Scots Celebrate Senior Day With 49-13 Win Against Kenyon

Orlando Jones scored on this 12-yard option run to the right in the third quarter to give Wooster a 42-7 lead.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored two touchdowns during the final two minutes of the first half to build a 28-0 lead and then added another on the opening series of the second, cruising from there to a 49-13 victory over North Coast Athletic Conference foe Kenyon College during the teams’ season finale Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.

Individually for Wooster (4-6, 4-3 NCAC), Austin Holter (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) set a school record with a .882 completion percentage as he connected on 15-of-17 attempts through the air for 215 yards. The elusive sophomore quarterback also rushed for three touchdowns and 60 yards.

Early on, the Fighting Scots’ defense came up with two key stops inside their own 10-yard line, first stopping Kenyon (2-8, 1-6 NCAC) on a 4th-and-5 play and then defensive end Luke Drake (Valrico, Fla. / Newsome) intercepting a ball at the line of scrimmage.

After that, Wooster started winning the field-position battle and late in the first quarter, Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) burst around right tackle for a 45-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.

On the Scots’ next possession, they put together their longest drive of the season, marching 87 yards over 17 plays and taking 7:18 off the clock. Wooster converted two third-down plays as well as a 4th-and-1 right before Sheppard scampered in from three yards out for another score.

The turning point of the game came late in the second quarter. A short punt (22 yards) by the Lords allowed the Scots to take possession at the Kenyon 45-yard line, and two plays later, Holter found a seam up the middle, rushing 37 yards for his first touchdown of the day with 1:50 remaining in the half.

On the very next offensive play, the officials ruled that the Lords’ A.J. Clair had possession of a low pass from Rafael Sanchez and then fumbled it away, with Wooster’s Greg Schermbeck (Holly Springs, N.C. / Whitmer – Ohio) recovering the ball before it went out-of-bounds.

The ensuing snap saw the Scots’ offense execute a trick play, as a reverse was flipped to wide receiver Will Miska (Hillsborough, N.J. / Hillsborough) and the former quarterback found a wide open Ben Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth) for a 45-yard touchdown pass, which gave them a 28-point cushion at the 1:29 mark and all of the momentum heading into the break.

Wooster started the third quarter with the ball and went 74 yards for another score. The two key plays were a screen pass to Sheppard that went for 27 yards and then a Holter-to-Miska 21-yard pass down the sideline, which was followed by a Holter 3-yard touchdown run to make it 35-0.

Kenyon would answer with a 72-yard touchdown drive. Sanchez keyed it with a 51-yard scramble and then scored from three yards out.

Late in the third quarter, another short field would allow the Scots to put the game away. From the Lords’ 40-yard line, Wooster used six plays, capped by a 12-yard touchdown rush by Orlando Jones (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) on an option pitch to the right, to push the lead back to 35 (42-7).

The fourth quarter became a celebration for the Scots’ 18 seniors, as the starters walked off to a series of ovations from the home fans and others received significant playing time, including fullback Jeff Dauer (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton), who nearly scored a touchdown at the goalline before Holter took it in from one yard out to make it 49-7 early in the period, as well as wide receiver Bill Bednar (Garfield Hts., Ohio / Holy Name), who had his first career reception (14 yards).

Kenyon would punch a touchdown in late, but missed the extra point for the final 36-point margin.

For the second-straight week, Wooster totaled 500-plus offensive yards (568), with 275 being credited to Holter. The top target in the passing game was Schrock, as the senior tight end had a career-high 84 receiving yards, while Sheppard closed 2007 with his sixth consecutive 100-yard game, netting 152 on just 16 attempts. Jones carried the ball 12 times for a career-high 81 yards.

As expected, Sanchez led the Lords, combining for 245 yards of total offense (126 rushing, 119 passing).