The Case Western Reserve University struggled to regain its footing after three lightning delays and a venue change on Saturday afternoon, as Wabash College scored 17 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 38-28 win over the Spartans in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

The loss dropped the Spartans to 0-1-1 on the season while Wabash improved to 2-0. 

Stats & Standouts

• Making the first start of his career, junior quarterback Sam DeTillio completed 13-of-19 passes for 176 yards while running the ball 17 times for a team-high 40 yards and two touchdowns.

• Junior wide receiver Liam O'Brien caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, all team-highs on Saturday.

• Senior linebacker Daniel King finished with a career-high 15 total tackles (five solo), including 0.5 tackles for loss.

• Sophomore defensive back Jake Kavcic had six tackles (two solo), including one sack, and notched his first career interception, while also recording a rushing touchdown in the game.

• Senior defensive back Osi Chukwuocha had nine tackles (five solo), two tackles for loss, and two pass breakups in the contest.

First Quarter

• For the second-straight week, the Spartans were forced to deal with weather, as the game was delayed for an hour due to lightning in the Crawfordsville area.

• When play began, Wabash was able to take a 7-0 lead with 10:56 left in the frame on a 20-yard touchdown pass.

• CWRU evened the score on its next drive. The Spartans converted a fourth and three from their own 38-yard line with a fake punt, as DeTillio completed a 12-yard pass to sophomore linebacker Vinny Hack. Nine plays later, DeTillio capped off a 14-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to even the score at 7-7 with 3:19 left to play in the first.

• Jake Kavcic picked off a pass on the next drive and returned it 29 yards to give the Spartans possession on the Wabash 31-yard line. Three plays later, DeTillio gave the Spartans a 14-7 lead with a 24-yard scamper into the endzone on a draw play up the middle with 17 seconds left in the period, as CWRU carried a seven-point lead into the second period.

Second Quarter

• The Spartans remained ahead by a touchdown until the 7:58 mark in the second, when Brand Campbell evened the score with a quarterback keeper for the Little Giants from two yards out. After a three-and-out for CWRU on its next drive, a five-yard touchdown run from Xavier Tyler put the Little Giants back in front 21-14 with 3:20 to play in the half.

• The Wabash lead was short-lived once again, as CWRU responded with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in just 89 seconds. DeTillio completed passes of 23 yards to sophomore wide receiver Will Stack and 40 yards to graduate student wide receiver Brian Caldwell Jr., before Jake Kavcic scored on a four-yard run on an end-around play to even the score at 21-21 with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter.

• The clock ran out on Wabash as its last drive of the half stalled on the Spartans' six-yard line, and the teams went into halftime knotted at 21-21.

Third Quarter

• The Spartans sat through their fourth lightning delay of the season and second of the day to begin the second half. Play resumed after a little bit more than an hour, before another lightning strike forced a third delay after 1:15 ran off the clock in the third quarter. Gameplay resumed several hours later at Crawfordsville High School, since Little Giant Stadium does not have lights.

• After play resumed, the score remained 21-21 through the end of the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Wabash took the lead on a field goal early in the fourth quarter and went on to add a pair of touchdowns, going ahead 38-21 with 4:54 left in the game.

• CWRU scored a late touchdown on a 15-yard pass from junior quarterback Andrew Lowe to O'Brien with 1:05 left to play, cutting Wabash's lead back to 10 points, 38-28. The Spartans attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Little Giants, who were able to run out the clock for the win.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU fell to 0-3 all-time against Wabash with the previous two meetings taking place during the second round of the 2007 playoffs and the first round of the 2008 playoffs, both at DiSanto Field.

• Lowe's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to O'Brien was the first touchdown of each player's career.

• The Spartans finished the game with 284 total yards of offense, including 235 yards through the air.

• CWRU dominated time of possession in the game, holding the ball for 35:29 compared to just 24:31 for Wabash.

Up Next

The Spartans will begin their Presidents' Athletic Conference schedule next weekend when the team welcomes Westminster College to DiSanto Field in Cleveland for CWRU's home opener on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.