Huge Second Half Lifts No. 20 Scots Past Case 62-33

Tony Sutton cuts to the outside during his 338-yard, six-touchdown effort against Case. (photo by Duane Martin, Daily Record)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The College of Wooster played a near flawless second half on Saturday, erasing a 13-point deficit at the break (20-33) and scoring six unanswered touchdowns, four of which came as part of another record-setting performance by Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban), to earn a 62-33 win at host and previously undefeated Case Western Reserve University.

Overall, Sutton broke his own school and conference records for rushing yards in a game with 338 on 34 carries, while his four scores in the second half gave him six for the game, setting another league mark and tying a Wooster record. Last fall, Sutton had 313 yards and five scores at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Additionally, Sutton eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark (2,079) in just his 12th career game, and the junior transfer also now has 28 total touchdowns.

While Sutton’s day will go down in the history books, the biggest play came from Scot junior free safety Brian Kight (Dublin, Ohio / Fallbrook — Calif.). With Wooster narrowly ahead (34-33) early in the fourth and Case threatening to retake the momentum, Kight stepped in front of an Eli Grant pass on 2nd-and-10 from the Scot 19-yard line and sprinted untouched 85 yards for a score. It marked Kight’s third career interception return for a touchdown, as well as the Scots’ fourth of 2003.

The floodgates opened from that point, as the Wooster defense pressured Grant and the Spartans with blitz after blitz and Sutton took care of business on the other side of the ball.

On the next four offensive series for Case, the Scots held their hosts to three first downs and picked off Grant twice more — one by junior outside linebacker Bobby Vega (Windsor, Conn. / Pomfret School) and the other by junior middle linebacker Tim Cline (Gambier, Ohio / Mt. Vernon).

While Wooster’s first three possessions of the fourth quarter saw eight consecutive runs by Sutton, resulting in 144 of his yards and three touchdowns.

The first half was a completely different story, with Case jumping out to a 13-0 lead behind a pair of touchdown passes by Grant.

The Scots’ quickly came back, though, with three of the next four scores, including a 61-yard touchdown run by Sutton, to tie it 20-20 with 10:04 remaining before halftime in the offensive shootout.

The Spartans responded with back-to-back touchdowns — one a Grant pass and one a Grant rush — taking a two-score lead and the momentum into the locker rooms.

Wooster made the necessary adjustments, shutting out one of the top-rated offenses in NCAA Div. III in the second. After the Spartans racked up 352 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes, they were held to 98 yards on 35 plays during the last 30 minutes.

Overall, the Scots held a slight advantage in total offense, with 424 of their 488 net yards coming on the ground. At the controls, freshman quarterback Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) was steady once again, completing 6-of-15 for 64 yards and one touchdowns without an interception.

Grant, a preseason All-American, finished the day 26-for-50 with 324 passing yards and three scores, but the three interceptions did him and Case in.

Wooster also held the Spartans’ other offensive star in check, as tailback Brandon McDowell finished with 19 rushes for 79 yards and six catches for 66 receiving yards.

Kight was the Scots’ leading tackler, going down with 16 unofficial stops on the day.

Wooster will try and keep its record unblemished and also open North Coast Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 4), as they welcome Ohio Wesleyan University to town for a game, starting at 1 p.m.