Hanover To Play Wabash In Inaugural Opendorse Bowl Series Game

Game will be played at Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio

CANTON, Ohio - The match-ups for the inaugural Opendorse Bowl Series, featuring the ForeverLawn Bowl and Extra Points Bowl, were announced Sunday night. The games will be played on November 23 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

The ForeverLawn Bowl will feature football programs from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) and the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), while The Extra Points Bowl will be a match-up between programs from the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and the Presidents’Athletic Conference (PAC).

The Opendorse Bowl Series schedule will be:

Game 1: ForeverLawn Bowl - Hanover vs. Wabash (1:00 p.m. ET)

95.3 WIKI WILL CARRY THIS GAME BEGINNING AT 12:40 PM LARRY AND ROB WILL BE IN CANTON GAME CAN BE HEARD ONLINE AT 953WIKI.COM 

Game 2: Extra Points Bowl - Marietta vs. Westminster (Pa.) (6:00 p.m. ET)

The teams in the Opendorse Bowl Series are determined by each conference based on preset guidelines.

Meet the 2024 Opendorse Bowl Series Teams

Hanover College will compete in the ForeverLawn Bowl on behalf of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Under the direction of head coach Matt Theobald, the Hanover Panthers finished HCAC play 5-1. The Panthers are led by sophomore quarterback Eian Roudebush (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine). Roudebush has thrown for 2,336 yards, with 199 completions off 289 attempts and 29 touchdowns this season. On the ground, the Blue and Red are led by senior running back Austin Oppel (Brandenburg, Ky./Meade County) with 431 yards (47.89 avg yards/game). Through the air, the Panthers are led by fifth-year wide receiver Eric Roudebush (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine). Roudebush has a total of 455 yards on the season and six touchdowns with an average of 45.50 yards/game.

Defensively, the Blue and Red are led by first year defensive back Brian Wall (Sellersburg, Ind./Our Lady of Providence) with 64.0 tackles (45 solo, 19 assisted and 6 of those tackles being for a loss). On special teams, wide receiver Eric Roudebush shows his athleticism by also handling the punting duties, leading the team with 1,359 yards off 35 punts, for an average of 38.83 yards, while sophomore kicker, Clint Hearne (Madison, Ind./Madison Consolidated) is currently 7-8 on field goals with his longest make being 52 yards. Fellow kicker, first year Johnathan Tally (Salem, Ind./Salem) has had 60 kickoffs, for a total of 3,136 yards with an average of 52.3 yards.

Wabash will represent the North Coast Athletic Conference in the ForeverLawn Bowl. Under the guidance of Jake Gilbert, who steps into the head coach role after the retirement of Don Morel, the Little Giants are led by sophomore quarterback Brand Campbell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) who has thrown for 1,750 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Junior running back Xavier Tyler (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) leads the Wabash ground attack, compiling 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season. Senior wide receiver Connor Thompson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) has produced nine total touchdowns for the Little Giants.

On defense, senior linebacker Gavin Ruppert (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) leads Wabash in tackles with a team-high 83, including a team-best 48 solo and 35 assisted. Junior center backs Mike Holsclaw (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) and Michael Hegwood (Greenwood, Ind/Roncalli) and Ruppert have combined for eight interceptions; Holsclaw owns four, while Ruppert and Hegwood have two interceptions apiece.

Westminster College will represent the Presidents’Athletic Conference in the Extra Points Bowl. Led by head coach Scott Benzel, the Titans finished 7-3 overall this season and 7-3 in the conference. Westminster finished fourth in the PAC this season and earned their fifth postseason bid in the last six years.

Offensively, Westminster is a balanced team, averaging 200.5 yards per game through the air and 164.3 on the ground. Junior QB Ty McGowan (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon) leads the attack, as he threw for 1,521 yards and 10 TDs with only three interceptions. Nine different Titans scored rushing TDs this season, but graduate student Ryan Gomes (Tampa Fla./Walter L. Sickles) led the ground game with 343 rushing yards and five scores.

The top wideout for McGowan through the air was senior Jalen Washington (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) with 33 receptions for 548 yards and four touchdowns. Another top target was freshman Brite Cannon (Parkland, Fla./Monarch) with 31 catches for 386 yards and two TDs. Also a dangerous return man, Cannon took three punt returns and a kickoff return for touchdowns during the season, as the Titans had seven special teams TDs.

Defensively, Westminster was fourth in the PAC by allowing just 15.3 points per game. Junior linebacker Dylan Sleva (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon) finished fourth in the conference with 89 tackles, including 51 solo stops. A big presence up front for the Titans was senior defensive lineman Jean Garry Joseph (North Miami, Fla./Ebenezer Christian) with 14 TFLs, sixth in the PAC, which included a team-high five sacks.

Marietta will represent the Ohio Athletic Conference in the Extra Points Bowl. Led by 12th-year head coach Andy Waddle, the Pioneers finished the regular season 7-2 in the OAC and 8-2 overall. Senior quarterback Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood) has thrown for 2,403 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, which is second in the OAC. Junior running back Vante’ Hodges (Horn Lake, Miss/Horn Lake) has also been a force for Marietta’s offense this season, top-five in the OAC rushing 73.7 yards per game and 9 touchdowns on the season.

Anchored by preseason All-Americans Chance Knight (Bridgeport, OH/Linsly School) and Harley Hopkins (Zanesville, OH/West Muskingum), the Pioneer defense is among the best in the country. Knight is currently 7th in the NCAA and leads the OAC in sacks with 12.0 on the season, Hopkins is 7th in the OAC with 5.5 sacks. Hopkins 3rd in the OAC averaging 8.6 tackles per game.

Tickets are on sale now at TicketMaster. General admission tickets are $20, while club seats are $40. Club seat ticket holders will be granted exclusive access to the climate-controlled club lounge, where beverages, including alcohol, will be available. The club lounge is the only public area of the stadium to serve alcoholic beverages. Ticket holders have access to both Opendorse Bowl Series games.

Additionally, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has generously offered all ticket holders a $6 discount to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as a 20 percent discount at the Hall of Fame Store, through Sunday, Nov. 24.

Opendorse, the leading NIL company and athlete marketplace, will sponsor the series while also providing year-round NIL services to the participating conferences. In addition to bringing together top teams from each conference in a celebration of Division III football excellence, all student-athletes from each conference will benefit from NIL opportunities and ongoing education.

ExtraPoints:

Extra Points is a leading newsletter covering business, policy and off-the-field stories in the college athletics industry. Founded in 2020 by former SB Nation employee Matt Brown, Extra Points now reaches over 25,000 athletic directors, conference commissioners, professors, executives, and die-hard college sports fans.

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