Antonio Bailey found paydirt on this five-yard run, marking the freshman's first collegiate touchdown and pulling Wooster within 14-7 in the first quarter.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster was within 28-10 of No. 15 ranked Washington & Jefferson College and winning the field position battle during the third quarter when the momentum quickly shifted, as the Presidents returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown, then tacked on three more scores for a 56-10 victory in the teams' season opener Saturday afternoon at a very warm John P. Papp Stadium.

Coming out of halftime with the score 28-10, Wooster's defense proceeded to turn the ball over on downs, with Stephen McKinney dragging down a Washington & Jefferson running back behind the line of scrimmage on a 4th-and-1 play right around midfield.

The Fighting Scots were unable to take advantage of the good field position, but did pin the Presidents inside the 20. That theme continued to play out, as neither offense gained a first down for the next four possessions.

Then, a Wooster punt that looked like it may be downed inside the 10-yard line, bounced to Daniel Lis, who fielded it, evaded a couple of would-be tacklers, and found an open seam down the left sideline, setting a school record for the longest punt return and lifting Washington & Jefferson to a 35-10 cushion.

Another significant punt return, this time a 38-yarder by Luke Merhaut, setup the Presidents in Scot territory and they quickly marched 45 yards in five plays, capped by a Pete Coughlin-to-Colin Jones five-yard pass, and all of the sudden the score had ballooned to 42-10 near the end of the third.

Washington & Jefferson continued that momentum in the fourth quarter, grinding out two touchdown drives for the final margin.

Prior to that, Wooster, with just seven returning starters (3 on offense, 4 on defense), had played the nationally-ranked Presidents tough.

After giving up a pair of early touchdowns, the Scots settled down and put together their best offensive drive. They ran the ball 11 times on a 14-play, 74-yard possession, including freshman running back Antonio Bailey finishing it with a three-yard touchdown.

In the second quarter, Washington & Jefferson twice extended its lead, first on a Ryan Ruffing five-yard touchdown rush to complete a 48-yard drive and later Coughlin kept it himself from five yards away to wrap up an 11-play, 77-yard possession. That made it 28-7.

Still, the Scots made things interesting heading into the half. They drove 80 yards to get the ball inside the five-yard line, keyed by a screen pass to Bailey that went for 36. Wooster stalled there, settling for a 21-yard Trevor Bowden field goal.

Statistically, the Presidents finished with a 419-262 advantage in total offense and gained 10 more first downs (26-16).

Bailey provided the Scots a spark with 83 rushing yards and 40 receiving to lead the team in both categories during his debut.

Also making his first career start, senior quarterback David Smith completed 15-of-29 passes for 113 yards and did not commit a turnover until the game was out of reach. Tight end Nate Huwar was his top target with four receptions for 20 yards.

For Washington & Jefferson, Ruffing eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark (106), while Coughlin was an efficient 21-of-27 through the air for 229 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover.

Defensively, Wooster accumulated 10.0 tackles for loss, including three sacks courtesy of Marcus Bowers, Patrick Johnson, Kevin Komara, and McKinney. Ben Kumpf, who registered 2.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble, but it was recovered by the Presidents.

The Scots get right into North Coast Athletic Conference play next Saturday night with a trip to Allegheny College.