Wooster at Oberlin on Saturday (Football Game Notes)
Kickoff at noon
October 21, 2024
After two straight Saturdays under the lights at John P. Papp Stadium, The College of Wooster football team (1-6, 0-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) is back on the road for Saturday's noon game at Oberlin College (0-6, 0-4 NCAC). Wooster is coming off a 34-22 loss to Ohio Wesleyan University (3-4, 2-3 NCAC) on Saturday. Oberlin was idle last week and most recently fell 52-0 to Wabash College (5-1, 4-0 NCAC) on October 13.
On The Air: Oberlin will have a livestream of this week's game available at https://northcoastnetwork.com/oberlin. 1045 The River (formerly WQKT) is carrying this week's contest on WKVX 960 AM, FM 102.9 FM, and online at https://localsportsohio.com.
All-Time Series: Wooster leads the all-time series 74-23-2 and has won seven straight. Wooster has beaten Oberlin more than any other opponent in program history, and the Scots have played the Yeomen more times than any other team. Kenyon College is No. 2 all-time on Wooster's wins list at 57, while Denison University is second for most all-time meetings in program history at 92. The Wooster-Oberlin series dates back to 1903. The Yeomen won that game 30-0. Wooster is 31-4 in the series since the NCAC was founded.
Last Meeting: Wooster logged its best statistical defensive game in nearly two decades, and fittingly, the dominant performance was one of many signature moments in head coach Frank Colaprete's 50th win leading the Scots' program. Wooster's 36-0 shutout of Oberlin on November 4, 2023 featured the Yeomen having just 95 yards of offense, while then-senior Lake Barrett broke the program's career record with field goal 28 in the second quarter. Oberlin managed to get the ball on Wooster's side of the field just twice, and one of them was only because of a Scots' turnover. Wooster denied Oberlin a golden opportunity to score when the Yeomen took over at the Wooster 3-yard line in the fourth quarter. Then-sophomore Tate Journell (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) picked off Drew Nye at the 5-yard line and ran his fourth interception of the season back 62 yards before the Yeomen quarterback was able to catch up for the tackle.
Offense Notes: Wooster has lost just one fumble through seven games this fall, and that total ranks 12th nationally. There are 11 teams within Div. III who have yet to loose a fumble this fall. Sophomore quarterback Michael Boyle (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) is 38-of-71 for 478 yards passing and five touchdowns in two games as Wooster's starter. Senior Brazos Gadler (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek) surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards last Saturday and became the sixth in program history to do so. Gadler enters this week fourth all-time with 2,073 receiving yards, and third is alumnus Chris Cabot, who had 2,302 from 1998 through 2001. Wooster continues to spread out the load among talented running backs. This year, sophomore Jace Austin (Youngstown, Ohio/Chaney) leads the team with 374 yards and four touchdowns on 64 carries. Junior Shakir Perkins (Austintown, Ohio/Mineral Ridge) follows with 341 yards and three touchdowns on 66 carries. Junior Jarvis Mims Jr. (Baxley, Ga./Appling County) rounds out the trio of running backs with 127 yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries.
Defense Notes: Senior defensive lineman Neil Clayton (Boydton, Va./Bluestone) took over the top spot on the team for tackles for loss at 7.5 following a four-TFL game on Saturday. Junior linebacker Wyatt Harris (Cave Creek, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) had two sacks in Saturday's game, which set Ohio Wesleyan back 18 yards. Wooster is now at 10 sacks on the year with Clayton and Harris leading the way with two each.
Special Teams Notes: Harris had Wooster's first blocked kick of the year last Saturday, with that coming on an Ohio Wesleyan extra-point try at the end of the first half. Sophomore David Parker (Loudonville, Ohio/Hillsdale) was a focal point of last Saturday's kickoff return unit with Ohio Wesleyan kicking away from Gadler. Parker returned four kickoffs 24 yards. Gadler was credited with 87 kickoff return yards. He had a 67-yard runback and then added 20 yards to one of Parker's returns on a lateral play.