Labaron Sylvester

Not only is the Old Red Lantern trophy up for grabs on Saturday night, Oct. 26, when The College of Wooster hosts North Coast Athletic Conference rival Denison University (4-2, 3-2 NCAC), but third-place in the final conference standings could be on the line as well. Both teams have already played the league's current heavyweights in No. 14 Wabash College and No. 18 Wittenberg University, and now have hopes of winning out the final four weeks of the season. Kickoff at 4,500-seat John P. Papp Stadium is scheduled for 7 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/.

Also, for all five home games, the audio and video from local cable provider MCTV, Inc., will be broadcast live over the web at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wooster.portal#.

The Old Red Lantern: The winner of Saturday's rivalry game will be presented with a trophy – The Old Red Lantern. The tradition began in 1989, when the two schools were commemorating the 100th anniversary of their first meeting on the gridiron (Nov. 23, 1889). The lantern represents the light the teams used to travel by (rail) in their early meetings. The rivalry peaked during a 27-year stretch from 1945-71, as they played every season with Denison holding a slim 14-13 lead in those games. That era included legendary coaches Phil Shipe of Wooster (1949-65) and Keith Piper of Denison (1954-92), and they often made the other its opponent for Homecoming. Also of note, Denison and Wooster played the first-ever NCAC football game on Sept. 8, 1984.

All-Time Series: The Scots own a 39-35-7 advantage in the all-time series with Denison. That includes a 10-game winning streak (1995-2010), which was broken two seasons ago. Prior to Wooster's streak, the Big Red had one of their own, prevailing in 11 consecutive meetings, giving them a 13-10 advantage in NCAC games.

Last Week: On Oct. 19, Wooster couldn't quite keep up the scoring pace with Wittenberg, as the NCAC match-up turned into an offensive showdown with a combined 105 points and 1,020 yards, and the nationally-ranked Tigers secured the win, 66-39, in Springfield, Ohio.

Wittenberg scored a touchdown just 1:24 into the action. Shortly after, Labaron Sylvester (LaPlace, La. / East Union) halted the Tigers' second series with an interception, the fourth takeaway the Scot safety has been part of this season.

A long punt return set up a second Wittenberg score, then Wooster's offense got moving on the ensuing series, with quarterback Richard Barnes (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) and running back Chase Ullman (Orange Village, Ohio / Orange) combining for all of the touches on a six-play, 54-yard touchdown march. On 4th-and-2 from the seven, Barnes found a hole for the score, but the Scots missed the point after.

The Tigers answered right back, with their first of six passing touchdowns, for a 21-6 advantage late in the opening quarter, and their next drive stalled out, but they still added a 27-yard field goal (24-6), kick-starting a 43-point second quarter between the two teams.

Wooster got back within two scores when Barnes connected with Jesse Lane (Ironton, Ohio / Rock Bridge) in the back of the end zone, covering 12 yards and marking the sophomore tight end's first career touchdown, however, the extra point was blocked this time and the score stood 24-12.

The Tigers needed just a combined eight offensive plays to produce touchdowns on their next two series for a 38-12 cushion, and next it was the Scots turn to string together back-to-back touchdowns, first an Ullman four-yard rush capping a nine-play, 66-yard possession. Ian Crawford (North Canton, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas) recovered a Wittenberg fumble, and two plays later, Barnes hit Nate Kleinman (Bronx, N.Y. / Fieldston School) for a four-yard score, the first touchdown of the junior wide receiver's career, and Wooster was within striking distance at 38-25.

Unfortunately for the undermanned Scots, there was still plenty of time for the Tigers to answer and they did, marching 67 yards in just six plays to push their halftime lead to 45-25.

Wooster started the second half by getting pinned back in its own end due to a penalty on the kickoff and eventually punted to Wittenberg, which took the ball 51 yards to another touchdown. The Tigers kept rolling by converting a 4th-and-12 into a 30-yard touchdown pass, which all but sealed the outcome as it was 59-25 at that time.

The Scots would go on to add a touchdown late in the third quarter via a Barnes one-yard run, and the teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth, with Barnes hitting Joe Stoffer (Louisville, Ohio / Louisville), who was the starting running back for the first time in his career, on a six-yard screen for the final score.

Statistically, Barnes finished with his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game (101) plus 182 passing yards on 15-of-30 attempts. He was part of five touchdowns (two rushing, three passing) and made one turnover, and Justin Rice (Concord, Ohio / Harvey) was the leading receiver with four catches and 48 yards.

This and That: Senior quarterback Richard Barnes (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) is on pace to break school records for passing yards (1,411) and total offense (1,827), both currently held by Austin Holter, who just so happens to be the current Denison offensive coordinator. Holter had 2,106 passing yards and 2,873 yards of total offense during the 2009 season ... Offensively, Wooster is averaging 82.5 plays, up 13.2 over last year (69.3), and on the defensive side, it has already exceeded last year's takeaway total with 16 (8 interceptions, 8 fumble recoveries).