Rosters, statistics, map of Tom Benson Stadium, and links to other game details

CANTON, Nov. 22 — Indiana has three collegiate football teams playing in Ohio on Saturday. A lot of eyes will be on the Indiana Hoosiers’ game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, but two terrific NCAA Division III programs, Wabash and Hanover Colleges, will tangle here at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in the ForeverLawn Bowl. The game is part of the Opendorse Bowl Series (details below).

Kickoff is at 1 p.m.  Tickets are available for the game here https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0500612999071566, and the contest will be presented via livestream at https://www.flocollege.com/collections/13040706-2024-opendorse-bowl-series?view=live-and-upcoming&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=multiple&utm_content=collection&contract_id=0063m00000vmhhsaaq There is a fee for the service (if you search, you may find a free trial offer).

Below is a map to the area around the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Stadium and the Hall of Fame are just west of Exit 107A (Fulton Road) on Interstate 77 in Canton. The map below orients west (at the top), so the words North and South have been added on the interstate to help with navigation. The street address is 1835 Harrison Avenue, NW, Canton, OH. The GPS coordinates are: 40°49′12″N 81°23′53″W

Of course, both Hanover and Wabash would rather be competing in the NCAA Div. III playoff tournament. Hanover placed second to  Mount Saint Joseph in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 5-1 mark, while Wabash finished second to DePauw in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 7-1 record. The Little Giants are 8-2 overall, while Hanover ended its regular season at 7-3. Mount Saint Joseph plays at John Carroll Saturday in the initial round of the DIII playoffs. DePauw drew a bye in the initial round, and plays next on November 30.

Hanover completed its regular season with a 31-27 Victory Bell game at Franklin College. Wabash lost to rival DePauw University 42-21 in the 130th Monon Bell Classic at Greencastle, both played last Saturday. The Wabash lost snapped a six-game win streak for the Little Giants, who now hope to finish the season on a high note at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

COMMENTS FROM THE COACHES

The game also marks the debut of Jake Gilbert at Wabash’s head coach. Don Morel, who led the Little Giants for the past nine seasons, will be in the press box calling offensive plays while Gilbert takes the reins. In an video interview this week, Gilbert called the Forever Lawn Bowl contest a terrific opportunity. “We will evaluate our players, and even evaluate our staff, at the game,” he said. Gilbert indicated he would give younger players more playing opportunities against Hanover.

Gilbert knows Hanover well, having opposed them as a Wabash defensive standout and then having coached against them as an assistant on the Little Giant coaching staff when Hanover played Wabash regularly. The two were rivals in post WWII era, and then again in the days of the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC). Wabash won the last contest between the two teams, 69-0, in 2013, and leads the overall series 36-12-1.

The Little Giants enter the game confident but yet wary of Hanover’s many offensive weapons and defensive capabilities. Gilbert pointed out that the Panthers led the HCAC in defense with fewest points allowed.

“They are well coached defensively and (are) prepared,” he says. “They’ve got a great culture down there.”

Gilbert also praised Hanover’s offense, saying his defense will see …“Lots of shifts and motion (on offense). They do a lot of different things that make you uncomfortable.”

Here’s a link to the Gilbert interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO87IgTvLnY

Hanover head coach Matt Theobald’s Panthers enter the game on a six-game winning streak, and would like nothing more than to end the 2024 campaign on a high with seven straight victories. “If we can pull it (a win) off, it will be a nice feather in our cap,” Theobald said on a radio broadcast of the Hanover College Coaches Show.

“The (Wabash) have speed. They are well coached. We recruit a lot of the same guys,” Theobald adds. He also pointed out that there’s some excitement associated with playing in the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, where two NFL teams play once each pre-season. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of our guys,” he adds. “To play at that stadium will be a pretty neat experience.”

A link to the show is here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YgkzQrVpYlWLVOa5wmFha?si=u9dOkaLAQC-TVPHNtH45Gg&nd=1&dlsi=e7ed023b7bc547a9

SOME KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hanover’s defense knows it will need to stop Wabash’s Tyler Xavier and Brand Campbell for a victory. Xavier, a junior, went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark last week for the Little Giants, netting 1,017 yards and a 5.7 yards per carry on the season.

For the season, Wabash runs 60% of the time and passes 40% of the time on offense. Sophomore Quarterback Brand Campbell became Wabash’s starter after a season-ending injury to White Blake. Campbell has a 181 quarterback rating, is completing 70% of his passes for 1750 yards, and has completed 131 of 186 passing attempts with just two interceptions.

The Little Giants have a stellar defense, and juniors Gavin Ruppert and Mike Holsclaw are among the team’s defensive leaders. Ruppert, a linebacker, tops the team with 83 tackles/assists. Defensive back Holsclaw leads the secondary with four interceptions.

Hanover’s leading rusher is senior Austin Oppel, whose gained 431 yards and an average of 5.3 yards per carry for the Panthers. The team’s third leading runner is its sophomore quarterback Eian Roudebush, who can either execute designed rushes or put the ball away and take off when pressured.

Roudebush is also an accurate passer, with a QB rating of 166 and with a 68% completion rate. Senior Jalen Peck is the team’s top pass catcher with 41 grabs, but Roudebush also likes to find his brother Eric, also a senior, whose 29 catches include five for touchdowns.

Junior defensive end Brian Wall, with 64 tackles/assists, and senior linebacker Jamey Decker, with 53 tackles/assists, are among the Panthers’ defensive leaders. Sophomore Pasha Saadiq has three interceptions to go along with 24 tackles from the secondary.

One statistical area to watch for is turnovers. Wabash is plus 15 on giveaways-takeaways, including 14 interceptions. Hanover comes into the game plus 2 on the same stat line. The team which takes care of the ball best might well win the ForeverLawn Bowl.

Below are the rosters and statistics for both teams. If you want a synopsis on a single page, Montgomery County Sports and More has produced a terrific “one sheet” for fans. It is reprinted below.

ABOUT FOREVER LAWN

Established in 2002, ForeverLawn is a leader in providing artificial surfaces for athletic teams. “Turf” as its commonly known offers many advantages over natural surfaces, including extending availability of fields and making playing surfaces safer for athletes. The company says that its slogan “Grass Without Limits” represents its commitment to continuous development and improvement of its turf products.

 ForeverLawn has over 80 dealers across the Unites States and Canada. It provides customized and innovative solutions which solve real problems and improve communities. The company successfully partners with several generational, legacy dealerships which have become multimillion-dollar enterprises of their own. These dealers are leaders in their communities and influencers across the industry, positioning ForeverLawn as a solution-driven organization which provides premium, synthetic grass solutions for a world of Grass Without Limits.

For more information, here’s a link to ForeverLawn’s website: https://www.foreverlawn.com/

ABOUT OPENDORSE

Opendorse is the leading athlete marketplace and NIL technology company, providing technology and services to the athlete endorsement industry. It serves the full lifecycle of supporting athletes: educating, assessing, planning, sharing, creating, measuring, tracking, disclosing, regulating, listing, browsing, booking, and more.

Thousands of sports organizations, professional athletic associations, and colleges and universities are engaged contractually with Opendorse, including player associations for the NBA, WNBA, and Major League Baseball, the LPGA and the NHL. Here’s a link to the company’s website: https://opendorse.com/

NOTE: EyeonCleveland founder John Kerezy will be at the ForeverLawn Bowl, and will write a story about the game for the Crawfordsville Journal-Review. You can also follow his social media posts during the game on Facebook and on X as well.