WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster football team struck first with a big play following an interception by senior Langston Williams, then Denison University rode its bruising ground game to a 28-14 win over the Fighting Scots to maintain possession of the "Old Red Lantern" trophy on Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.

Williams picked off Denison's (7-2, 5-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) Drew Dawkins in the end zone on the Big Red's opening drive in what marked a rare downfield shot by the vistors. Wooster (5-4, 3-4 NCAC) took its shot two plays later, and sophomore Brazos Gadler was off to the races, sprinting past the Big Red for a 62-yard touchdown reception at the first period's 8:48 mark.

Denison answered on its next drive with Trey Fabrocini rumbling in from a yard out with :15 left in the first period. The plunge capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive that chewed 8:33 off the clock.

Wooster first-year Jarvis Mims Jr. knifed through the Big Red's front line for a 2-yard touchdown with 9:18 remaining in the second quarter to put the Scots back on top. Senior tight end Cole Hissong's 26-yard diving catch at Denison's 2-yard line set up the prime scoring opportunity. Earlier, Mims Jr. burst through the Big Red's defense for an 11-yard pickup on a third-and-2 play, and the Scots turned to senior running back Andrew Yanssens to rush for a first down on fourth-and-2.

Denison's slow ground-and-pound approach swung the momentum the Big Red's way, and the halftime bookends were the turning point of the game. Denison took over with 6:17 remaining in the opening half, and used all but :13 of the time tying the score up on Mack Marston's 6-yard touchdown catch. Due to winning the coin toss, Denison had the ball again to start the third quarter, and 6:14 ran off the clock before Fabrocini crossed the goal line from 2 yards out. Three drives of at least 4:17 followed from Denison down the stretch.

Fabrocini carried Denison on his back with 223 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries. The hard-to-tackle bruiser averaged 5.7 yards per carry, and as a team, Denison finished just shy of 299 yards of the ground.

Dawkins completed 14-of-24 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Marston was the favorite target with five receptions for 35 yards. Jack Nimesheim's seven tackles were tops on Denison's side, Clay Denstorff had two tackles for loss, Nathan Hallenbeck forced and recovered a fumble, and Nimesheim picked off Renteria in the game.

Renteria went 14-of-23 for 194 yards and a score. Gadler led all players with 78 yards receiving.

Wooster first-year Q Renteria was heavily involved with a game-high 13 tackles, while junior Domenic DeMuth followed with 10. Senior Matt Ulishney was one of three Scots to log eight stops, and in doing so, he hit 100 for the year.

Thanks to its success on the ground, Denison possessed the ball for 43:17 and ran 87 plays to Wooster's 42. The Big Red converted 4-of-5 fourth-down chances and had 411 yards of offense while not having a single play go for more than 17 yards.

Next, Wooster concludes its season with a 1 p.m. game at Oberlin College (0-9, 0-7 NCAC) on Saturday, November 12.