Posted: Nov 06, 2023
The College of Wooster football team (4-5, 3-4 North Coast Athletic Conference) concludes its 2023 season at Wittenberg University (6-3, 5-2 NCAC) on Saturday, November 11. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Wooster, which shut out Oberlin College (1-8, 0-7 NCAC) 36-0 on Saturday needs a win to secure a sixth straight season with a .500 or better finish, which would be a first for the program since 1995-2000. Wittenberg is coming off a 36-28 win over Ohio Wesleyan University (5-4, 4-3 NCAC) and would move into a tie for second-place in the NCAC with a win plus a DePauw University (9-0, 7-0 NCAC) win over Wabash College (7-2, 6-1) in the Monon Bell Classic.
On The Air: Wittenberg will stream this week's game at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5OiQ9Jq6jptNpq_kgLI6gQ. Q Media Wooster will carry this week's game on WKVX 960 AM and online at https://wqkt.com.
All-Time Series: Wittenberg leads the all-time series 42-13-1 and saw its 11-game series winning streak snapped last year. The teams first met in 1912, a game won by Wooster 12-0. Wooster won the first two meetings in the series by identical 12-0 scores. Wittenberg holds a 23-3-1 edge in games played in Springfield, and the Tigers have a 22-game home winning streak in the series. Wooster's last win in Springfield was a 27-21 victory back in 1949.
Last Meeting in Series: Then-senior quarterback Mateo Renteria escaped pressure twice, enabling then-senior Cole Hissong to find an opening in front of three defenders in the end zone prior to catching a game-winning 7-yard touchdown pass with :11 remaining, as Wooster stunned Wittenberg 44-43 on October 29, 2022, at John P. Papp Stadium. Wooster authored one of the biggest comebacks in college football, with the Scots charging back from a 33-7 deficit over the final 26:45. The go-ahead touchdown, plus a game-sealing interception by alumnus Chris Savaglio at Wittenberg's 42-yard line with :03 remaining secured Wooster's first win over its archrival since the 2008 season finale. Drama lurked everywhere on Wooster's go-ahead drive, especially on the two-point conversion, where Wittenberg's Christian Sweet had a chance at an interception and would have had an empty field ahead of him for a bid at a 100-yard defensive two-point interception return score.
Offense Notes: Junior Brazos Gadler (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek) surpassed 700 yards receiving for the second straight season with his fourth 100-yard game of the year on Saturday. Gadler now has 1,452 career receiving yards and is 22 shy of joining the program's top-10 career leaderboard. Wooster has had just nine receivers log over 1,500 career receiving yards and Gadler is looking to be the fourth to join that list during Frank Colaprete's coaching tenure. Sophomore Noah Clark (Big Prairie, Ohio/West Holmes) completed 13-of-19 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start.
Defense Notes: Wooster allowed just 95 yards of offense in last Saturday's win, marking the first time the Scots held an opponent under 100 yards since Carthage College had just 60 in a 2004 second-round NCAA Div. III Championships game. Wooster has gained 20 turnovers this fall, which ranks as the second-most in the NCAC and just three behind conference-leading DePauw. Sophomore Tate Journell (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) is tied for the conference lead with four interceptions, which are the most by a Wooster defender since alumnus Tyson Vogel and All-American Brandon James had five each in the 2013 season. Journell is just the fourth Scot since 2010 to have at least four interceptions in a season, with Jeremy Petit rounding out the list with four in 2010.
Special Teams Notes: Senior Lake Barrett (Columbia, S.C/Hammond School) broke Wooster's all-time record with a 28th field goal in last Saturday's win over Oberlin. Barrett moved into a tie for the all-time school record with a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, then hit from 22 yards out with 4:06 left in the second quarter.
This and That: Wooster's win last Saturday marked Colaprete's 50th leading the Scots. Colaprete is the fourth coach in the program's 125-year history to log at least 50 wins and he is behind L.C. Boles (134), Phil Shipe (84), and Mike Schmitz (78) on the program's all-time leaderboard. Colaprete's 11-year run as head coach is also the fourth-longest in program history behind Boles (24), Shipe (17), and Schmitz (13).