12th-Ranked Scots Hold On To Defeat No. 23 Wabash 33-30

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – A 49-yard field goal attempt by Wabash College’s Mark Server missed wide right on the final play of the game, allowing nationally-ranked College of Wooster (No. 12 D3Football.com, No. 15 American Football Coaches’ Association) to escape with a 33-30 win over host Wabash (No. 23 D3Football.com, No. 13 AFCA) in a match-up of undefeated conference foes.

The victory ended the Little Giants’ 17-game home winning streak and moved Wooster to 6-0 overall, including 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Wabash dropped to 5-1 and 2-1 in the NCAC. The Scots also made amends for their two most recent appearances at Hollett Little Giant Stadium (2001, 2002), in which they lost by a combined score of 77-29.

Wooster appeared to have taken control of the contest for good in the third quarter, when it scored on its first two possessions to take a 33-9 lead.

The Scots’ first score of the second half came on a run by quarterback Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local). With Wooster facing 4th-and-inches at the Wabash 15-yard line, Schafer ran left on an option play, kept it himself for the first down, and then broke a couple of tackles, managing to stay on his feet all the way into the end zone.

After forcing the Little Giants to punt, the Scots marched 70 yards on just five plays, capped by a six-yard run by Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban). That gave Wooster a 24-point advantage.

But Wabash did not fold, and slowly started its comeback. The Little Giants gained some momentum heading into the fourth quarter, as they went 80 yards in 11 plays, scoring from 11 yards out on a pass from Russ Harbaugh to Brandon Clifton in the back left corner of the end zone. Clifton, who finished with 12 catches for 123 yards and four touchdowns, made five receptions on the drive, including a leaping 19-yard grab on a 3rd-and-seven play, which moved the ball to the Scots’ 14-yard line.

Wooster was unable to mount much on its next offensive possession, and was forced to punt. Wabash wasted very little time, needing just 1:27 to move 67 yards, again capping a scoring drive with a fade pattern to the corner of the end zone for a seven-yard score to Clifton. Even though an extra point would have brought the Little Giants within 10 points, they went for two and failed (22-33).

Then, the Scots found their offense again, marching the ball methodically down the field and taking time off the clock. However, the drive stalled at the Wabash 28-yard line, and a fourth-down pass attempt went incomplete, giving the Little Giants’ possession with 8:26 remaining.

Wabash, as it had done on its two previous drives, was able to effectively advance the ball with a short passing game. And, the Little Giants stayed alive by converting a 4th-and-one from the Wooster 35, when Brandon Roop rushed for two yards. Two plays later, Harbaugh hit a streaking Clifton for a 25-yard score – their fourth touchdown connection of the game. Harbaugh and Ray Green added a two-point conversion on a pass play to make the score 33-30 with plenty of time still remaining (5:11).

The Scots, needing a couple of first downs to regain momentum and run out the game clock, went three plays and out. Facing the wind, which was gusting over 20 miles per hour for much of the time, Wooster was only able to get off a 26-yard punt, allowing Wabash to start at the Scot 49 with 3:27 to play.

The drive started well for the Wooster defense, as Andy Mizak (Warren, Mich. / Paul K. Cousino) sacked Harbaugh on the initial play for a seven-yard loss. But on 3rd-and-17, Harbaugh connected with Green for 12 yards through the air, followed by a six-yard hookup with Clifton to convert the fourth down. After getting another first down to the 28, Brian Kight (Dublin, Ohio / Fallbrook – Calif.) stepped in front of a Harbaugh pass intended for Clifton over the middle of the field at the three-yard line and intercepted it, returning the ball to the 25-yard line at the 1:21 mark.

With two timeouts remaining, the Little Giants were able to stop the clock after two short Sutton runs. But on the third Sutton run, which resulted in a six-yard loss to the Scots’ 21-yard line, Wooster let the clock dwindle down to 28 seconds. Another punt into the wind traveled 27 yards, however, it was not touched until it came to a dead stop, while the clock ticked down to 19 seconds.

Harbaugh immediately got Wabash into field-goal range with a 16-yard completion to Joe O’Connell down to the 32-yard line. But with no timeouts, Harbaugh had to spike the ball with 12 seconds left. Looking for a few more yards, the Little Giants tried two out patterns to Clifton, but both fell incomplete. That set up Server’s last gasp field-goal attempt.

Schafer, who may have played the best game of his young career, was the difference for Wooster in the first half. He completed 11-of-16 passes for 161 in the first 30 minutes of the game, and ran for another 47 yards on 11 carries. Overall, he finished 13-of-24 for 168 passing yards while being sacked just once, and with 77 rushing yards on 15 attempts.

The first score of the game came from Wabash, who drove 78 yards in 10 plays, with the points coming from four yards away via a touchdown pass to Clifton.

The Scots’ initial score was a Richie McNally (Westerville, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales) 41-yard field goal – the fifth 40-yarder of his career – and then they took the lead for good when Chris Craig (Newark, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) intercepted a pass and brought it back 20 yards for a touchdown. It marked his second touchdown on an interception return this season.

Sutton, who had gained only four yards on four rushes through the first quarter, busted loose for a 38-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Wooster a 16-6 lead. Later, the teams swapped field goals, first Server from 35 yards out and McNally from 27 as time expired in the first half.

Sutton went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the 15th-straight game, finishing with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 30 attempts.

McNally had another strong all-around game for the Scots, catching six passes for 107 yards and connecting on two field goals – the 20th and 21st of his career.

For the Little Giants, Harbaugh carried the load, completing 31-of-50 pass attempts for 347 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Wabash netted just 32 rushing yards, led by Aaron Lafitte’s 32 on nine carries.

Leading the defensive charge for Wooster was Bobby Vega (Windsor, Conn. / Pomfret School), who was credited with 11 tackles, including eight solo hits. Joe Kearney (Weymouth, Mass. / Weymouth) and Mizak each registered two of the Scots’ five sacks on the day.

Adrian Pynenberg contributed a team-high 13 tackles for the Little Giants.