No. 25 Wooster Wins 45-36 Shootout With Hope

Ryan Jayne streaks down the sideline in front of the Hope bench as he returns an interception for a school-record 100 yards in the third quarter.

WOOSTER, Ohio — In a game where the two teams combined for 81 points and 855 yards of total offense, it was a defensive play that proved to be the decisive moment in No. 25 Wooster’s 45-36 victory over Hope in the season opener for both.

With the Scots clinging to a 28-21 lead in the third quarter, the Dutchmen marched 60 yards all the way to the Wooster five-yard line. On a third-and-goal play, Ryan Jayne (East Palestine, Ohio / East Palestine) stepped in front of a pass from Hope’s Phil Butler at the goal line, then raced down the right sidelines for a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown – the longest in school history.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Dutchmen’s Jeff Eldersveld was stripped of the ball, and Wooster was able to recover the fumble just before it went out of bounds at the Hope 26-yard line. Five plays later, Rob Hooper (Mount Vernon, Ohio / Mount Vernon) scored from one-yard out to give the Scots a commanding 42-21 lead with 1:35 to play in the third quarter.

Wooster got out of the gate quickly, as the defense forced Hope to go three-and-out on its first possession, and a 21-yard Nick Hajjar (Prospect, Ohio / Marion Pleasant) punt return gave the Scots the ball on the Hope 31-yard line. Then on his first collegiate snap, freshman quarterback Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) hit Tim Slovensky (Parma, Ohio / Parma Senior) on a 31-yard touchdown pass to five Wooster an early 7-0 lead.

Later in the first quarter, after again starting a drive in Hope territory (43-yard line), the Scots gave the ball to All-American running back Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) six times in seven plays, which was capped by a 25-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-two play.

Hope got on the board early in the second quarter, as Dan Bloemers capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

The Scots immediately responded, however, as Schafer connected with tight end Matt Ralls (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Justin Schafer goes back for a pass during the second half.

Wooster looked like they were going to carry that lead in the locker room at halftime, but with 1:09 left in the second quarter, the Dutchmen needed just 57 seconds to go 57 yards and cut the lead to 21-14 on a Butler 20-yard touchdown pass to Jake Schrock.

That late score seemed to switch the momentum to Hope’s side, as they came out in the second half and stopped Wooster on its first possession, then tied the game at 21-21 on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Butler to Eldersveld.

Helped by a 36-yard kickoff return by Hajjar, Wooster immediately retook the lead on its next possession, as Sutton capped the short 50-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run.

Wooster never looked back after that, as Jayne’s interception helped put the game away.

Statistically, Hope held the advantage over the Scots, compiling over 500 yards (510) of total offense for the game, including 426 yards through the air. Butler finished the game 30-of-49 for 426 yards and four touchdowns. Eldersveld had a big day receiving, catching seven passes for 176 yards.

Wooster, on the other hand, moved the ball on the ground, rushing the ball 59 times for 260 yards. Sutton rushed for 130 yards on 30 carries, while Schafer rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries from the quarterback position.

Defensively, Tim Cline (Gambier, Ohio / Gambier) led the way for Wooster with 13 tackles, including two for losses, while Brian Kight (Dublin, Ohio / Fallbrook (Calif.)) had nine tackles from the secondary. Jason Misner and Andy Snyder had 15 and 13 tackles, respectively, to lead Hope.

Wooster, which defeated Hope in the season opener last year 14-9 in Holland, Mich., now has a week off before traveling to West Virginia to take on Bethany on September 20.