Wabash Flies Past OWU
Former Plymouth Rockie Houston Hodges finds his mojo playing at Ohio Wesleyan. Hodges’ three-touchdown effort Saturday boosted Wabash to a 45-13 victory over the Battling Bishops.
“It’s a really nice place to play I guess, there’s a mojo about it,” Hodges said.
In two games at Selby Stadium, Hodges has caught 10 passes for 191 yards and five touchdowns. Hodges quickly pointed out he snagged an interception two years ago at OWU, too.
After some back-and-forth action Saturday through the game’s first 20 minutes, the tenth-ranked Little Giants (5-0, 4-0 NCAC) buried the Bishops (3-2, 2-2 NCAC) with 35 unanswered points. Hodges’ first score put Wabash up 17-13 midway through the second quarter and started the five-touchdown run.
“We call it a ‘PoGo’ and I got him pretty good,” Hodges said about the 35-yard touchdown. “I didn’t think I was going to get him that good, but he bit on a post pretty hard. I had so much time looking back, I just told myself ‘Don’t drop this. Don’t drop this ball.'”
Quarterback Michael Putko connected with Hodges on each touchdown, but Putko did not take all of the snaps. Connor Rice saw playing time, beginning in the second quarter.
“We just wanted to get Connor some action,” Coach Erik Raeburn said. “I felt like he’s done well when he’s gotten in there and he’s been practicing well. We wanted to get him in there earlier instead of late in some of the lopsided wins. It wasn’t a reflection on how Michael played — I thought he played well. It was more to reward Connor for the good things he’s done.”
Putko threw for 168 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-19 passing. Putko also rushed for 74 yards. In limited action, Rice completed 3-of-4 passes for 47 yards.
“They have a different tempo about them,” Hodges said. “Connor likes to go a little faster than Putko. Connor’s ball comes out a little faster too — he has an arm on him. They both commanded the offense really well.”
The Little Giants retook the lead on Hodges’ first touchdown, 17-13. Wabash’s defense pressured Orsini into an interception on the following series. Justin Woods snagged a short, floating pass that led to Putko’s and Hodges’ second score, 24-13. The Little Giants closed the second quarter with Rice at quarterback, who led a quick-strike, three-play scoring drive for the 31-13 halftime score.
More of the same continued for the Wabash in the second half. Mason Zurek scored on the opening drive to make it 38-13, then Hodges caught his final touchdown early in the fourth quarter, 45-13.
“The whole week Coach Raeburn was making sure we’d come out at halftime with the same intensity,” Hodges said. “We’ve kind of been on a roller coaster this season. Every half has been different, but we made sure we didn’t have that today.”
Hodges added six catches and 71 yards to the three touchdowns. Drake Christen led the team with eight receptions for 118 yards. Holmes led Wabash with 124 rushing yards on 21 carries and a score. Zurek added 105 yards and two touchdowns — Saturday was the second time this season the Little Giants had two 100-yard rushers.
The Little Giants go back on the road Saturday traveling to Gambier, OH., to face Kenyon (0-5).
