Jordan McIntyre covers up a fumble in the end zone to give the Fighting Scots a 7-0 lead.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster was within five points of No. 18 ranked Wabash College midway through the fourth quarter before the Little Giants sealed the outcome on a touchdown, surviving their season opener and both teams' North Coast Athletic Conference opener by a final score of 19-7 at Andrew Turf Field at John P. Papp Stadium.

Noteworthy, with the score 19-7 and 1:14 remaining, the game was delayed 71 minutes due to lightning in the area.

Wooster (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) got off to a quick start, as Quinton Howard picked off a pass on Wabash's first possession and returned it 41 yards. From there, the Fighting Scots eventually scored following a wild sequence of plays.

On Wooster's third play from scrimmage, quarterback Richard Barnes somehow escaped the grasp of a Little Giant defensive player on the left side of the field to keep the play alive and found Jordan McIntyre down the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown, however, it was wiped out due to an illegal man down field. On the very next play, 3rd-and-14, Wabash appeared to have an interception, but the ball glanced off the defender's hands to McIntyre, who hauled it in for a 37-yard reception.

Two plays later, Robert Flagg took the handoff and found an opening on the left side for eight yards, then was popped by Kyle Najar, fumbling into the end zone where McIntyre recovered it in the corner for a touchdown.

The Little Giants had an answer for the Scots' score on the ensuing possession. Wabash moved quickly, crossing the goal line in five plays with four of them rushes for 44 of the 58 yards, including Derek Rowe's seven-yard score. Wabash missed the extra point, though.

The way the offenses were moving the ball, it looked like the fans were in for a high-scoring affair. Instead, that was all of the points for the half. The rest of it became a field-position battle until late when Wabash drove deep into Wooster's end, only to see Girard Ogletree-Crawford intercept a pass at the seven to maintain the Scots' 7-6 margin.

The Little Giants would take the lead for the first time on their initial possession of the second half. Houston Hodges picked off a Wooster pass near the Wabash sideline and returned it to the Scots' 30. After moving inside the 10, the Little Giants elected to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the four-yard line and that decision paid off in the form of a Chase Belton-to-Jonathan Horn touchdown pass on a slant. The two-point try failed, though, so the score stood at 12-7.

Wabash's defense then buckled down, as Wooster was unable to penetrate any further than the Little Giants' 40 on its next three offensive series. Wabash's offensive unit got moving again on its second possession of the fourth quarter, marching 76 yards over 13 plays, capped by an eight-yard Tyler Holmes touchdown run at the 5:19 mark.

Overall, the Scots gained 20 first downs and nearly 300 yards (299), but were hurt by turnovers for the second-straight game. They've committed eight over the first two weeks, including three against Wabash, which finished with 25 first downs and 490 offensive yards.

Individually, Barnes completed 21-of-41 passes for 191 yards while eluding pressure several times. His top targets were McIntyre and Zack Weidrick, who caught six apiece with the former going for 75 yards and the latter 62. Flagg ran for 83 yards on 18 attempts.

Belton countered with a 17-of-35 passing day for 244 yards, 134 of which went to Horn during his eight receptions. The Little Giants utilized a balanced rushing attack, paced by Vann Hunt's 85 yards on nine carries.

Wooster will look to get into the win column next Saturday afternoon when it travels to Oberlin College (1-0, 0-0 NCAC).