Scots Hoping Home Field Translates to Wins, as OWU Visits Papp

Ashton Segree

After playing three of its first four games on the road, The College of Wooster will attempt to turn home-field advantage into its first victory of the season this Saturday, Oct. 6, as the Fighting Scots welcome North Coast Athletic Conference foe Ohio Wesleyan University (1-3, 1-1 NCAC) to 4,500-seat John P. Papp Stadium. Both teams are traditional winning programs in the NCAC, but have fallen on hard times early this year. Wooster has produced a winning record 10 of the last 11 seasons, while Ohio Wesleyan has finished .500 or better 16 times over the past two decades. One thing that has been holding both of them back is challenging schedules to this point. The Scots’ four opponents are currently a combined 15-2, including John Carroll University, which is ranked No. 24 in this week’s D3football.com top-25 poll, while Ohio Wesleyan’s opponents are 12-5, highlighted by 16th-ranked Wabash College, which only got past the Battling Bishops 15-0 after a scoreless first half. Kickoff of the Ohio Wesleyan-Wooster game is set for 1 p.m. EDT.

On the Air: Wooster’s football games can be heard live each week in the Wooster area on WKVX 960 AM, or anywhere in the world on the College’s Web site (www.wooster.edu/interactive/). This week’s game will be called by Mike Breckenridge and Ron Hamilton.

Saturday’s game will also be televised on tape delay in Wooster by Clear Picture, Inc. Handling the play-by-play as usual will be Jon Heavlin and Dan Wingate provides color commentary. It will be aired on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., followed by additional broadcasts on Sunday and Monday at noon and 3 p.m. each day.

All-Time Series: The Ohio Wesleyan-Wooster series, which dates back to 1901, has been very competitive throughout the years. Overall, the Bishops own a narrow lead of 27-24, however, since joining the NCAC (1984), the Scots hold the edge in 23 meetings (12-11), including wins in eight of the last 11. During one three-season stretch (1999-2001), every game was decided by a touchdown or less.

Last Week: On Sept. 29, Wittenberg University utilized a series of long plays to bolt out to a 31-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and Wooster never recovered, as the host Tigers went on to secure a 58-7 decision in Springfield, Ohio. It was an unusual result, as typically the two rivals play games that go down to the wire, with seven of the previous 11 having been decided by eight points or less.

Wittenberg set the tone with a 55-yard pass on its first offensive play, but the Scots did hold the Tigers to a 39-yard field goal. After that drive, though, Wittenberg would reach the end zone four times in the opening period alone, highlighted by its first touchdown on a 65-yard pass play, another on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line that was set up by a 71-yard rush, and the fourth on an 81-yard run. The Tigers compiled a remarkable 314 yards of total offense the first 14:30.

Wooster played much better in the second quarter, as sophomore linebacker Matt DeGrand (Stow, Ohio / St. Vincent-St. Mary) recovered a fumble, forced by senior defensive tackle Aaron Patterson (Steubenville, Ohio / Steubenville), on Wittenberg’s next offensive series. Late in the half, the Scots looked like they might cut into the then-38-0 deficit, driving the ball inside the Tiger 10-yard line, with sophomore Chad Parker (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn Hills) directing the offense, but the Scots turned it over on downs.

In the third quarter, Wittenberg tacked on two more scores, with each drive including two plays that went 20-plus yards, to go ahead 52-0. Wooster then put together its best drive, marching 67 yards over 17 plays, capped by a 8-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Austin Holter (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) to senior tight end Ben Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth) on a 4th-and-3 play.

The Tigers added one more touchdown early in the fourth to account for the 51-point margin.
Statistically for the Scots, Holter and Parker split time as the signal caller and ended up with similar lines, as Holter completed 13-of-23 for 87 yards and Parker was 12-of-21 for 132 yards. They both targeted Schrock frequently, as he had a career-high nine receptions for 56 yards. Junior Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) led the rushing attack, netting 36 stripes on 15 carries. Senior middle linebacker Greg Schermbeck (Holly Springs, N.C. / Whitmer – Ohio) paced the defense with nine tackles.

Depth Chart Notes: Junior offensive lineman Cam LeMasters (Cross Lanes, W. Va. / Nitro) is expected to start at right tackle this week, which will mark his third different position this season. He began the year starting at left tackle and also started at center last week. Defensively, junior Pat Byrne (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic) has been promoted back to starter. He’s been the top tackler among Wooster’s defensive linemen with 17 stops.

This and That: Scot senior Greg Schermbeck (Holly Springs, N.C. / Whitmer – Ohio) continues to be on pace for a 100-tackle season, currently with 42 stops through four games. The last Wooster player to accomplish that feat was Tim Cline in 2001 when he had 135 tackles ... Junior running back Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) is 64 yards shy of becoming the 10th player in team history to reach the 2,000-yard milestone for career rushing ... Sophomore Ashton Segree (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic) nearly set a school record during the loss at Wittenberg. He totaled 199 kickoff return yards on nine run backs, second only in the Scot annals to Ron Cetovich’s mark of 223 against Baldwin-Wallace College in 1973.