Wooster Improves to 6-0 With 21-7 Win at Allegheny

Nick Hajjar returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown, marking the Scots' first punt return for a score since 1990.

MEADVILLE, Pa. - The College of Wooster rushing attack wore down the Allegheny College defense, scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns to earn a hard-fought 21-7 North Coast Athletic Conference road win on Saturday afternoon and remain unbeaten.

The two teams played an even first 30 minutes and it became a battle of field position in the second half. Wooster (6-0, 3-0 NCAC) won the battle, netting 208 rushing yards as a team, 204 of which came via sophomore sensation Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) on 36 of the team's 55 attempts.

The other important statistic that the Scots won was the time of possession, controlling the ball for 35:24, including 10:53 in the fourth quarter alone.

Tied 7-7, Wooster took the ball at its own 39-yard line on its first drive of the fourth and completed an 11-yard pass. Then, the Scots ran nine-straight rushing plays, seven by Sutton, to cover the final 50 yards and take the lead for the first time of the day. The two key plays were a 13-yard scramble by quarterback Jeff Spraggins (Garfield Heights, Ohio / Garfield Heights) on a 3rd-and-11 play from the 34-yard line, and on the very next play, a Sutton fumble that was recovered by lineman Seth Kerechanin (Clinton, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) on the 15-yard line. Sutton eventually ran it in from three yards out.

On the ensuing possession, linebacker Scott McManamon (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay) intercepted an Allegheny pass to give Wooster the ball back on the Gators' 44-yard line. The Scots gave it to Sutton on eight consecutive rushing attempts and he found his way into the end zone from 20 yards out to clinch it.

Allegheny (2-4, 1-2 NCAC) had the contests's initial score on a three-yard touchdown pass from Bubba Smith to Luke Pelger midway through the first quarter.

Wooster squandered a golden scoring opportunity on the first drive of the game, as it turned the ball over on downs at the 10-yard line after Spraggins found wide receiver Ryan Hartschuh (Akron, Ohio / Revere) for a 68-yard completion on the first play from scrimmage.

It looked like the Gators were going to take the lead into halftime, however, Nick Hajjar (Prospect, Ohio / Marion Pleasant) ran back an Allegheny punt 64 yards to tie the game with 5:09 left before the half, marking Wooster's first punt return for a touchdown since Phil Puryear brought one back on Nov. 3, 1990.

Outside Sutton's rushing total and their first play from scrimmage, the Scots had 37 net yards on their other 33 offensive plays, as Spraggins completed 6-of-14 passing yards for 101 yards, with Hartshuh catching three balls for 89 yards.

The Wooster defense, led by Hajjar and McManamon's seven tackles apiece, held Allegheny to just 11 first downs and 212 net yards. Jamie Sye led the Gators with 65 rushing yards on 16 carries, while Smith finished 10-of-24 for 82 yards and Jon Turner had six of those receptions for 51 yards.

The Scots will try and get off to their first 7-0 start since 1923, when they went 9-0 and captured the Ohio Athletic Conference championship, next week. They will host Earlham College on Saturday (Oct. 26) at 1 p.m., as part of the school's "Homecoming 2002."