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| Taylor Trout |
WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions and Taylor Trout had a 56-yard interception return for a score to highlight the second half, as the Fighting Scots' North Coast Athletic Conference championship aspirations remain intact with a 31-6 win over Kenyon College Saturday afternoon at a chilly John P. Papp Stadium.
The victory, coupled with Wittenberg University's 34-17 triumph against Wabash College, means Wooster (5-4, 4-1 NCAC) will be trying to force a three-way tie for the NCAC title in the regular season finale next week when it hosts rival Wittenberg (9-0, 5-0 NCAC). Wabash has completed its league slate at 5-1.
Against Kenyon (0-9, 0-5 NCAC), the Scots set the tone when they converted a 3rd-and-22 play on the opening series. That play saw Richard Barnes buy some time and eventually find Zack Weidrick open on the left sideline for 25 yards, and eight plays later, Brendon Taylor toted it in from one yard out, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive and marking the freshman running back's first collegiate touchdown.
A three-and-out by the defense followed and Wooster's offense then marched 63 yards in eight plays, with Barnes finishing the possession via a seven-yard touchdown rush up the middle to make it 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, the Lords missed a 41-yard field goal on 4th-and-inches, and the Scots turned right around to score just two plays later via a 21-yard pass to Mike Redick with a 15-yard personal foul tacked on and a 40-yard pass into the end zone to running back Robert Flagg, who had sprinted past the defense. That turned out to be all of the first half scoring, as Wooster took a 21-0 cushion into the locker room.
The Lords, who misfired on three field goals, finally got on the board during the third quarter. Using a short field, they scored in three plays when Dan Shannon hit Charles Small in the left flat of the end zone from 20 yards out. Kenyon's kicking troubles continued, as it missed the point after, which put the score at 21-6.
The Scots' ensuing drive ended quickly on a fumble, but the Lords were unable to maintain the momentum. Four plays later, Trout read the quarterback's eyes, picking off a short pass to the right side and sprinting untouched into the end zone for his third career touchdown and a 28-6 lead.
Wooster would collect another takeaway just two plays later, as Eric Keyes recovered a fumble off a bad snap. The Scots' offense would translate that into a Russ Palm 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for the game's final points.
Overall, Wooster outgained Kenyon 317-283 in total offense.
Barnes completed 15-of-24 passes for 210 yards, with about half of his targets going to Redick, who finished with eight catches and his second-straight 100-yard receiving game (104). Flagg was held in check in the rushing game with 54 yards on 19 attempts, but made his impact felt with 80 receiving yards.
For Kenyon, Brett Williams was extremely active as he led the team in both rushing and receiving, combining for 124 yards (78 on 21 rushes and 46 on five receptions). Shannon finished the day 21-of-32 through the air for 165 yards.
Next Saturday, NCAC championship and postseason implications will be on the line when Wittenberg and Wooster kickoff at 1 p.m.