Tony Sutton high steps his way to one of his five touchdowns against Aurora.

WOOSTER, Ohio — Touchdown runs of 41 and 31 yards by Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) within a span of 1:30 late in the fourth quarter broke open a 27-27 tie and propelled The College of Wooster to a 41-34 victory over Aurora in a first-round NCAA Div. III playoff game at John P. Papp Stadium.

The win was Wooster’s (11-0) first-ever playoff win in its first-ever playoff appearance. The Scots will now host Carthage in a Round of 16 playoff game next Saturday, Nov. 27, at home.

With Wooster holding on to a 27-20 lead with 4:57 to play in the fourth quarter, Aurora went for it on a 4th-and-1 play from its own 35-yard line, and it paid off big time, as fullback Daniel Whalen broke through the stacked Wooster defensive line untouched, racing 65 yards for the tying touchdown.

The Scots wasted no time in responding, however. Starting at its own 34-yard line with 4:41 to play, Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) connected with Sutton an a 25-yard screen pass that moved the ball to the Spartan 41-yard line. On the next play, Sutton took a pitch to the right, slipped a couple of tackles then avoided being knocked out of bounds at about the 15-yard line, as he maintained his balance and ran in for the go-ahead touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, Aurora was whistled for an illegal block in the back, leaving them with 91 yards for the tying score. The Scot defense took advantage. Andy Mizak (Warren, Mich / Paul K. Cousino) got things started for Wooster with his third sack of the game, moving Aurora back to the eight-yard line. The Scots nearly got a safety when pressure by Brad Michel (Vandalia, Ohio / Wayne) forced Aurora quarterback Andrew Hornung to throw the ball away as he was falling out of the back of the end zone. An incomplete pass on third-down forced the Spartans to punt.

After a 37-yard punt that was fair caught by Keith Adams (Suffield, Ohio / Field), the Scots took over at the Aurora 38-yard line. It took only two runs for Sutton to score his fifth touchdown of the day, as he broke free down the left side of the field for a 31-yard touchdown that seemed to put the game away with 2:34 left.

But the Spartans got right back in the game on the kickoff, as Rob Bieritz returned the kick 75 yards to the Wooster 14-yard line. Two plays later Whalen scored from two-yards out to bring Aurora within a touchdown (41-34) with 2:01 to play.

With just two timeouts remaining, Aurora attempted an on-sides kick to get the ball back, but Wooster’s Richie McNally recovered the line drive kickoff at the Wooster 37-yard line. After a personal foul penalty against the Spartans, the Scots took over at their own 47-yard line.

Facing 3rd-and-7 with 1:06 to play after Aurora’s second timeout, Sutton put the game away with a nine-yard run to the left that gave Wooster its final first down of the game.

The story for Wooster was Sutton, who entered Saturday’s game leading Div. III in rushing (187.5 ypg), scoring (16.8 ppg) and all-purpose yards (222.1 ypg). He finished the game with 209 rushing yards on 28 carries and five touchdowns, which tied an NCAA Div. III post-season record for a single game. He also became just the eighth running back in Div. III history to top 2,000 yards in a season (2,084).

The game did not start well for Wooster, as on the first play from scrimmage Schafer was intercepted by Robbie Perry on a long pass attempt, which gave the Spartans the ball at their 33-yard line. The Scots’ defense held, but on Wooster’s very next offensive play, Schafer fumbled the ball on the option, setting up Aurora at the Wooster 31-yard line.

The Spartans appeared to have been stopped, but on 4th-and-13, Hornung connected with Bieritz for a 31-yard touchdown.

Wooster quickly responded, thanks in large part to a 45-yard pass from Schafer to Richie McNally, which set the Scots up at the Aurora two yard line. Two plays later, Sutton scored to tie the game.

Aurora regained the lead on its next possession, as they went 63 yards on nine plays, capped again with a Hornung to Bieritz touchdown connection, this time for 11 yards. The extra point was blocked.

Wooster took its first lead late in the first quarter, when Sutton broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 14-13 Scots.

Keith Adams gets loose on one of his five punt returns. He finished with a total of 91 yards on punt returns, including two that went over 30 yards.

Aurora methodically moved the ball down the field on its next drive, going 71 yards on 13 plays, capped off by a two-yard touchdown pass from Hornung to Justin Lehr on 3rd-and-goal.

Wooster got within three points before halftime, thanks to a 39-yard punt return by Keith Adams, who took the ball all the way to the Aurora 13-yard line. The Scots’ offense sputtered, however, and they had to settle for a 31-yard McNally field goal to make it 20-17 heading into halftime.

Most of the third quarter belonged to the two defenses, as neither team could mount much of an offense until Adams had another long punt return for Wooster, this time going 38 yards to give the Scots the ball at the Spartan 25-yard line. This time Wooster cashed in with a touchdown, as Sutton scampered in from 10 yards out to give the Scots a 24-20 lead with 2:37 to play in the third quarter.

McNally pushed the Wooster lead up to a touchdown (27-20) with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, until the 65-yard run by Whalen tied the score with 4:47 to play.

Statistically, Aurora outgained Wooster 403-320 in total offense, and ran 30 more plays (84-54). But the Spartans hurt themselves several times with penalties, finishing with 11 for 97 yards.

In addition to Sutton, Schafer completed 10-of-19 passes for 129 yards for Wooster, while McNally caught two balls for 59 yards.

Whalen had a big day rushing for Aurora, gaining 142 yards on 16 carries. Hornung was efficient through the air, completing 19-of-31 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wooster defense, which did not play well in the first half, came alive in the second half, finishing the game with five sacks.

Leading the defensive charge was Tim Cline (Gambier, Ohio / Mount Vernon), who collected 13 tackles. Mizak had eight tackles, including three sacks, while Joe Kearney (Weymouth, Mass. / Weymouth) and Bobby Vega (Windsor, Conn. / Pomfret School) each had a sack.