Ten years ago this month, Wabash shocked Wittenberg 46-43 in overtime in one of the greatest games in North Coast Athletic Conference history.

Wittenberg’s 30-game NCAC winning streak ended that day, but a rivalry was born. The teams have met 13 times in league play since Wabash joined the league in 2000. Wabash leads 7-6, while Wittenberg holds the overall points advantage, for whatever it’s worth, at 302-292. That’s about as close as you can get after so many games.

It’s one of the great rivalries in Division III football, and it continues with a 1 p.m. homecoming game at Edwards-Maurer Field today.

“They’re a good team,” Wittenberg junior linebacker Spencer Leno said. “The quarterback is a great player. The offensive line is big and strong. They have good running backs and receivers. It’s definitely going to be a challenge.”

The Tigers lost 28-17 last season at Wabash in one of the uglier games in series history. Both teams had costly turnovers and special teams errors, but Wabash held on after a dominant 21-0 first half and clinched the NCAC title after a two-year run by the Tigers.

“We weren’t ready,” Leno said. “They wanted it more than us.”

The Tigers (4-0, 2-0 NCAC) already have a one-game edge on No. 16 Wabash (3-1, 1-1 NCAC) in the conference because two weeks ago Wabash lost 20-17 in overtime at home to Allegheny. Wabash senior quarterback Chase Belton struggled in that game (14-of-32 for 137 yards and 28 rushing yards), but made up for it last week in a 54-28 rout of Carnegie Mellon (13-of-23 for 183 passing yards and 20 rushes for 193 yards).

“Wabash is Wabash. They’re not going to show up and play poorly against Wittenberg,” Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham said. “Hopefully, we won’t play poorly either. I’ve had teams here after special seasons — and Wabash had a pretty special season last year — where it can be hard to get their attention when they’re playing teams that maybe they walloped the year before. I’m assuming that’s what happened (against Allegheny), but obviously I don’t get to go to practice every day in Crawfordsville.”

Wittenberg had troubles of its own last week, hanging on for a 14-10 victory at Case Western Reserve despite recording two first downs in the second half.

“The offense is about flow and rhythm and all those things,” Fincham said. “We just got out of rhythm and out of flow. That’s the way it can go. Hopefully, we’ll find our groove this week. You make a couple of plays, and things start going your way.”

The home team is 9-4 in the series since 2000. The Tigers have won 20 straight home games, dating back to Oct. 18, 2008, a 13-10 loss to Wabash.

“We haven’t lost at home in a while,” Leno said, “and we want to keep it that way.”