Sutton Sets Another Record in 52-24 Rout of Earlham

Rob Hooper caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown against Earlham.

Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) rushed for five first-half touchdowns, and six for the game to equal his own North Coast Athletic Conference record, leading The College of Wooster to a 52-24 win at Earlham College on Saturday afternoon in Richmond, Ind.

Sutton, who finished with 352 all-purpose yards (273 rushing, 79 receiving) boosted his season total to 19 rushing touchdowns, breaking a 43-year old school record previously held by Steve McClellan, who ran for 17 scores in 1960.

Wooster (5-2, 2-2 NCAC) didn't take the lead until its first drive of the second quarter, when Sutton took one in from 26 yards out - his longest run of the day. That only made it 18-14, though, as the Scots were unable to convert a point after attempt on their first three touchdowns, missing one extra point, then failing on a two-point try, and having an extra point blocked.

Upstart Earlham (1-6, 0-3 NCAC), which scored two first-quarter touchdowns that each covered over 90 yards, answered with a 27-yard field to make it a one-point game.

However, it was all Scots from that point on. Wooster's last two drives of the first half were both capped by Sutton 11-yard touchdown runs, giving the visitors a 31-17 advantage at the break.

The Scots started with the ball in the second half and promptly drove 69 yards in six plays, as Sutton finished it on a 17-yard rush, making it a three-score game. Those were the lone points of the third quarter.

The backbreaker for the Quakers came early in the fourth. After advancing the ball 49 yards down to the Scot four-yard line, the Wooster defense stiffened, sacking quartervback Justin Rummell twice during a three-play stretch and forcing Earlham to turn the ball over on downs.

On the ensuing drive, Sutton brought the ball from the Wooster 17 to the Quaker 14 on five-straight running plays. The sixth play of the possession resulted in a Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) touchdown pass to fullback Rob Hooper (Mt. Vernon, Ohio / Mt. Vernon), who quietly had a big day receiving - six catches for 131 yards - which gave the Scots a 45-17 lead.

After stopping Earlham again on its next drive, senior Nick Hajjar (Prospect, Ohio / Marion Pleasant) wrapped up Wooster's scoring with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown. Earlier, Hajjar, who also returned a punt for a score last year, helped the Scot cause by shortening the field with long kickoff returns. On four run backs, he covered 135 yards, including a long of 50, for an average of 33.8 yards per return.

The Quakers tacked on a late score to make it a 28-point differential.

Wooster's offense was clicking on all cylinders, totaling 622 yards of offense on the day. Sutton's 273 rushing yards came on 34 attempts and his 79 receiving yards were on just two screen plays, while Schafer completed 15-of-28 passes for a season-high 282 yards and one touchdown without an interception.

Earlham accounted for 191 of its 470 yards on two plays - a pass from Rummell to James Jewell that covered 95 yards just 33 seconds into the game and a school-record 96-yard rushing touchdown by Maurice Hibbler - while it took the Quakers 72 plays to total their other 279 yards (3.9). Rummell finished the day 25-of-38 for 364 yards, with Jewell hauling in 10 of those for a school-record 242 receiving yards.

The Scots return to home next week (Nov. 1) for a match-up against Wabash College (5-2, 3-1 NCAC) on "Family Weekend" at 1 p.m.