Series of Long Plays Dooms Wooster in Setback at Wittenberg

Ben Schrock

In the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both schools, a series of long plays helped Wittenberg University bolt out to a 31-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and The College of Wooster never recovered, as the host Tigers went on to secure a 58-7 decision in Springfield, Ohio.

It was an unusual result, as typically the two rivals play games that go down to the wire. In fact, seven of their previous 11 match-ups had been decided by eight points or less.

Wittenberg (3-1, 1-0 NCAC) set the tone with a 55-yard pass on its first offensive play of the game, but Wooster (0-4, 0-1 NCAC) did hold the Tigers to a Mark Porter 39-yard field goal on their opening drive.

After a three-and-out for the Fighting Scots’ offense, it only took three plays for Aaron Huffman and Patrick Williams to connect on a 65-yard touchdown pass for a 10-0 advantage just 3:56 in.

Wooster’s next possession resulted in another three-and-out, and on the second play of Wittenberg’s ensuing drive, Derrick Braziel burst through for a 71-yard rush. Andy Vanover would eventually convert a 4th-and-goal play from the Scot 1, running it in for a 17-0 lead.

Things continued to snowball for Wooster, as it lost 13 yards on its next possession and a 15-yard penalty during the ensuing punt gave the Tigers a short field to work with. From the Scot 27, it took them four plays to score another touchdown, this time a Corey Weber 7-yard run.

Before Wooster could get out of the first quarter, Wittenberg got the ball back and Rod Belcher broke off an 81-yard touchdown run to make it 31-0, as the Tigers compiled a remarkable 314 yards of total offense the first 15 minutes.

The Scots played much better in the second quarter, as sophomore linebacker Matt DeGrand (Stow, Ohio / St. Vincent-St. Mary) recovered a fumble on Wittenberg’s next offensive series. Late in the half, Wooster looked like it might cut into the then-38-0 deficit, driving the ball inside the Tiger 10-yard line, with sophomore Chad Parker (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn Hills) directing the offense, but the Scots turned it over on downs.

In the third quarter, Wittenberg tacked on two more touchdowns, with each drive including two plays that went 20-plus yards, to go ahead 52-0. Wooster then put together its best drive, marching 67 yards over 17 plays, capped by a 8-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Austin Holter (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) to senior tight end Ben Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth) on a 4th-and-3 play.

The Tigers added one more touchdown early in the fourth quarter to account for the 51-point margin.

Statistically for Wooster, Holter and Parker split time as the signal caller and ended up with similar lines, as Holter completed 13-of-23 for 87 yards and Parker was 12-of-21 for 132 yards. They both targeted Schrock frequently, as he had a career-high nine receptions for 56 yards. Junior Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) led the rushing attack, netting 36 stripes on 15 carries.

Huffman threw just 12 times for Wittenberg, but completed six for 195 yards. The Tigers had both a 100-yard rusher in Belcher (131 yards on 12 attempts) and a 100-yard receiver in Demetrius Lindsay (111 yards on two catches).

The Scots will look to snap their slide next Saturday when they welcome Ohio Wesleyan University (1-3, 1-1 NCAC) to John P. Papp Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff, as part of “Homecoming” weekend.