Balanced Attack Leads Scots Past Case 49-7

Justin Schafer finished with 238 yards of total offense, highlighted by this 63-yard scamper that resulted in a second-quarter touchdown.

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster put up over 500 yards of total offense, and another 250-plus in kickoff/punt returns, as the Scots easily handled visiting Case Western Reserve University 49-7 on Saturday to win the Baird Brothers Trophy for the eighth-straight year in the teams’ annual match-up.

The Scots (3-0), who complete their non-conference schedule undefeated for the third season in a row, steadily pulled away from Case, scoring a touchdown on its first drive of the day, then three in the second quarter and a pair in the third before the Spartans could get on the board.

On Wooster’s initial possession, three pass completions set up runs of 16 and 14 yards by Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban), the second of which he scored on to cap the five-play, 76-yard drive.

Sutton looked like he was headed to a second score on the Scots’ next offensive series, but during a 27-yard scamper, he was stripped from behind, and the Spartans recovered the fumble.

Early in the second, Wooster put together an impressive drive, which included rushes of 11, 24, and 18 by Sutton, Kevin Williams (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay), and quarterback Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local), respectively. Sutton finished it off with a nine-yard touchdown run.

Two possessions later, the Scots made it 21-0 when Schafer couldn’t find a receiver open, scrambled to the right, and sprinted past the Case secondary for a 63-yard touchdown scamper.

It appeared the Spartans (2-2) would cut into the lead late in the half, driving the ball to the Wooster 23. Instead, on a 2nd-and-2 play, the Scots came up with a fumble, and then drove 82 yards in just 1:17. Keying the late score was Schafer’s 36-yard completion to Richie McNally (Westerville, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales), which advanced the ball to the 20-yard line. Tim Slovensky (Parma, Ohio / Parma Senior) caught back-to-back passes to account for the final 20 yards, the last being a four-yarder with just :02 remaining.

Wooster scored less than four minutes into the second half on a 15-yard pass play from Schafer to Slovensky. That touchdown was set up via Keith Adams’ (Suffield, Ohio / Field) 78-yard punt return, which was part of the sophomore’s record-setting day. Adams, in just his second career game as the team’s primary punt returner, netted 194 yards on nine run backs, besting the previous best Scot single-game total of 111 yards (by Seth Mastrine on Oct. 7, 2000) and just 33 yards shy of the NCAA Div. III national record.

Sutton put the game away late in the third, carrying the ball six times for 48 yards on a 10-play, 70-yard drive, which he capped with a 16-yard score – his 50th career rushing touchdown.

Both teams freely substituted during the fourth quarter of play, which for Wooster was highlighted by a 36-yard touchdown pass play from Bob Reiff (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay) to Matt Tootle (Circleville, Ohio / Circleville). It marked both the quarterback’s and receiver’s first career touchdown.

Individually, Schafer finished with 238 yards of total offense, 159 through the air and 79 on the ground. He completed 13-of-22 pass attempts, with McNally being his top target, as the senior wound up with a career-high 108 receiving yards, while accounting for 13 total points.

Sutton rushed for 155 yards and the three scores on just 17 attempts.

The Spartans’ quarterback, Alex Harvey, was 11-of-19 for 133 yards, and the Scot defense, paced by Bobby Vega’s (Windsor, Conn. / Pomfret School) 14 tackles, held their top back, James Rosenbury, to just 25 yards on 12 carries.

Overall, Wooster accumulated 504 yards of total offense, including 290 on the ground, where it averaged 7.8 yards per rush, while Case wound up with 214 yards on 64 plays.

Next week, the Scots get into North Coast Athletic Conference play, hosting Allegheny College (1-2) on Saturday (Oct. 2) at 1 p.m.