Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw ran three offensive plays in the first 1:28 of the third quarter and two of them resulted in touchdown and helped send the Tigers on to a 42-21 Monon Bell Game win over Wabash on Nick Mourouzis Field at Blackstock Stadium in the 130th meeting between the two schools and 92nd for possession of the bell. The Tigers, ranked eighth in the latest Division III coaches' poll and ninth by D3football.com, improved to 10-0 and finished North Coast Athletic Conference play at 8-0 for the program's fourth straight outright title. Wabash dropped to 8-2 overall and finished conference play with a 7-1 mark. DePauw has earned the NCAC's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III Championship and the bracket will be announced tomorrow at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.

After stopping the Little Giants on a three-and-out on the opening drive of the game, the Tigers needed just six plays to drive 43 yards, but the Wabash defense stopped DePauw on downs. The Tigers forced another punt and then drove 66 yards in six plays with Nathan McCahill teaming with Lleyton Lukowski on a 35-yard scoring pass with 5:01 left in the period. 

After another defensive stand, DePauw took over on its 45 and drove to the Wabash 10, but Matthew Berry's 28-yard field goal was off the mark. Wabash picked up its initial first down on its opening drive of the second quarter, but was forced to punt for the fourth time. DePauw then drove to the Wabash 2, but Mike Holsclaw picked off McCahill at the 6 to end the threat. 

Following another Wabash punt DePauw pushed the lead to 14-0 when McCahill connected with Quigley on a 28-yard score with 1:54 left in the half. 

Wabash reached the scoreboard when Brand Campbell connected with Connor Thompson for a 16-yard score with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

The momentum Wabash took into the halftime quickly shifted on the first offensive play of the second half when McCahill found Quigley for a 75-yard score. Wabash muffed a fair catch on the ensuing kickoff and recovered on its 5. DePauw linebacker Jonathan Bruder picked off Campbell at the Wabash 16 on the Little Giants' second play and the Tigers capitalized with McCahill completing a 9-yard pass to Whitehead on first down before Whitehead scored on the next play with a 6-yard run to push the lead to 28-7 with 13:32 remaining in the quarter.

Wabash came right back as Cole Dickerson scored on a 5-yard run which capped a 10-play, 45-yard drive and closed the gap to 28-14 with 8:44 left in the third.

The Little Giants forced DePauw to punt for the first and only time on the Tigers' next possession and drove to the DePauw 26 early in the fourth, but the Tigers' defense stopped Wabash short of a first down at the Tigers' 12.

DePauw then took 7:08 off the clock with an 11-play, 88-yard series wrapped up with Whitehead's 2-yard run to make it 35-14 with 6:16 remaining in the game. Whitehead collected 82 rushing yards on the possession including a 45-yard scamper on third-and-20.

The Tigers stopped Wabash on downs on the next series and it took just two plays before McCahill and Quigley teamed again for a 54-yard score.

Wabash's final points came on Campbell's 15-yard pass to TJ Alexander with 34 seconds left. 

DePauw outgained Wabash, 543-318, and the 543 yards of offense were the most by a Tigers' team against the Little Giants. That included a 244-30 advantage on the ground. 

Whitehead rushed for a career-high 199 yards on 27 carries and two scores, while McCahill completed 15-of-19 passes for 299 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Whitehead's 199 yards were the most by a DePauw player in a Bell game, eclipsing the record of 190 by Bart Simpson in 1973. Quigley led the way with 157 receiving yards on just three catches with each going for scores. Lukowski caught four for 74 yards and one touchdown.

Dickerson rushed for 36 yard on 11 carries with Campbell connecting on 21-of-33 passes for 284 yards and two scores along with an interception. Thompson caught seven for 80 yards and a score with Connor Garrity and Alexander each hauling in five for 87 and 80 yards, respectively.

Jake Comer led the DePauw defense with 10 tackles, while Bruder added eight. Luke Nolan finished with 3.0 sacks for 16 yards as the Tigers totaled six as a team. 

Gavin Ruppert paced Wabash with 14 tackles including a pair for losses, while Samuel Ringer finished with nine.

NOTES

• DePauw has now won three straight home games in the rivalry for the first time since 1945
• The Tigers' 543 yards of offense were the most against Wabash in the history of the series and pushed DePauw's season total to a school-record 5,110 yards
• DePauw's senior class extended its program record to 38 wins (38-6).
• The victory marked the 40th for head coach Brett Dietz who is now 40-6 in five seasons
• DePauw has won three straight in the rivalry for the first time since 2000
• The win was DePauw's 24th straight regular season victory, its 12th straight home win and its 20th consecutive conference win
• DePauw is the first NCAC  team to win four straight outright championships since Wittenberg (1998-2001)
• McCahill's four touchdown passes matched the DePauw Bell Game record held by Jeff Voris (1989) and Wally Renie (2022)
• Quigley's three touchdown catches equaled the DePauw Monon Bell Game record held by Jamie Cunha (1996)
• With the win, DePauw closed Wabash's lead in the series to 63-58-9 and 44-42-6 in Monon Bell games
• Today's meeting was the 61st in Greencastle with each team winning 29 times and tying on three occasions
• Out of a possible 600 minutes this season, DePauw has only trailed for 13:02