Dana Obery

WOOSTER, Ohio – On a 3rd-and-7 play with :15 left and no timeouts, Kenyon College's Dan Shannon hit tight end Greg McIntosh for a 13-yard touchdown, which beat The College of Wooster 21-17, kept the Lords in the hunt for the North Coast Athletic Conference championship, and spoiled the Fighting Scots' Senior Day at John P. Papp Stadium Saturday.

Wooster (2-7, 1-5 NCAC) had been leading 17-14 throughout the fourth quarter and pinned Kenyon (6-3, 5-1 NCAC) back at its own 12 with just under 5:00 on the clock. The Lords, though, steadily made their way up field, converting five third-down plays, including from nine, eight, six, and seven yards away, with the second Shannon-to-McIntosh score of the day capping an 18-play, 88-yard drive.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Scots had one last gasp from their own 37, but a low snap from center helped lead to a game-ending sack.

Wooster was ahead 7-0 through one quarter, thanks to a series of outstanding special teams' plays. After the Scots' initial offensive possession, Dana Obery boomed a school-record 77-yard punt. With only a light wind behind him, Obery helped change the field position from the Scots' own eight-yard line to the Kenyon 15 where it was downed. The 77 yards were four more than Tim Gargasz's previous team record set at Oberlin College Oct. 10, 1992.

Late in the quarter, with the Lords punting from midfield, Justin Rice burst through the line for a clean block and the ball bounced all the way inside the 20-yard line where Keith Lemke eventually picked it up and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. It marked the first collegiate score for the freshman safety.

The Lords evened the scoreboard when they went 87 yards in nine plays during the second quarter, keyed by a Carlo Gagliardo 26-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline followed by a personal foul. On the next snap, Shannon found McIntosh in the left corner for a nine-yard touchdown reception.

Wooster retook the momentum right before halftime. Taking over at its own 40 with 1:08 remaining, two John Battaglia runs combined for 22 yards to set up quarterback Alex Hohl, a freshman making his first career start, who connected with Jordan McIntyre in stride on a post pattern for a 38-yard touchdown and 14-7 lead at the :38 mark.

The Scots upped their lead to 10 when Tyler Gerwig split the uprights on a 21-yard field goal with 2:39 left in the third quarter. That was the 12th play of a 76-yard possession that saw Wooster get down to the five before settling for the three points.

Trailing 17-7, Kenyon answered on the ensuing series as it put together a quick five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. After pass plays of 34, 15, and 18 yards, Shannon scrambled up the middle from five yards out to make it a one-possession game at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, both defenses held until the Lords' late game-winning drive.

Individually, Battaglia produced a game-high 88 rushing yards on 16 attempts and Chase Ullman chipped in 53 over 12 rushes, while Hohl performed admirably, completing 16-of-20 passes for 121 yards during a turnover-free performance. Zack Weidrick was on the receiving end eight times for 39 yards.

Shannon was 25-of-37 passing for 239 yards, with 10 going to Gagliardo for 95 yards, and the Scots' defense limited the league's third-leading rusher, Brett Williams, to 80 yards on 20 carries.

Also of note, Obery added a 66-yard punt and overcame two snaps over his head, inducing a roughing-the-kicker penalty on one, en route to a 45.2 average on the day.

Wooster will wrap up the season at Ohio Wesleyan University (8-1, 5-1 NCAC) next Saturday afternoon.