Justin Rice celebrates after his first-quarter touchdown catch.

WOOSTER, Ohio – As expected, it was a challenging season opener for The College of Wooster. Washington & Jefferson College, a 2012 NCAA Div. III Championship participant, broke open the game early, keyed by a pick six, and eventually secured a 58-21 decision over the Fighting Scots in front of a near-capacity crowd at John P. Papp Stadium Saturday night.

Washington & Jefferson (1-0) scored touchdowns on its first two offensive possessions, then when Wooster's offense had moved the ball just outside of the red zone on its second series, the Presidents' Marlon Brown made a good read on a wide receiver screen pass, picked the ball off, and returned it 75 yards to make it 21-0 just 7:31 into the action.

Wooster (0-1) settled in after that. In fact, the very next drive, the Scots went 66 yards in just five plays, with the key plays being a Keir Pace catch-and-run for 33 yards and Richard Barnes hitting a well-covered Justin Rice in the left side of the end zone from 18 yards away for the score.

Next, the defense forced Washington & Jefferson into a 3rd-and-long on the ensuing possession, however, the Presidents converted and later Dion Wiegand rushed one in from nine yards out, marking his third touchdown of the opening quarter. So instead of escaping the opening quarter down by two touchdowns, Wooster trailed 28-7.

The two offenses exchanged touchdown marches on the first three series of the second quarter, with freshman Darrian Owens reaching over a Presidents' defender for a six-yard touchdown reception from Barnes. That brought the Scots within 21 again (35-14), but Washington & Jefferson answered for a 42-14 lead, which remained the score at halftime.

For Wooster, the second half was highlighted by a two-play, 76-yard drive late in the third quarter. First, Barnes found tight end Jesse Lane up the middle of the field for a 44-yard pass, and on the very next play, running back Sean Hackel found a hole on the right side, then sprinted down the sideline for a 32-yard score. It marked the junior's first career touchdown.

Overall, the Scots' new up-tempo offense generated 20 first downs and 387 yards on 79 plays, but it could not keep up with the Presidents, who finished with 551 yards.

Barnes finished the night 9-of-23 for 183 yards. His numbers could have been better, but there were several dropped passes, while Hackel combined for 222 all-purpose yards, 148 rushing on 29 carries in his first collegiate start in the offensive backfield.

Washington & Jefferson's Matt Bliss was highly efficient as the senior left-hander completed 27-of-33 pass attempts for 312 yards, with Dan Lucas and Alex Baroffio his top targets. They each had 96 receiving yards on a combined 19 catches. Wiegand netted 128 yards on 19 rushes.

Two of the game's defensive standouts were Labaron Sylvester, who forced one fumble and recovered another for Wooster, and the Presidents' defensive tackle Jon Turner, who made 2.0 sacks. They were both credited with nine tackles.

Wooster now has two weeks to prepare for its North Coast Athletic Conference opener, as the Scots will take on Oberlin College Sept. 21.