Scots Unable to Maintain 3rd Quarter Momentum, Lose at Witt
Wooster football settles for 5-5 season after 42-6 loss to rival Tigers
Wittenberg University scored two touchdowns within the opening 27 seconds of the fourth quarter, pulling away from The College of Wooster as the Tigers completed their perfect season and outright North Coast Athletic Conference championship with a 42-6 victory in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday.
Wooster (5-5, 4-3 NCAC) had the momentum throughout the third quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 14-yard reverse by senior wide receiver Luke McCann to close within 21-6 and driving the ball 33 yards to midfield on its second possession before punting away at the 4:29 mark.
Then, Wittenberg (10-0, 7-0 NCAC), ranked No. 11 by the American Football Coaches Association and No. 12 by D3football.com, dashed any hopes of a comeback with its second 80-plus yard touchdown drive of the afternoon. The Tigers converted a pair of 3rd-and-5's in their own territory, the second of which was followed by a 33-yard pass play and an 11-yard pass from Aaron Huffman to Josh McKee for a score on the first play of the fourth quarter. That made it 28-6.
The ensuing offensive play resulted in an interception, giving Wittenberg the ball back at the 32, and it took just one play for the Tigers to cover the 32 yards as they used a lateral to wide receiver Patrick Williams, who in turn threw to running back Conner Warye for a touchdown and 35-6 cushion.
Playing against NCAA Div. III's top-ranked defense, both in terms of scoring (5.2 ppg) and yardage (152.7 ypg), the Scots became just the second team this season to produce 200-plus yards against Wittenberg. Wooster finished with 206, 181 of which were courtesy of senior quarterback Austin Holter. He led the team in rushing with 58 yards on 14 attempts and completed 15-of-27 passes for 123 yards, while becoming the school's single-season and career leader in total offense at 2,857 and 7,443 yards, respectively.
Another Scot senior, outside linebacker Matt DeGrand, closed his career in style as he was credited with a personal-best 20 tackles, including 12 solos.