No. 23 Wooster Improves to 7-0 With 49-20 Win Over Earlham

With 224 rushing yards against Earlham, Tony Sutton became the Scots' all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,345 yards.

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WOOSTER, Ohio — It was a historic Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium, as the No. 23 ranked College of Wooster football team improved its record to 7-0 for the first time since 1923 with a 49-20 victory over Earlham.

Adding to the drama Saturday was the performance of sophomore running back Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban), who became the Scots' all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,345 yards after gaining 224 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. He surpassed the record of 1,236 yards previously held by Brian Grandison (1991). Earlier this season, Sutton broke the school and North Coast Athletic Conference for rushing yards in one game with 313, which was also held by Grandison.

Wooster, which came into the game as the top rushing offense (265.8 ypg) in the conference, used a bruising ground attack to wear down the Quaker defense. Overall, the Scots carried the ball 57 times for 304 yards – 152 yards in each half.

When Wooster did go to the air – which it did 17 times – it was extremely effective, completing 11 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

The Scots struck first offensively, as senior quarterback Jeff Spraggins (Garfield Heights, Ohio / Garfield Heights) connected with sophomore Tim Slovensky (Parma, Ohio / Parma Senior) on a 39-yard touchdown pass.

On its next possession, Wooster marched right down the field, as Sutton gained 44 yards on the ground, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

After forcing Earlham (2-5, 2-2) to go three-and-out for the second time in three possessions, the Scots methodically moved down the field again, taking 12 plays and 6:18 off the clock before Spraggins hit junior Matt Ralls (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) on a 11-yard touchdown pass.

The Quakers, who were held to just one first down in the first quarter, looked like a different team in the second quarter, as they quickly cut the Wooster lead to 21-7 when Darrian Story capped a 62-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run.

But again Wooster moved the ball right down the field, with Sutton carrying the ball six straight times before scoring from one-yard out.

Earlham took to the air on the ensuing possession, as Justin Rummel completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive, including a 19-yard scoring pass to Story to make the score 27-14.

This set up a key drive for Wooster, which instead of running out the clock with 1:23 to play before halftime, challenged the Quaker defense. Spraggins completed passes of 32 and 21 yards to senior Ryan Hartschuh (Akron, Ohio / Revere) to move the Scots deep into Earlham territory, then hit junior Mike Malone (Parma, Ohio / Parma Senior) on a 13-yard touchdown pass with just 38 seconds left.

Earlham did make the game interesting early in the third quarter, as Story broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run to cut Wooster's lead to 14 points (34-20). But again Wooster responded. The Scots took 7:08 off the clock on a 13-play drive, 12 of which were rushes by Sutton, who finished the clinching march by scoring from one-yard out.

Sutton completed his record-setting day with a 51-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Statistically, Wooster outgained Earlham 509-311 and had 12 more first downs. Story had a strong game for the Quakers, as he gained 152 yards on just 14 carries.

Wooster, which improved to 4-0 in the NCAC, travels to Crawfordsville, Ind., next Saturday to face Wabash, who is tied with the Scots atop the conference standings and is a perfect 7-0 overall.