Fighting Scots Football Shines Under the Lights

Over 200 past Wooster greats returned to witness first home night game in school history

WOOSTER, Ohio – It wasn’t something that could be heard through play-by-play on the radio, and it doesn’t show up in the box score – it was a “you had to be there” moment. And for the 4,500 people who were in the stands at John P. Papp Stadium on Saturday night, and the hundreds more gathered nearby, it was something they will never forget.

For the first time in 110 years of football at The College of Wooster, the players, led by bagpipes and drums, marched arm-in-arm down the hill and onto the field with over 200 members of the Fighting Scots’ football family right behind them – and this time there were bright lights shining down on the gridiron magnifying the moment.

“Man, it was awesome. I really can’t put it into words,” said senior cornerback Bryan Albani.

Wooster held its first-ever football reunion on Saturday, and thanks in large part to a generous donation from Ed and Edie Andrew, the Scots’ alum would walk along with the current players onto a newly renovated field that boasts a synthetic playing surface and, of course, the lights that illuminated the first night game in school history. For the thousands of fans in attendance, it was a sight to be seen. But for the ones who came back to walk onto the field that night, it meant so much more.

“I haven’t seen this many people in the stadium – ever,” said Kit Arn, a 1976 Wooster grad who was a Scots’ team manager, and helped raise money for the stadium’s renovations. “When I walked down that hill with those players, past and present, I got a lump in my throat. There is so much pride and tradition in this stadium right now.”

“Looking up in the stands, there was black and gold everywhere,” recalled Albani. “And to walk down onto the field with guys that I have looked up to, and ones that have helped me to get to this point, it was amazing.”

Highlighting the long list of former players and coaches who were present, was Jack Lengyel, who one alum called the “magnet” that drew so many people back to the event. Lengyel, who coached the Scots in the late 1960s, and most notably resurrected the football program at Marshall University after a plane crash killed most of its team and coaching staff, made the ceremonial coin toss. From that moment on, the game would be even more electric than the lights making it possible.

The Fighting Scots and visiting Case Western Reserve University, which came in nationally ranked, would combined to score 11 touchdowns under the lights, including Albani’s record-setting 93-yard kickoff return that put Wooster ahead 32-31 late in the third quarter.

“I was back there waiting for the kick, and I remember looking over at the sideline and seeing some of my old teammates and coaches who were there yelling ‘Albani, Albani,” he recalled. “When I got that ball I ran as hard as I could, and I ended up in the end zone. I can’t remember exactly how I got there, but I remember how good it felt when I did.”

For Douglas Hole, an ex-cornerback with the Scots during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and a current member of the Alumni Board, it’s moments like Albani’s that make it all worthwhile.

“I can still remember my first night game we played at Mount Union, and that was 40-some years ago,” said Hole. “I call it the Wooster experience, and every generation has their own. This game will be a defining moment in these kid’s lives. They will never forget this game.”

Although the Scots would not come away with a win on Saturday, this group did leave the game with several things they can hang their hat on. They earned the respect and admiration of past Wooster greats in front of one of the biggest crowds in school history. They also made it clear that they can compete with the top programs in the country.

And perhaps most importantly, they have those lights, which as many saw on Saturday, should help provide “you had to be there” moments for many Wooster generations to come.

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