WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster football team's senior class turned in a memorable afternoon in their final home game, while the passing game set or matched four school records during the Fighting Scots' 42-23 North Coast Athletic Conference win over Hiram College on Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.
Wooster's (4-5, 4-4 NCAC) seniors set the tone defensively on Hiram's (2-7, 2-6 NCAC) first offensive possession, and that intensity carried the Scots all game long.
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| Wooster's defense recorded seven sacks and had three interceptions on the afternoon. |
After Hiram penetrated to Wooster's 11-yard line, Kevin Komara made the first big play, stopping a Terrier ball carrier for no gain on a first-down play. Then, classmate Riley Markko dropped Randy Tucker for a 19-yard sack on the following play – the first of seven Wooster sacks on the afternoon.
Two plays later, Hiram settled for a 34-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first quarter.
Wooster wasted no time claiming the lead needing three plays, and just under a minute to counter with a 2-yard touchdown from Gary Muntean to Nick Cummings accounting for the points. Earlier in the drive, the electrifying duo connected on a 30-yard pickup to move the chains to Hiram's 11-yard line.
Next, similar to the first Hiram offensive drive, Wooster's seniors took over once the Terriers moved inside the red zone. First, Komara roared into the backfield for a 13-yard sack on a third-down play, and then Markko teamed with Aaron Roberson to back the Terriers up 10 more yards on a sack on the following play.
Just 55 ticks into the second quarter, Muntean and Cummings connected on a 26-yard touchdown to put Wooster up 14-3.
Wooster's defense continued to make big plays in the second quarter, this time with the focus shifting further down the field as the Scots came away with interceptions on three of the next four Terrier drives. Hunter Coia accounted for two of the interceptions, giving the Scots a defensive player with multiple picks in a game for the first time since Brandon James and Tyson Vogel each had two in the 2013 Kenyon College game. Senior Troy Brown recorded Wooster's other interception in the game.
The Scots extended their lead to 21-3 later in the quarter, with Muntean feeding the ball to Alex Woods who went 10 yards for a touchdown with 4:36 remaining in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Muntean-to-Cummings touchdown combination added two touchdowns to the scoreboard. First, the duo connected on a 29 yarder, and then hooked up for a 62-yard score on the second offensive play of the next drive.
Notable, the 62-yard touchdown marked Muntean's fifth passing touchdown of the day, making him the fourth quarterback in program history to accomplish this, and the first since Austin Holter at Earlham College in 2009.
Cummings on the other hand became the third receiver to have a quartet of receiving touchdowns in a single game, and the first since Chris Cabot had four in the 1999 Kenyon contest.
Muntean accounted for Wooster's final score of the day via a 2-yard run, which extended the lead to 42-10 with 14:55 remaining.
Hiram worked its way back into the mix late with Rodney Myers Jr. leading the charge off the bench. He had touchdown throws of 45, 32, and 27 yards in the second half.
Cummings led the way on the afternoon for Wooster with seven receptions for 202 yards and the four scores. Notable, Cummings is just the third receiver in program history to eclipse 200 yards in a game, and the first since Darrian Owens' school-record 230-yard day versus Denison University in 2013.
Muntean completed 25-of-37 throws on the afternoon for 375 yards and the five passing scores. In the second quarter, Muntean surpassed Austin Holter for the most completions in a single season and now has 206, while his 336 attempts are tied with Holter for the program best. Of note, Muntean's 375 yards are the eighth-most in program history, and the junior now has seven career 300-yard games.
Defensively, Markko turned in a career afternoon with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, and a pair of sacks. Komara added five tackles, two of which went for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Overall, Wooster had 11 tackles-for-loss that went for 67 yards on the afternoon.
While not counting officially as a sack or a tackle-for-loss, Komara and senior Todd Ulmer dragged down Myers Jr. on a two-point conversion.
Myers Jr. completed 10-of-14 passes for 215 yards on the afternoon, while the Terriers threw for 383 stripes overall. Joshua Philander had 10 receptions for 205 yards on the day.
Noteworthy, Danny Robinson, who rushed for over 200 yards last week Saturday against Allegheny College, was held to 54 yards on 18 carries by Wooster's defense.
Next, Wooster closes out the season with a 1 p.m. tilt at Ohio Wesleyan University (5-4, 4-3 NCAC) on Saturday, Nov. 12.