Greg Mangan (So.) completed 26 of 35 passes for 338 yards against Wabash

October 21, 2006 -- In a battle between two of the top-ranked teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Oberlin football team was defeated by visiting Wabash this afternoon, 20-48. After winning three straight NCAC contests, Head Coach Jeff Ramsey's Yeomen slid to 3-1 in conference play and 4-3 overall. The Little Giants bettered their record to 5-2 and 4-1 in the NCAC.

Sophomore quarterback Greg Mangan had another extremely solid game for Oberlin, as he completed 26 of 35 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns; however, the Wabash defense accumulated 10 sacks on the day and held Oberlin's potent rushing game to -55 yards. R.V. Carroll (So.), who entered today's game ranked sixth in the nation in yards per game, was limited to just 24 yards on nine carries after the Yeomen's offense was forced to rely on the passing game in the second half.

Heading into the second quarter, it appeared as if fans at Dill Field were going to be treated to a down-to-the-wire NCAC battle. Wabash's Mike Russell scored on a 36-yard pass from Dustin Huff with 5:40 minutes left in the first quarter and Oberlin responded just two minutes later with a 36-yard touchdown connection of its own (Mangan to junior wide receiver Cassius Harris). Oberlin missed the extra point on the touchdown to trail 6-7 after one quarter.

Things began to go downhill for the Yeomen quickly in the second quarter, though, as Wabash blocked a punt and tallied four touchdowns, two coming from running back DonJuan Brown. Russell and Huff connected again with just seven seconds left in the first half to take a 35-6 lead into the intermission.

Oberlin dominated the second half, out-scoring the Little Giants 14-13, but the 0-28 second quarter proved to be too much for the Yeomen to overcome. In the third quarter, first-year running back Wayne Mundekis took a pitch and then passed to junior wide receiver James Brady for a four-yard score. Carroll caught a pass from Mangan with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter and then sprinted 39 yards for a touchdown.

Mangan distributed the ball to a number of different Yeomen this afternoon, with Harris catching a game-high nine passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. Carroll had seven receptions for 88 yards and a score, while sophomore wide receiver had five catches for 67 yards.

Defensively, junior transfer Chase Palmer continued to impress, as he tallied a game-high 9.5 tackles with five solos. Junior Chris Pisani added six tackles, while senior co-captain Andy Estep racked up five tackles, one sack, and two tackles for a loss. Sophomore defensive back Kris DeVant picked up his second interception of the season as well.

Huff finished the game 16-31 with three touchdowns and one pick. Russell caught seven passes for 122 yards and two scores, while Brown rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns. Wabash's defense was paced by Adrian Pynenberg, who had 8.5 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and three sacks for 27 yards.

After today's game, Mangan's efficiency rating is at 159.68 as he has completed 128 of his 191 pass attempts with 1,707 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just three interceptions. Carroll's yards per game average slipped a bit (122.7) , while Palmer increased his team-leading tackle total to 49.

Oberlin will welcome Wittenberg University next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. NCAC battle at Dill Field. The Tigers (4-3, 3-1 NCAC) earned their first conference loss of the season today as they fell 10-17 to host Ohio Wesleyan University.

Box Score