Sheppard's Fourth-Quarter Explosion Give Scots 38-31 Win

Dustin Sheppard gets loose for some of his season-high 190 rushing yards Saturday.

WOOSTER, Ohio – On “Senior Day,” it was sophomore Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) who led The College of Wooster to a stirring fourth-quarter comeback victory, as the running back had three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, including the last with :27 remaining, to erase a 31-17 deficit and lift the Fighting Scots a 38-31 win over visiting Earlham College Saturday afternoon.

Overall, Sheppard toted the ball 30 times for 190 yards, 68 coming in the fourth, and four scores. The 190 rushing yards marked the second-highest of his career.

Earlham (3-6, 1-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) had held the lead for most of the game and a touchdown pass on a deflected ball late in the third quarter gave the Quakers a two-touchdown margin for the first time (31-17).

Wooster (7-2, 4-2 NCAC) began its comeback on the ensuing kickoff, as Bryan Albani (Warren, Ohio / Howland) returned it 30 yards – his third run back of 25-plus yards in as many tries on the day – to the Scot 41. Sheppard then went to work, opening the drive with a 24-yard run, later converting a 4th-and-2 at the Earlham 27, and finishing it with a 20-yard touchdown to the left side to pull Wooster within 31-24 at the 12:32 mark.

Following one first down, the Scot defense forced a punt, which Keith Adams (Mogadore, Ohio / Field) brought back 38 yards, marking his longest punt return of the season, to the Quaker 33-yard line. Four offensive plays and an extra point later, Wooster had tied it 31-31, with the touchdown again being a long Sheppard run over the left, this time from 21 yards away.

With 7:54 on the clock, Earlham’s offense took over and picked up one first down. The Quakers appeared to have another at the Scot 39-yard line, however, a personal foul away from the play, instead made it 2nd-and-25 from the Earlham 31. Next, Bobby Block (Belleville, Mich. / Belleville) stopped a Quaker rush for a two-yard loss to force 3rd-and-27, which was an incomplete pass.

What turned out to be Wooster’s game-winning drive started at its own 30-yard line with 5:04 left. The Scots steadily marched down the field, with quarterback Bobby Reiff (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay) making several key plays. On 3rd-and-8 from the 32, he scrambled out of the pocket and found tight end Ben Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth) for 11 yards. Two plays later, Reiff hit Luke McCann (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Keystone Oaks) on the right sideline, covering 23 yards to the Earlham 32. Three Sheppard runs in a row gave Wooster another first down, and then on 2nd-and-11 from the 21, a designed screen pass from Reiff-to-Schrock on the right went 20 yards. On the ensuing play, Sheppard went through the middle for the touchdown, as the Scots took the lead with :27 remaining.

The Quakers were able to get off a Hail Mary on the final play, but it was intercepted by Chris Craig (Newark, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) in the end zone.

In the first half, Earlham quarterback Justin Rummell led his squad to leads of 7-0, 17-14, and 24-14, completing 23-of-34 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns, with two to Joe White and the other to Terrel Brown. Wooster countered with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Reiff to McCann on its second play from scrimmage to tie it 7-7 and took a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter when Sheppard completed a 7-play, 91-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush.

The Scots moved the ball inside the Quaker 10-yard line on their first two possessions during the third quarter, but only came away with a 20-yard field goal by Andy Miligan (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville), pulling within a touchdown (24-17).

Later in the third, an interception in Wooster territory gave Rummell and company the ball at the 19-yard line. With the help of a pass interference penalty on 4th-and-1 from the 10, Earlham would take a 14-point lead on a tipped touchdown reception by White from Rummell.

Rummell ended up 32-of-54 for 375 passing yards and four touchdowns. Jeremy Hosier, White, and Manny Myers had eight catches apiece for 75, 71, and 55 yards, respectively. Myers added 72 stripes on the ground on 12 rushing attempts, helping the Quakers to 428 yards of total offense.

In addition to Sheppard’s 190 rushing yards, Reiff was 11-of-20 passing for 212 yards. McCann and Schrock were his top targets, each with three receptions for 77 and 36 yards, respectively.