and advanced by the home team all the way to the visitor's 40-yard line. Hicks had got free for a 54-yard run on the possession before the unfortunate turnover. Wabash took advantage with a 45-yard field goal from Church to lead 22-20 with 5:45 remaining.
H-SC fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Little Giants recovered at the Tigers' 27-yard line with Cole Dickerson later scoring on a four-yard touchdown run with only 1:58 left to play. Church added the PAT kick and it was a 29-20 margin. The Tigers quickly went 61 yards on nine plays to the Wabash 14-yard line but missed a 31-yard field goal attempt with 28-seconds on the clock, as the final margin remained at 29-20.
H-SC had 322 yards of total offense, including 174 rushing and 148 passing, as Creech passed for his game-high and career-high 148 yards (17-29-2) and two touchdowns with two interceptions, adding 35 yards rushing on 12 attempts and one touchdown. Hicks rushed for his game-high 156 yards on 22 attempts—the 10th 100-yard game of his career—adding two yards receiving on one reception. Hicks also surpassed 2,000 career yards rushing with and now totals 2,112 career yards rushing in 27 career games. Nitti had a career-high 31 yards receiving on three receptions, Dube had a career-high 26 yards receiving on two receptions and senior wide receiver
Aaron Chaney (Belmont, NC) had 24 yards receiving on three receptions. Bishop equaled his career-high with 22 yards receiving on two receptions and one touchdown, while Hendley had 19 yards receiving on one reception and one touchdown.
Junior linebacker
Frank Brewer (Charlotte, NC) had a game-high 12 tackles for the Tigers, including 3.5 for loss, and 1.0 sacks. Junior safety
Mitch Ladamus (Fort Mill, SC) added 11 tackles, and sophomore linebacker
Gavin Gallavan (Richmond) had nine tackles, including 0.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry. Junior cornerback
Parks Cromwell (Charlotte, NC) contributed eight tackles, including 1.0 for loss, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry, while senior cornerback
Cam Jackson (Alexandria) had six tackles. Wright had three tackles, one forced fumble, the recovered fumble and one quarterback hurry.
Wabash had 329 yards of total offense, including 102 rushing and 227 passing, as Campbell passed for 147 yards (11-20-0) and one touchdown with no interceptions, adding 18 yards rushing on nine attempts. Gilbert passed for 80 yards (7-7-0), adding eight yards rushing and one touchdown. Dickerson had 47 yards rushing on 21 attempts and one touchdown, adding 43 yards receiving on four receptions and one touchdown. Nick Witte had a game-high 90 yards receiving on four receptions. Dakota Johnson had eight tackles for the Little Giants, including 2.0 for loss, and 2.0 sacks.
H-SC will welcome visiting (RV)Monmouth (IL) College in its home opener on Saturday, September 12, at 1 p.m. on Fulton Field at Lewis C. Everett Stadium. It will be
 Hall of Fame Weekend at the College, and the Class of 2026 will be recognized at halftime.
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