Knott leads Wabash to 41-20 win over Allegheny

Box Score

Meadville, Pa. - October 27, 2001 - Quarterback Jake Knott threw for five touchdowns and ran for another as the visiting Wabash College Little Giants came into a snowy Robertson Field to claim a 41-20 victory over the Allegheny College Gators. Knott led the Wabash offense to 476 total yards, as he completed 21-of-44 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns in the win.

The Gators opened the scoring on a Shane Ream 5-yard touchdown run five minutes into the opening quarter, but the PAT attempt was missed, giving the Gators at 6-0 lead. Ream, who finished the day with 109 yards on 18 attempts, carried for 39 yards on the drive.

Wabash took a 7-6 lead as Ryan Short hauled in a 4-yard pass from Knott at the 11:27 mark of the second quarter. A 20-yard pass from Knott to Kurt Casper and a 26-yarder to Short set up the score. Allegheny, though, answered on its following possession, as Jared McNeilly went 31 yards for his first career rushing TD to give the Gators a 12-7 lead.

The Gator lead would be short-lived as Wabash scored the next 20 points unanswered to build a 27-12 lead. Knott hit Casper from two yards out and the ensuing two-point conversion gave Wabash a 15-12 lead with 2:51 to go in the second. The Little Giants then drove 50 yards in six plays, capped by a Knott-to-Short fade pass to give Wabash a 21-12 lead just before halftime. Wabash extended its lead at the 9:50 mark of the third quarter as Knott went in on a 2-yard draw play, on a drive that was helped by two defensive pass interference calls.

The Gators cut into the lead as Derek Vikara intercepted a Knott pass and raced 61 yards to get Allegheny within nine at 27-18. But Wabash answered just 1:25 later, scoring on a Knott-to-Casper middle screen that went 76 yards at the 5:56 mark of the third quarter. The ensuing two-point try was intercepted by Vikara and run back 99 yards for a defensive two-point conversion, leaving the score 33-20.

Wabash moved out to a 39-20 lead as Knott connected with Nick Dawson for 39 yards with 1:42 to go in the third quarter. The Little Giants closed out the scoring with a safety as Draik Hecksel tackled Ream in the end zone for a safety after Joe Lonnemann's punt pinned the Gators on their own 1-yard line.

Short led all receivers with nine receptions for 96 yards and two TDs, while Casper had eight catches for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jon Turner led the Gators with six receptions for 77 yards. Bubba Smith finished the day 14-of-22 passing for the Gators, for 154 yards.

The Wabash defense held Allegheny to -32 yards rushing in the second half and just 73 yards, forcing six sacks. Blair Hammer and Josh Stanton each had a pair of sacks, while Matt Mercer and Chad Springer made eight tackles apiece. Kirk Rhoades led Allegheny with eight stops.

The win upped Wabash's record to 6-2 (5-1 NCAC), while the Gators fell to 4-4 (3-2 NCAC). The loss means the Gators will likely not finish first or second in the NCAC for the first time since a third-place finish in 1989. Allegheny is next in action on Saturday, November 2, when it hosts the College of Wooster at 1:00 p.m. Wabash is at Denison University next weekend, for a 1:00 kickoff.