Stephen McKinney

For the second time in three weeks, The College of Wooster is playing a nationally-ranked foe, this time traveling to North Coast Athletic Conference rival Wittenberg University (4-1, 4-0 NCAC), No. 18 in both the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com top-25 polls, on Saturday, Oct. 19. This will mark the second time they have played under the lights, with Wooster having hosted Wittenberg in the first night game of the all-time series last season, a close 17-7 win for the Tigers. Saturday's kickoff at 3,000-seat Edwards-Maurer Field is set for 6 p.m. EDT.

On the Air: Wooster's football games can be heard live each week in the Wooster area on WKVX 960 AM or on the radio station's website at http://wkvx.com/.

Wittenberg will be providing live video at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wit.portal#.

All-Time Series: Wittenberg and Wooster have put on some very memorable games, with nearly half of the last 17 (eight) having been decided by eight points or less, highlighted by the epic 2004 match-up, which the Fighting Scots won 64-58 in overtime after the Tigers came back from 48-17 and 58-37 deficits, and forced the extra session when they scored on 4th down from the 3-yard line with just :15 left. Despite all of the close games, Wittenberg has been a nemesis for Wooster, as the Tigers lead the all-time series 34-12-1.

Last Week: On Oct. 12, the Scots scored 26 unanswered points on host Allegheny College during the second and third quarters, and in the fourth, sealed the outcome with an 18-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that put them ahead 33-16, which held up as the final score, in an NCAC match-up in Meadville, Pa.

Wooster got off to a slow start, as winless Allegheny scored the game's first 10 points via a 29-yard field goal on the first possession and a touchdown early in the second quarter.

On the ensuing series, the Scots got on the board. They had a touchdown taken away via a penalty, but Tyler Gerwig (Doylestown, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) came through with a 42-yard field goal to close the 10-play, 50-yard possession and make it 10-3. That was the longest field goal by a Wooster kicker since Sept. 28, 2002, when Richie McNally booted one the same length in a 27-22 victory against Case Western Reserve University.

Next, the Scots' defense pinned the Gators deep in their own territory, keyed by a 12-yard sack credited to Todd Ulmer (Greensburg, Pa. / Hempfield Area) and Ian Crawford (North Canton, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas), and on fourth down from the one-yard line, a mishandled punt snap resulted in a safety.

Wooster followed by taking advantage of the short field, covering 49 yards in six plays, with Chase Ullman (Orange Village, Ohio / Orange) rushing for a one-yard touchdown, as the Scots took the lead at 12-10.

It remained 12-10 through halftime, then Wooster took the opening possession of the third quarter and drove 68 yards in 13 plays, capped by a Richard Barnes (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) two-yard touchdown rush, as the Scots extended their lead to nine (19-10).

Wooster won the field-position battle the next few drives and eventually turned a short punt into a three-play, 30-yard touchdown series. Barnes scored on the ground from 15 yards out for a 26-10 margin late in the third.

Early in the fourth, the Scots nearly tacked on more points, but a field goal attempt went wide, and instead, the Gators' offense got moving for the first time since the first quarter as they went 73 yards, assisted by Wooster's 20 penalty yards, for a touchdown. The Scots' defense did come through, stopping Allegheny's two-point conversion attempt so that it was a two-possession game (26-16) still with 8:26 left.

The ensuing kickoff pinned Wooster back at its own four-yard line, but the Scots methodically marched the length of the field. They converted two fourth downs on the clinching drive, 4th-and-3 from the Gators' 27 and 4th-and-1 from the 14, and shortly after the latter, Barnes crossed the end zone for the third time, this one a 12-yard run.

Wooster outgained Allegheny by 160 yards (447-287), with 274 of the visitors' yards coming on the ground, and also totaled 28 first downs to 20 for the Gators.

Barnes accounted for 150 of those rushing yards, a career high coming on 20 attempts, and his three rushing touchdowns also were a first for the four-year starter at quarterback. He added another 173 yards on 19-of-33 passing during a turnover-free performance. The top target in the passing game was Keir Pace (Columbus, Ohio / South), who had nine catches for 53 stripes.

The Scots defense had six sacks, 2.0 by Crawford and Stephen McKinney (Lampasas, Texas / Lampasas), and they had two takeaways, one a Brandon James (Barberton, Ohio / Barberton) interception.

This and That: Halfway through the season, Richard Barnes (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) is on pace to break school records for passing yards and total offense, both currently held by Austin Holter with 2,106 and 2,873, respectively, during the 2009 season ... Offensively, Wooster is averaging 83.4 plays, up 14.1 over last year (69.3), and on the defensive side, they have already matched last year's takeaway total with 14 (7 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries).