No. 22 Wabash Edges Wooster 21-17 in NCAC Opener

Down by four and with possession of the ball at midfield in the final minute, The College of Wooster had an opportunity to pull off a win over No. 22 ranked Wabash College, but the Little Giants intercepted a 4th-down pass to hang on for the 21-17 triumph in the teams' North Coast Athletic Conference opener at Crawfordsville, Ind.

Trailing 21-7 entering the fourth quarter, Wooster (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) mounted a furious comeback. First, the Fighting Scots completed a six-play, 62-yard drive that had begun late in the third, with Robert Flagg scoring on a 14-yard touchdown rush as he was virtually untouched right up the middle.

On the ensuing possession, the Wooster defense turned away a strong push by Wabash (1-0, 1-0 NCAC). After the Little Giants advanced the ball all the way down to the four-yard line for a 1st-and-goal, Rob Holtz and Dan Terhune each produced a 15-yard sack, Holtz on 1st-down and Terhune on 3rd, and they turned it over on downs.

The Scots proceeded to gain four first downs, moving inside the red zone, but the offensive series stalled as they had to settle for a Russ Palm 37-yard field goal with 3:53 remaining.

Wabash was able to work the clock down a little with one first down and then Wooster's defense forced a punt. The Scots took over on their own 34-yard line with :51 left and no timeouts, and Richard Barnes started their last drive by finding Mike Redick for a 16-yard pass play.

That would be Wooster's last yards, though, as after Barnes spiked the ball to stop the clock, two incomplete passes and a game-sealing interception by Jonathon Koop ensued.

Despite recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff and Quinn Hood's interception on the Little Giants' second play from scrimmage, the Scots found themselves down 14-0 after one quarter. Wooster missed a field goal on its initial possession, and after the interception, gave it back to Wabash with another interception.

Shortly thereafter, Wes Chamblee caught a wide receiver screen on the right side and sprinted down the sideline for a 72-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Chase Belton hit Jonathan Horn in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass, capping a six-play, 66-yard possession.

Midway through the second quarter, the Scots got on the scoreboard, when on 4th-and-goal, Barnes scrambled for a five-yard touchdown run, and it remained 14-7 at the half.

The lone scoring of the third was a two-yard touchdown rush for the Little Giants' Tommy Mambourg, finishing off an eight-play, 79-yard drive.

Overall, the two teams traded three turnovers apiece, combined for 19 penalties, and Wabash outgained Wooster 393-295, however, the Scots did have more first downs (19-18).

Barnes, Wooster's freshman quarterback, was again solid, completing just over half his 29 passes (15) for 184 yards and rushing for another 42. His top targets in the passing game were Redick with six catches for 66 yards and Cameron Daniels with five for 74, and Flagg led all rushers with 86 stripes on 17 carries.

Also of note, Terhune had 3.0 sacks, just one short of the school record and the most by a Scot since Evan Watson had three against Hiram College Oct. 29, 2005.

Belton was 16-for-26 through the air for 250 yards and netted a team-high 81 on the ground, despite four sacks. Horn had 108 yards on eight receptions.

Wooster will look to get into the win column next Saturday when it welcomes Oberlin College (1-0) to John P. Papp Stadium for the 2010 home opener.