Troy Brown

After playing three of its first four games on the road – two against teams currently in the D3football.com top-25 – The College of Wooster will make up for lost time away from 4,500-seat John P. Papp Stadium with four home games over the next five weeks, beginning with a visit from North Coast Athletic Conference foe Allegheny College (1-3, 1-2 NCAC) this Saturday, Oct. 11. To meet its preseason goal of winning the conference championship, Wooster will likely have to win out (no NCAC champion has ever had more than one league loss), while Allegheny looks to continue to show its improvement after an uncharacteristic 0-10 campaign last year. The Gators already have picked up one win – a 24-21 decision over Hiram College – and were close to another, leading Ohio Wesleyan University at the half last week, 19-16, before falling 36-19. Saturday's kickoff is set for 1 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#.

All-Time Series: Allegheny and Wooster have played 34 times on the gridiron, including a stretch of 20 consecutive years from 1990-2009. Overall, the Gators lead the series 20-14, however, the Scots have taken six of the last 10. The games have been very competitive recently, with six of the last nine being decided by a touchdown or less. Also interesting, home-field advantage hasn't meant much between these two as Allegheny holds a more commanding edge at Wooster (12-7) than in Meadville (8-7).

Last Week: On Oct. 4, Wooster outgained and outscored No. 11 Wabash College during the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a tough second quarter as the Fighting Scots fell 35-16 in an NCAC affair at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Down 28-3 at halftime, Wooster battled back into it by spending most of the third quarter in Wabash territory. The Scots' Brandon James (Barberton, Ohio / Barberton) helped keep the hosts off the scoreboard on the initial drive of the second half via a blocked field goal. Then, the offense moved inside the 10-yard line, keyed by a Richard Barnes' (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) 45-yard quarterback keeper, however, the Little Giants' defense denied Wooster, forcing a turnover on downs at the one-yard line.

The Scots continued to win the field-position battle, and on their third possession of the quarter, finally crossed the end zone. After reaching midfield, James took the snap on a fake punt, found a big hole to easily convert the first down, and broke a few tackles down the right sideline before being brought down at the three. On the next snap, receiver Darrian Owens (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) scored on an end around for his first career rushing touchdown to make it 28-9 near the end of the third.

Wooster, with the stiff wind at its back during the fourth quarter, had an opportunity to make it a two-possession game, following another three-and-out from its defense. A pair of Tyler Smith (Burbank, Ohio / Northwestern) runs gave the Scots an initial first down, only to be followed by back-to-back sacks, and they had to punt it away.

The offense was going to get the ball back, but a penalty on a punt gave the Little Giants a second chance, and they took advantage, scoring the game-clinching touchdown.

Wooster accounted for the final points, completing a nine-play, 75-yard drive when Justin Rice (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) and Owens successfully executed a hook-and-lateral play. Rice was on the receiving end of a six-yard pass from Barnes, then flipped to Owens, who sprinted 17 yards to the left pylon.

The Scots' defense stood out during the first quarter. Despite three different Wabash drives beginning in Wooster territory, and a fourth just shy of midfield, it was just 7-0 through 15 minutes.

The Scots were ultimately done in by the second quarter via three Little Giants' touchdowns.

Statistically, Wooster gained most of its 281 yards on the ground, a final mark of 233, in spite of seven sacks for 57 yards counting against that total. Smith led the way with 85 yards on just 12 carries, while Barnes overcame those sacks for a plus-38 net.

Due to the pressure from Wabash and the windy conditions, the Scots' normally effective passing game was held in check, as Barnes completed just 6-of-22 for 48 yards.

Barnes's Records Watch: It seems to be just a matter of time before senior quarterback Richard Barnes (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) holds every significant passing record at Wooster. Barnes, already the career leader in total offense (8,203 yards) and completions (592), now eyes the records for passing yards and passing touchdowns, currently needing 303 and 6 to reach Rich Judd (1995-98) in those respective categories.