Junior Mateo Renteria scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper to give The College of Wooster football team a 38-35 lead with 14:01 remaining before visiting Ohio Wesleyan University scored 17 unanswered points to take the Fighting Scots' spring finale 52-38 on Friday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.

Wooster, which played two exhibition contests this spring, found itself in a 35-24 hole after Ohio Wesleyan's T.J. Weems scored from a yard out with 5:03 remaining in the third. Renteria led the comeback, which started by firing a lengthy downfield pass to an uncovered Mitchell Heilman, and the Scots' rookie wideout went for 54 stripes, taking the team to the Ohio Wesleyan 11-yard line. Two plays later, Renteria went to work with his 11-yard touchdown scamper, and freshman PT Fischer's extra point pulled Wooster within 35-31 with 3:08 left in the third.

The Scots' defense forced a three-and-out on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, with sophomore Dorion Talley snuffing out the Battling Bishops' third-down pass, which went to frequent target Kenny Streb. After four carries by sophomore Andrew Yanssens picked up a combined 25 yards, Renteria took care of the final two stripes for his second rushing touchdown of the night. Fischer upped the lead to 38-35.

From there, Ohio Wesleyan running back Trey Dixon took over, first with a 43-yard reception, and then with a 2-yard touchdown run, which gave OWU the lead for good at 42-38 with 12:26 remaining. After a bad snap on a Wooster punt set up Ohio Wesleyan at the Scots' 4-yard line, Dixon scored on the first play, making it a two-score game.

Troy Baughman had a 76-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Photo by Matt Dilyard.

Earlier in the exhibition, junior Troy Baughman broke free from Ohio Wesleyan's defense for a 76-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play following Zane Ries' score-opening 25-yard touchdown strike to Nick Soika. Ohio Wesleyan answered Baughman's big run with an 8-play, 65-yard drive, that ended with Weems' 2-yard touchdown run, and the Bishops maintained the lead until Renteria's fourth-quarter score.

Wooster did have several highlight-reel plays in between Baughman's and Renteria's aforementioned scores. Fischer's on-point accuracy continued in the second quarter with a 23-yard field goal, while Heilman also showed a lot of potential for the upcoming fall season with a 57-yard reception before he was finally dragged down just outside the goal line. Wooster turned to Baughman, and the Scots' junior punched in his second touchdown of the day, and Fischer's extra point try pulled Wooster within 21-17.

In the third quarter, Ries tried to pick up the needed seven yards for a first down with his feet, only to see Wooster senior Eric Kraus make the play two yards shy of the line to gain. Wooster took over, and a heavy dosage of passing plays to "hometown heroes" followed. First, Renteria hooked up with junior Cole Hissong, a Shreve native, on completions of 20 and 17 yards, respectively. Later in the drive, Renteria found Bellville's Brennan South for a 5-yard gain, then went right back to the Scots' freshman for a 23-yard touchdown.

Renteria completed 18-of-24 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, while also running for 35 stripes and two scores. Heilman had the big day receiving, turning three catches into 122 yards. Baughman motored for 131 yards on 16 carries, good for an 8.2 per-tote average. Of note, that's 10 stripes shy of his career-high of 141, which came at Kenyon College in 2019.

Defensively, freshman Andrew Armile had the game-high in tackles with 13, while junior Angelo Petracci and sophomore Langston Williams had 10 each.

Ries completed 29-of-37 passes for 320 yards and two scores, while Dixon and Weems combined for 154 yards on 31 carries and five touchdowns. Jerrol Hines caught a game-high nine passes for 134 yards.

Shane Quin's 12 tackles led the Battling Bishops, while Wooster native Trevar Meese made seven stops and had one of OWU's three sacks.

Prior to the exhibition contest, Wooster recognized its 10 seniors – quarterback Caden Croft, defensive back Beau Greenwood, defensive back Mark Herron, linebacker Eric Kraus, offensive lineman Eli Lohrey, defensive tackle Kobe Matesic, defensive back Cam Pollard, offensive lineman Artemus Scissum, wide receiver Keetrone Singleton, and linebacker Brandon Vincenzo.

Next, Wooster begins preparing for the fall 2021 season.