GRANVILLE, Ohio (October 14, 2023) – Josh Aiello compiled three touchdown receptions and had the game-winning touchdown catch with 2:45 left in the game as the Denison University football team pulled out a 28-24 win over Wabash College on Saturday at Piper Stadium.

Starting at their own 26-yard line with 7:34 remaining in the game, two straight runs by Trey Fabrocini picked up a first down, and then a six-yard pass to Jon Adamson on third-and-two picked up another for the Big Red.

Fabrocini picked up the third first down of the drive two plays later before breaking off a 13-yard run for another first down.

A six-yard run by Vincent Cognetta on first down got the Big Red into the redzone, and then a defensive holding call on the next play moved the Big Red up to first-and-goal from the eight yard line.

On the very next play, quarterback Jimmy Stines dialed it up to his guy in the endzone as Aiello made the back-shoulder catch to put the Big Red back in front with 2:45 left to play.

In all, it was an 11-play, 74-yard drive lasting just under five minutes to retake the lead.

On the final drive for Wabash, a tackle for loss by Jeff Moore brought up a fourth-down-and-11 from the Denison 40-yard line. On the next play, Wabash's Liam Thompsen dropped back to pass, but the ball was swatted down by a charging Vince Zelisko to give Denison the ball back with 1:03 remaining.

With Wabash still with two timeouts in its pocket, Fabrocini picked up five yards on his first carry to force the first timeout and then had a four-yard run to force the second timeout. On third-and-one, a three-yard rush by Fabrocini sealed it.

Fabrocini finished with 32 rushes for 142 yards and one touchdown, however, just as impressive on offense was Aiello, who finished with six catches for 95 yards while bringing his season touchdown total to 11, which is tied for the second most touchdown receptions in a single season in program history still with three games to go.

Adamson matched Aiello with six catches and totaled 76 yards while Billy Guzzo hauled in five catches for 62 yards. Throwing the passes was Stines, who finished 19-for-28 for 245 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

To start the game, a nine-yard sack by Clay Denstorff on the second play helped force a three-and-out by Wabash on the opening drive, and then on Denison's second drive of the game, a 37-yard pass from Stines to Guzzo was good for the first first down of the contest for the Big Red.

The drive continued as a 12-yard rush for Fabrocini got the Big Red to first-and-goal from the five-yard line, and three plays later Fabrocini was able to punch it in from three yards out to open the scoring with 2:20 left in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, Wabash responded by opening up the offense and proceeded to roll 75 yards down the field in five plays spanning just over two minutes and ending with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Penn Stoller just before the end of the first quarter.

Denison was able to answer back on its next drive as a big 21-yard completion on third-and-eight from Stines to Aiello moved the chains.

Two plays later, a six-yard pass to Adamson picked up another first down, and that was followed by a 24-yard pass to Aiello, who made a great cut inside to get the Big Red into the redzone. Stines then continued to feed the hot hand as he found Aiello in the back, right corner of the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown catch just over three minutes into the second quarter.

Two plays into the next Wabash drive, Jaylin Epps came up with an interception, and the first play on the ensuing Big Red drive saw Fabrocini run 12 yards for a first down to get the ball to the Little Giants 40-yard line.

Facing a fourth-down-and-one from the 31-yard line, Fabrocini was able to pick up the yard needed to keep the drive alive, but the Big Red were unable to cash in and add to their lead as a missed 44-yard field goal kept it at a one-score game.

Wabash needed just four plays and a big 41-yard pass on its next drive to get into the redzone, but the Big Red defense stiffened with a five-yard sack by Moore and Layton Reesor on third-down-and-seven to force a 35-yard field goal and maintain the lead.

Taking over with only 3:15 remaining in the first half, Denison looked poised to add to its lead as Fabrocini ran for 10 yards and then picked up 14 yards on a reception on the first two plays to get the Big Red into Wabash territory, but he was stuffed on fourth-and-one from the 39-yard line to give the Little Giants the ball back with 1:10 on the clock.

With Wabash driving in the final minute, a nine-yard sack by Zelisko on second-and-eight from the Denison 33-yard line pushed the Little Giants out of field goal range, and then an interception by Jack Nimesheim on fourth down helped preserve the lead at halftime.

After the opening drive of the third quarter, a 65-yard punt by Michael Mead pinned Wabash to its own five-yard line, but the Little Giants would not be deterred as they went 95 yards in 13 plays and converted on fourth down three times, including the last time on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Derek Allen Jr. to make it 17-14 Wabash.

From there, a mistake by Denison on a bobbled transfer by the punter gave Wabash the ball at the Big Red 28-yard line, and two plays later the Little Giants made Denison pay as Thompson ran it right up the gut of the Big Red defense on a quarterback draw that went for a 28-yard touchdown to make it a 10-point game (24-14).

Denison, however, refused to just give in and came right back with a seven-play, 69-yard drive featuring a 29-yard pass to Adamson and ending with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Stines to Aiello to make it 24-21 with exactly three minutes left in the third quarter.

A six-yard sack by Denstorff, his second sack of the game, halted the next Wabash drive near midfield, and then Denison opened up its next drive with a 25-yard catch and run by Adamson, but a fumble on the snap on the very next play flipped the script and gave possession right back to the Little Giants.

The Denison defense was up to the task and forced a three-and-out to start the fourth quarter, and then the next drive for the Big Red faced an early obstacle with a fourth-down-and-one from their own 29-yard line.

Fabrocini was able to rumble across the line for three yards to pick up the first down, but it was all for naught as three plays later an interception at the Wabash 29-yard line stopped the drive in its tracks.

On third-and-three from the Denison 49-yard line on the next Little Giants' drive, a big pass breakup by Christian Lariviere helped forced another three-and-out by the Wabash offense to get Denison the ball back and set up the go-ahead drive.

Leading the defense for Denison was Nimesheim and Moore both with 10 tackles while Nimesheim added an interception and Moore had 1.5 tackles for loss. Collin Murphy and Reesor were both next with seven tackles while Lariviere added six.

It is the first time Denison (4-3 overall, 3-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) has defeated Wabash (4-2, 3-1) in back-to-back games since 1968-69.

Next up, Denison will host its Mission 34 game for mental health awareness at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, vs. the College of Wooster.