WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, from the last 5:36 of the third quarter through the first 5:16 of the fourth quarter, to build a 42-14 cushion over Allegheny College and wound up with a 42-21 triumph in North Coast Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.

Shortly after Allegheny (1-4, 1-3 NCAC) pulled within 21-14 on the opening drive of the second half, Wooster (3-2, 3-1 NCAC) retook the momentum. The Fighting Scots didn't immediately score, but they gained three first downs and a punt pinned the Gators back to the 10-yard line, followed by a three-and-out from the defense.

Wooster got the ball back around midfield and marched 55 yards in nine plays to go back ahead by two scores (28-14). The key play was a 3rd-and-10 conversion, with quarterback Richard Barnes being flushed out of the pocket, buying just enough time to swing the ball out to running back Derrick Johnson Jr., who went up the sideline for 17 yards. Barnes scored two plays later, taking it himself up the middle from three yards away.

Another three-and-out ensued and the Scots' offense went a similar length – 59 yards – in just six snaps, with Barnes again finding a hole through the middle of the Allegheny defense for a 10-yard touchdown run and 35-14 lead.

On the next series, the Gators managed one first down, then were forced to go for it on 4th-and-2 near the midfield stripe, and the pass was batted at the line for a turnover on downs.

Three plays later, Wooster was in the end zone as Barnes found Keir Pace for a 20-yard score through the air. Pace was hit hard on the play, but hung on for the touchdown and 28-point advantage with 9:44 left.

Both teams freely substituted the rest of the way.

This Brandon James' 66-yard touchdown run on a fake punt swung the momentum back Wooster's way in the Scots' eventual 42-21 victory Saturday.

Early on, the Scots were very effective rushing the ball while scoring touchdowns on their first two drives. They ran nine times on a 10-play, 65-yard, game-opening possession, capped by a two-yard Johnson tote, and on their second offensive series, 10 of the 14 plays were runs with Tyler Smith finishing the 82-yard march via a one-yard plunge.

Wooster's 14-0 lead held up until the 4:44 mark of the second quarter, when Allegheny's Nick Deichler rushed in for a four-yard touchdown, concluding a seven-play 39-yard series.

Thanks to a gutsy coaching call, the Scots quickly regained the momentum. Facing 4th-and-4 from their own 34, punt protector Brandon James took the snap, ran to a wide open right side for the first down, and later broke a couple tackles, cut all the way over to the left side of the field, and eventually dove to the pylon for a 66-yard touchdown. It marked the second week in a row Wooster successfully executed a fake punt, with James taking one 46 yards last Saturday.

With the score 21-7, the Gators came out of halftime and went 79 yards in 10 plays. Jon Nigro found his tight end, Nick Matic, open in the end zone to pull the visitors within one score.

From there, the aforementioned 21 consecutive points allowed the Scots to take control.

For the game, Wooster rolled up 510 yards of total offense, including 349 rushing – the most by the Scots since Oct. 29, 2011 (384 at Hiram College) – while Allegheny wound up with 322.

Wooster had two 100-yard rushers in Barnes (129) and Smith (118). Barnes's 129 yards were the second-most in the senior quarterback's career, while Smith, a freshman, saw his most action to date with a game-high 25 carries.

Barnes also completed 16-of-25 passes for 157 yards, with Pace accounting for 66 on six catches.

Defensively, the Scots tallied six pass breakups – two by Matt Keeney – and six tackles for loss, including the first career sack for freshman Aaron Roberson. Sophomore Christian Golden corralled the first interception of his career and Ian Crawford recovered a fumble.

Next Saturday, Wooster hosts nationally-ranked rival Wittenberg University (4-1, 4-0 NCAC) at 3 p.m.