Cameron Daniels and field judge Barry Wilson both signal after Daniels' fourth-quarter touchdown, which gave the Fighting Scots a 17-16 lead.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Wittenberg University quarterback Ben Zoeller scored on a four-yard touchdown rush with 1:23 remaining to take a 22-17 lead, and The College of Wooster was unable to answer on its final possession, as the No. 9 ranked Tigers completed their perfect regular season while escaping John P. Papp Stadium with the outright North Coast Athletic Conference championship on Saturday afternoon.

Wooster (5-5, 4-2 NCAC) entered the day with hopes of earning a piece of the NCAC title and when it went up 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter, followed by the defense making a three-and-out, the Fighting Scots appeared on their way to sharing the conference crown with Wabash College (8-2, 5-1 NCAC) and Wittenberg (10-0, 6-0 NCAC) and quite possibly knocking the Tigers out of the postseason.

With that one-point lead, the Scots got the ball back at their own 32 and 6:22 to play. They converted one third-down play when Richard Barnes hit Jordan McIntyre on a swing pass to the left for four yards, but three plays later on 3rd-and-11, a pass was deflected at the line and Wittenberg's Ty Whittington came down with an interception right at midfield.

Then, Three Zoeller passes of 18 yards to Josh McKee, 10 to Michael Cooper, and 18 to Anthony Kralich, the last coming on a 3rd-and-10 set up the Tigers at the four-yard line. On 1st-and-goal Zoeller took it himself right up the middle for what turned out to be the winning score.

After Girard Ogletree-Crawford returned the ensuing kickoff to the 32-yard line at the 1:17 mark, Wooster attempted a hook-and-ladder play that lost a couple of yards and then Wittenberg's defensive line came up with a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, and a seven-yard sack to seal the outcome.

Early on, the Scots were in control, winning the field-position battle, and the offense took advantage on its third series. Starting from its own 42, Wooster went the 58 yards in just eight plays, with Robert Flagg rushing it in from four yards out for his 10th touchdown of the season and a 7-0 lead.

The Scots would continue to have the better field position, as Dana Obery pinned the Tigers at their own two-yard line with a 35-yard punt early in the second quarter. Two plays later, though, Zoeller went deep to the right and hit Kralich, who made the catch despite getting interfered with and stayed on his feet, turning it into a 71-yard play. The Scots' defense held firm from there, forcing Wittenberg into a 38-yard field goal attempt that Sean Williams booted through.

Williams would add a 24-yarder, capping an 11-play, 76-yard drive on the Tigers' next possession to pull within 7-6.

Wooster responded, as Russ Palm kicked a 36-yard field goal, ending a 12-play, 53-yard series right before halftime. The key plays were a Wittenberg personal foul penalty that gave the Scots an automatic first down on a 3rd-and-24 and a 26-yard pass from Barnes to Kyle Murdock.

With Wooster leading 10-6, neither offense mounted much of a threat during the third quarter until the Tigers got going with a 17-play, 78-yard possession. The Scots held them out of the end zone, though, forcing them into a short field goal, which Williams hit from 21 yards out to make it 10-9.

On the next play from scrimmage, the first of the fourth quarter, Barnes was intercepted by Jamaal Everett. Wittenberg converted the takeaway into a touchdown, as six plays later, McKee got free for a 43-yard touchdown pass from Zoeller. The Tigers elected to go with the extra point, while taking their first lead of the day at 16-10.

Thanks to a short kickoff that went out-of-bounds and an offside penalty, Wooster took over at midfield. The Scots went the 50 yards in 11 plays, converting three third downs, including a 3rd-and-15 from the 19 when Barnes had plenty of time in the pocket to find tight end Cameron Daniels open in the right side of the end zone for a touchdown, as they went back ahead 17-16 at the 7:39 mark.

The Tigers would make the big plays down the stretch to pull out the victory.

Statistically, Barnes completed 27 passes – the third-most in team history – out of 47 attempts for 193 yards. Flagg was the leading receiver, hauling in 10 out of the backfield for 47 yards, and he also rushed the ball 16 times for 66 yards.

Also noteworthy for the Scots, Mike Redick set the single-season receptions record, finishing with 69, Obery punted the ball very well, averaging 42.7 yards, and Jeremy Petit had two interceptions.

The Wooster defense held Zoeller under 50 percent passing (19-for-40), but he did rack up 304 yards, with 152 going to McKee on eight receptions. The Tigers attempted to establish the run game, but were largely unsuccessful as their leading rusher was Corey Weber with 55 yards on 20 carries.

McKee was the difference in the game, as was Wittenberg's defensive end Eddie Vallery, who had 2.0 sacks and another four quarterback hurries, as well as a team-high 10 tackles.