HIRAM, Ohio - September 11, 2021 – Hiram Terriers football fell to the Wabash College Little Giants, 42-14, in their North Coast Athletic conference opener on Saturday at Charles A. Henry Field at Malmisur Stadium.
 
After receiving the ball to open the first half, the Terriers went three-and-out, giving Wabash the ball in plus territory.
 
But what looked like a Little Giants' touchdown was negated by a holding penalty on second-and-10 from the Hiram 17-yard-line. And from there the Terrier defense stood firm, forcing Wabash to attempt a field goal, which they missed, keeping the game scoreless.
 
Hiram then answered with a long drive of their own, marching 72 yards over 13 plays in 7:01, but on fourth-and-goal from the Wabash one-yard-line, Malcolm Rogers was stuffed, turning the ball over on downs.
 
However, on the first play of the ensuing drive, Delanoe Harris picked off Liam Thompson's pass over the middle and took it inside the Wabash two, setting Hiram up for a score. On the very next play, Malcolm Rogers found pay dirt, rushing in from two yards out to give Hiram a 7-0 lead.
 
Wabash, however, quickly answered with a scoring drive of their own, knotting the score at 7-all on Donovan Snyder's 10-yard touchdown run.
 
And after the Terriers' drive stalled just outside field goal range, Wabash took the lead with a 14-play, 96-yard scoring drive, taking a 14-7 lead on Thompson's 27-yard touchdown pass to Derek Allen.
 
Wabash then extending their lead to 21-7 on their next offensive series, taking advantage of a Hiram fumble to put up another score on Snyder's seven-yard touchdown run.
 
The Little Giants would add one more first-half score on a 13-yard touchdown pass, and head into the locker room up 28-7.
 
Wabash, after winning the coin toss and electing to defer, received the second-half kickoff, and quickly added to their lead, marching 55 yards in six plays to go up 35-7 on Thompson's third touchdown pass of the day, this time from nine yards out to Zane Thomas.
 
The Little Giants would add one more score in the third quarter on Thompson's three-yard touchdown pass to Heisman Skeens, before Hiram's offense got going and found the end zone again in the fourth.
 
After stalling and turning over the ball on downs on the Wabash 29, Hiram's defense forced a quick punt, setting the Terriers up with first-and-10 from their own 45.
 
Tommy Dees started the drive off with a 12-yard rush, and Xavier Reyero found Jairus Green on third-and-eight for 16 yards to keep the drive alive before connecting with Zion Paynther for a 25-yard touchdown pass to cut Wabash's lead to 42-14.
 
But the Little Giants would all but run out the clock on the ensuing drive, chewing up almost nine minutes of game time on a 13-play, 68-yard drive to finish off the victory.
 
Hiram got the ball back with 14 seconds left, but Reyero and the Terriers couldn't get much going and fell in their conference opener, 42-14.
 
With the loss, Hiram falls to 1-1 (0-1 NCAC) on the year, while Wabash moves to 2-0 (1-0 NCAC).
 
Offensively, Reyero completed 18-of-29 for 159 yards and a touchdown, while Rogers led the Terriers on the ground with 29 yards and a score.
 
On the receiving end, Marcus Freeman led all Terrier receivers with 45 yards.
 
For Wabash, Thompson went 18-for-25 for 224 yards, four scores and an interception, while Snyder rushed for 138 yards and two scores.
 
Defensively, Delanoe Harris notched a team-high 13 tackles, adding an interception, while Markus Johnson and Sherman Cox each tallied a sack. Johnson added 12 tackles and a tackle for a loss to his line, while Cox also recorded a tackle for a loss, adding six tackles.
 
Hiram will look to bounce back when they hit the road for the first time this season, visiting Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 18 for a 4:30 p.m. conference matchup with the Tigers.