Big Plays Lift Allegheny Past Wooster 26-20

Tony Sutton rushed for 195 yards against Allegheny in a losing effort.

WOOSTER, Ohio — Allegheny College managed only seven first downs, but three plays of over 50 yards, including a 77-yard punt return by Brian Woods in the fourth quarter, lifted the Gators by host College of Wooster 26-20 to remain atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.

With the win, Allegheny improves to 3-0 in the conference (3-3 overall), a half game ahead of Oberlin (2-0) and a game clear of Wabash and Wittenberg.

Clinging to a 19-17 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Woods received a Wooster punt at his own 23-yard line and burst free through the right side of the Scots’ coverage team. He broke one tackle then used his speed to break back to the middle of the field and outrun everyone into the end zone. The extra point, which was not automatic after being missed twice earlier by Allegheny, was converted by Aaron Polack, giving the Gators a nine-point lead (26-17).

The Scots looked to answer Allegheny’s touchdown with one of their own, as they drove the ball to the Gator eight-yard line with about four minutes to play. But a sack by Allegheny – their sixth of the game – halted the Wooster drive and forced the Scots to settle for a 29-yard Richie McNally (Westerville, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales) field goal with exactly three minutes to play.

With just one timeout remaining and needing the ball back, Wooster decided to try an onsides kick, but it was recovered by the Gators at the Wooster 48-yard line. The Scot defense was able to prevent Allegheny from getting a first down, and forced the Gators to punt, allowing Wooster to get the ball back at their own 16-yard line with 1:20 to play.

Two pass completions by quarterback Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) got the Scots to their own 37-yard line, but Schafer, needing to get the ball downfield quickly, was picked off by Elliot George near midfield with 36 seconds left, clinching the victory for Allegheny.

The Gator offense struggled for much of the game, but struck for two big plays in the first half to keep them in the contest. Trailing 7-0 midway through the first quarter, quarterback Bubba Smith hit Casey Devlin on a wide receiver screen that turned into a 54-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed.

The Scots improved its lead to 14-6 with 3:18 to play in the first quarter, when Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) ran the ball in from 11-yard out. The score was set up by a Brian Kight (Dublin, Ohio / Fallbrook (Calif.)) at the Allegheny 21-yard line. But on the first play of Allegheny’s next possession, the Gators ran nearly the same play that scored their first touchdown. This time, Brian Woods took the short pass and turned it into a 65-yard touchdown, and with the extra point, trailed 14-13.

After the high-scoring first quarter, both defenses stiffened in the second quarter, as neither team scored. Wooster had other scoring opportunities in the first half, but four different drives the Scots got within the Allegheny 35-yard line without scoring a single point.

The Gators opened the second half with a methodical 14-play, 83-yard drive that was capped by a Smith three-yard touchdown pass to Brian O’Malley. Again, the extra point was missed, and Allegheny led 19-14.

Wooster appeared to poised to take the lead when they recovered an Allegheny fumble of a punt at the Gator 33-yard line. Wooster got the ball to the Allegheny one-yard line, but the carry by Sutton to the edge of the goal line aggravated an existing knee injury, forcing him out of the game. Wooster was unable to punch the ball across the goal line on the next two plays, and had to settle for a McNally 25-yard field goal, which at the time cut the Gators’ lead to 19-17.

Returning to action after missing last week’s game with a knee injury, Sutton had another big day for the Scots, rushing for 195 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries, despite not being 100 percent. Schafer also had his best game of his young career, completing 17-of-34 passes for 225 yards. But their efforts could not overcome six sacks, which resulted in a loss of 40 yards, and nine penalties for 82 yards.

Statistically, Wooster had more than double the amount of offensive plays (87-42), and outgained the Gators 391-247. The Scot defense, which surrendered over 200 yards rushing in a loss to Oberlin last week, limited Allegheny to just 52 yards rushing.

Individually for Allegheny, Smith completed 10-of-18 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Devlin and Woods only had two catches, but finished with 81 and 71 yards receiving, respectively. Jamie Sye rushed for 47 yards on 17 carries.

Defensively, Mike Soltis had three of Allegheny’s six sacks, while Andre Smith led Wooster with seven tackles.

Wooster (4-2 / 1-2) returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 25) when it travels to Earlham.