Scots Hold Off Second-Half Comeback, Defeat JCU 30-22

Jordan Ferns hauls in this 9-yard fade pass in the corner of the end zone to give Wooster a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Jordan Ferns (Canfield, Ohio / Canfield) scored two touchdowns, one an 85-yard kickoff return, and The College of Wooster defense stopped a potential game-tying drive with 2:26 remaining as the Fighting Scots topped fellow northeast Ohio foe John Carroll University 30-22 while opening the 2006 season at an unseasonably cool and wet John P. Papp Stadium.

It marks Wooster’s ninth victory in a season opener in 10 years.

John Carroll whittled a 24-0 halftime deficit down to 24-14 late in the third quarter when Ferns fielded a kickoff on the right side of the field, broke one tackle, split a couple of defenders, reversed direction, and eventually won a race to the left pylon. It marked Ferns’ first career kickoff return attempt.

The Scots missed the ensuing extra point, though, which kept it a two-score game (30-14), and the Blue Streaks responded on the ensuing drive. Led by quarterback Mark Petruziello, who did not play in the first half, John Carroll marched 71 yards over 11 plays, capped by a 3-yard pass to Joe Konrad – his second touchdown of the day. The Blue Streaks converted two fourth downs on that drive, 4th-and-11 from its own 46 and Konrad’s touchdown was a 4th-and-goal play. John Carroll added the two-point conversion to cut its deficit to 30-22.

The Blue Streaks got the ball back on their own 23-yard line with 8:01 to go and drove 53 yards to the Wooster 24. Then, on 3rd-and-1, Petruziello was picked off by senior free safety Josh Feesler (Canal Fulton, Ohio / Manchester) on an out pattern to the left side, essentially sealing the win for Wooster.

The first half was all Scots. They scored on the very first drive, with Justin Schafer (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) making several key plays. The senior quarterback scrambled for 11 yards on a 3rd-and-9 play and later connected with Ferns on a 42-yard pass. Schafer also finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on an option.

The two teams exchanged punts the rest of the first quarter, but early in the second, Deron Boyd (Ravenna, Ohio / Ravenna) recovered a fumble on the John Carroll 11-yard line. Schafer then found Ferns in the corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-8 to make it 14-0.

John Carroll turned it over again two offensive plays later, when Jeff Geffert (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) intercepted a deep pass over the middle. He returned it to the Blue Streak 36. The Scots took advantage again, this time with Andrew Milligan (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) connecting on a 32-yard field goal (17-0).

Another John Carroll fumble helped Wooster continue to win the field position battle, and late in the half, the Scots marched 40 yards over nine plays and scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Schafer to Greg Peltz (Amherst, Ohio / Amherst Steele).

Statistically in the opening 30 minutes, Wooster allowed just one first down and held the Blue Streaks to negative two yards of total offense. The Scots, on the other hand, totaled 160 yards.

The second half was a different story, as John Carroll wound up with 218 yards of total offense for the game, just shy of Wooster’s 227.

Individually, Schafer accounted for 177 yards of total offense. He completed 14-of-23 for 131 passing yards and netted 46 yards rushing on 12 attempts. Schafer was the Scots’ second-leading rusher, only behind Orlando Jones (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria), who finished with 48 on 10 carries, while the top receivers were Peltz and Ferns with five catches for 35 yards and four receptions for 63 yards, respectively.

For the Blue Streaks, Petruziello tallied 212 yards of total offense. He was 12-of-17 through the air for 124 yards and ran for 88 on 11 attempts. Konrad had six receptions for 50 yards.

Up next for Wooster is a road trip to Waynesburg College (0-1) on Saturday.