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| Shawn Bowman |
Despite an uncharacteristic midseason slide, The College of Wooster enters its 2014 finale with an opportunity to finish among the top half of the North Coast Athletic Conference once again when it travels to Ohio Wesleyan University (5-4, 4-4 NCAC) this Saturday, Nov. 15. The teams currently are part of a three-way tie for fourth-place in the NCAC standings, and thus with a win, Wooster would finish in the top-five of the conference for the 19th time in 20 years. Kickoff at Ohio Wesleyan's Selby Stadium will be at 1 p.m. EST.
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, Ohio Wesleyan will be providing live video at http://stream.owu.edu/.
All-Time Series: The Ohio Wesleyan-Wooster series, which dates back to 1901, has been very competitive throughout the years. The Scots have won seven of the last eight to take a slight 30-28 edge all-time. Since the NCAC was formed in 1984, Wooster holds a 19-11 lead, thanks to victories in 15 of the last 18 meetings. Among the teams' memorable games, the Scots were down 27-7 early in the fourth quarter of the 2013 match-up and stormed back to win 28-27, marking their largest comeback in school history, and there was a three-season stretch (1999-2001) when every game was decided by a touchdown or less.
Last Week: On Nov. 8, Wooster honored its 16 seniors pre-game, put 11 of them on the field for the opening kickoff, and with several of them playing key roles, celebrated a 21-7 win over Kenyon College in NCAC action at John P. Papp Stadium.
The Scots came up with a pair of takeaways within the opening six minutes, first senior Brandon James (Barberton, Ohio / Barberton) pouncing on a fumble that had been forced by Stephen McKinney (Lampasas, Texas / Lampasas) and then senior Shawn Bowman (Mineral City, Ohio / Tuscarawas Valley) recovering a muffed punt by Kenyon.
Two plays following the Bowman recovery, Gary Muntean (Poland, Ohio / Struthers) found Darrian Owens (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) open over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown 5:45 into the action.
Early in the second quarter, Muntean hit Owens in stride down the right sideline, resulting in a 49-yard gain down to the two. On the ensuing snap, Muntean connected with senior Justin Rice (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) in the left flat for a touchdown and 14-0 advantage.
It remained a 14-0 margin through halftime, then after Wooster turned it over for the second time in the red zone, the Lords put forth their best offensive drive of the day – a 13-play, 85-yard touchdown march that made it a one-score game with 1:22 to play in the third.
The Scots answered just five plays later when Owens caught a deep pass down the middle, shook off one would-be-tackler around the 10-yard line, and took it in for a 49-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 14 points.
Wooster's defense clinched the victory during the fourth quarter. After a James interception was wiped away due to a penalty, senior Mitchell Czerniak (Newton Falls, Ohio / Newton Falls) and Troy Brown (Copley, Ohio / Copley) combined for a hard hit on the Kenyon tight end, and Czerniak also recovered the loose ball to halt one drive. And later, the Scots had their third and fourth sacks of the game on back-to-back plays by senior Ian Crawford (North Canton, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas) and Patrick Johnson (Homewood, Ill. / Homewood-Flossmor).
Overall, Wooster outgained Kenyon 329-277, with Owens accounting for 178 receiving on just five catches.
Muntean got his second-straight start at quarterback and was an efficient 13-of-19 for 267 yards, and senior Sean Hackel (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) rushed the ball 21 times for 75 yards.
D.O. Sets Wooster's Receiving TD Record: With one game left in the 2014 campaign, sophomore Darrian Owens (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) has already set the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season. Collecting his 11th and 12th last week, Owens tied, then surpassed Richie McNally's mark of 11 during the 2004 season.
Hackel's 2,000-Yard Pursuit: Despite not playing running back until his junior year and missing time to injury this season, senior Sean Hackel (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) has a chance to hit an elite milestone at Wooster. With 1,861 yards, he needs 139 more to become the 12th in school history to reach 2,000 rushing for a career.