Big Plays Lead Fighting Scots Past Bethany 38-28

Nick Hajjar returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown, marking the Scots' first punt return for a score since 1990.

WOOSTER, Ohio - In his debut at John P. Papp Stadium, Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries and busted a short pass for a 77-yard touchdown to lead The College of Wooster past visiting Bethany College 38-28 this afternoon.

Sutton, a sophomore transfer from the University of Findlay, broke the game open midway though the second quarter. With Wooster leading 7-0 on a Tim Slovensky (Parma, Ohio / Parma Senior) 48-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Spraggins (Garfield Hts., Ohio / Garfield Hts.), the Scots went to Sutton on a 3rd-and-8 screen play that he got loose on for the aforementioned receiving touchdown. It marked the Scots' longest pass play since 1990, when Phil Puryear set a school record with a 91-yarder.

After holding Bethany to a three-and-out, Wooster gave it to Sutton again, and he galloped 32 yards down to the seven-yard line, followed by a touchdown run on the very next play to give Wooster a commanding 21-0 halftime lead.

On the first drive of the second half, the Scots marched down the field via the air. A 48-yard pass to tight end Matt Ralls (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) set up the second Spraggins-to-Slovensky touchdown of the day, this time from 20 yards out to put them up 28 points.

The Bison did score a touchdown on the ensuing drive - a seven-yard rush by workhorse quarterback Jeremy Lacaria - but the extra point was blocked and two plays into the next possession, Sutton was sprinting through the Bethany defense en route to a 63-yard touchdown run to make it 35-6.

Wooster added a 37-yard field goal by Richie McNally (Westerville, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales) to go into the fourth quarter with a seemingly comfortable 32-point lead.

However, the Bison fought back, scoring three touchdowns, including two by Will Anderson - one on a one-yard run and one on a 22-yard pass from Lacaria - and converting a pair of two-point conversions, cutting it down to a 10-point game.

Tim Slovensky maintains his concentration and hauls in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Spraggins in the first quarter.

With :25 left, Bethany had a chance to pull within eight after their third score in the fourth, but a fatigued Lacaria fumbled the snap, sealing the Scots' second victory in as many tries in 2002.

Overall, Sutton racked up 298 all-purpose yards, as he also rank back three kickoffs for 50 yards. Spraggins finished 8-of-15 for 245 yards, with many of those yards coming after the catch, and three touchdowns. Slovensky led the receiving corps with his lone two catches both being scores for 68 yards.

For the Bison (1-2), Lacaria threw 65 times, completing 31 for 345 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 23 times for 97 net yards and one score. Anderson had 84 rushing yards on 21 attempts and led the team in receiving with eight catches for 93 yards.

Also noteworthy, due to Wooster's quick strike offense and the Bison's 28 first downs, Bethany totaled 110 offensive plays - just two shy of the NCAA Division III record for a single-game.

The Scots will wrap up non-league play next week with a home tilt against Case Western Reserve University at 1 p.m.