Derrick Florence II

Gary Muntean

Gary Muntean, who passed for more than 400 yards, scored on a two-yard touchdown run with :44 remaining that put The College of Wooster ahead of Kenyon College 49-42, and the Fighting Scots hung on for a thrilling North Coast Athletic Conference win in a game that they trailed by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter, Saturday afternoon in Gambier, Ohio.

It was not looking good for Wooster (2-6, 2-5 NCAC), when Kenyon (2-6, 2-5 NCAC) scored a touchdown for a fourth time in five possessions while taking a 42-28 lead at the 7:54 mark of the fourth.

The Fighting Scots also were sacked for a six-yard loss to begin the ensuing possession, but then picked up yardage in big chunks – a 22-yard pass across the middle to Dan Gorzynski, a 12-yarder to Russell Boston, and a Muntean quarterback keeper for 17. Three plays later, Muntean was flushed out of the pocket to his left and still hit Adam Coppock, who was able to tap his toes down in the end zone near the left sideline for a 15-yard touchdown.

The Wooster defense carried over the momentum, forcing a three-and-out, however, the Lords' Ian Bell pinned the offense back at the 13-yard line with a 52-yard net punt.

Muntean and the Scots again put together a series of big plays – a 29-yard catch-and-run down the right sideline by Boston, a 19-yard pass to Tyson Vogel, and 11- and 12-yarders to Gorzynski and Coppock, respectively, the latter putting Wooster at the six-yard line. After a Connor Allan three-yard rush, Muntean found Vogel on a three-yard slant in the end zone to complete a quick 11-play, 87-yard touchdown march and tie the game with 2:46 remaining.

On the next play from scrimmage, Kenyon completed a short pass over the middle where Patrick Johnson was there to meet the receiver and strip the ball from him. Johnson also recovered the fumble at the Lords' 41.

Muntean and the offense went to work again. On 2nd-and-8 from the 39, Vogel hauled in a 28-yard pass down the right side, and from there, Muntean used his legs, weaving his way for nine yards to the two and then taking it up the middle himself for the game-winner.

The Lords still managed to make things interesting at the end. On the first two plays of the last possession, they completed 16- and 19-yard passes to get the ball to the Wooster 40 with :27 left. Kenyon threw into the end zone three times, the first being broken up by Johnson and the third being deflected away by Derrick Florence II on the game's final play.

Muntean's heroics came in a reserve role. He entered for injured starter David Smith during the first series, and helped drive the Scots to a touchdown, connecting with Vogel from 21 yards away.

The Lords accounted for the next two scores, taking a 14-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter, then Florence brought back the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a highligh-reel touchdown as he bounced off one tackler, spun away, cut all the way across the field, and got two crushing blocks from Jake Jagielski. It marked Wooster's first kickoff return for a score since Girard Ogletree-Crawford in 2010.

Late in the second quarter, Boston turned a short reception into a 32-yard touchdown, and it appeared that the Scots would own a 21-14 halftime lead. Instead, Kenyon marched 65 yards in just five plays and 32 seconds to even the scoreboard.

The Lords also started the second half with possession and went 65 yards again, this time in 11 plays to regain the lead at 28-21.

The back-and-forth affair continued, as Wooster tied it later in the third quarter when Muntean scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns, and next, Kenyon's Jake Bates and Brian Hunca hit for 15- and 31-yard touchdown passes during the fourth quarter to seemingly take control.

Statistically, Muntean totaled 442 yards of offense – the second-most in school history – on 401 yards passing and 41 rushing – and he was part of six of the Scots' touchdowns. It was just the fourth 400-yard passing game in the Scot record book, as he completed 29-of-42 attempts.

His top target was Coppock, who caught 11 for 118 yards – career highs in each category – while Boston, Gorzynski, and Vogel were all significant parts of the passing game as well. Boston turned seven receptions into 94 yards, Gorzynski had five for 93 yards, and Vogel six for 83 yards, including the two scores.

That was just enough to overcome the Bates-to-Hunca combination. Bates completed 23-of-33 passes for 297 yards, with 15 going to Hunca for 210 stripes and three touchdowns.

Wooster will look to continue to build some late-season momentum next Saturday, as it visits Hiram College (2-6, 2-5 NCAC) at 1 p.m.