Second-half touchdown passes of 74 and 79 yards sparked The College of Wooster football team, and the Fighting Scots' defense was electric down the stretch of Saturday's 28-14 win over Saint Vincent College at John P. Papp Stadium.
Deadlocked at 14 late in the third quater, Wooster (1-1) had the right play called to counter St. Vincent's (1-1) blitz on a third-and-9 snap from its own 26-yard line. Senior wideout Tate Journell had a step on his Bearcat in one-on-one coverage up the right sideline, and that is exactly where junior quarterback Michael Boyle took a shot. Journell hauled in the pass wide open at St. Vincent's 40 en route to a 74-yard go-ahead touchdown.
On the next drive, Wooster again was faced with third down, this time a third-and-4 play from its own 21. Boyle rolled out to his right, giving senior wideout Jordan Lewis enough time to leave his Bearcat in the dust. The Boyle-to-Lewis touchdown connection went for 79 yards. First-year Nolan Hendricks' extra point made it a 14-point game with 12:39 remaining in the fourth.
Defensively, Wooster held St. Vincent to just 48 yards of offense over the Bearcats' first six second-half drives. On the second one, first-year defensive back Grady Harban came up in run support, and his hit knocked the pigskin free from Julian Walker's arms. Senior Brock Sivon was first on the pile to secure the recovery.
Later, pressure from senior lineman DT Franklin forced Jake Phillips into a hurried throw on third down, resulting in an incompletion. On the next drive, junior Isaac LaFay was quickly in the Bearcat backfield on a third-and-10 snap resulting in another off-the-mark hurried Phillips pass attempt. The pressure kept coming with just over nine minutes remaining when Franklin's hurry resulted in yet another incompletion, plus a turnover on downs for the Bearcats.
At the onset, Wooster capped a game-opening, 8-play, 59-yard drive with a 2-yard Boyle-to-Lewis touchdown pass. The big play on the drive was a 33-yard reception by sophomore Cam Crago that moved the Scots down to the Bearcats' 4-yard line.
While Wooster was unable to immediately answer St. Vincent's first touchdown, the Scots did get the ball right back when Tristian Doy muffed a punt return. Junior William Hicks Jr. recovered the ball, handing Wooster possession at St. Vincent's 41-yard line. To cap the drive, Boyle found Journell open for a 2-yard score, and Hendricks' extra point upped Wooster's lead to 14-7 at the second quarter's 8:56 mark.
St. Vincent tied the game with 1:11 before halftime on Chris Downs' second touchdown reception of the game.
Boyle completed 19-of-41 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. Lewis and Journell accounted for 259 of the receiving yards and all four scores on a combined 14 catches. Sophomore Bryson Douglas led the ground attack with 19 carries and 61 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Braydon Hudson, senior linebacker Brandon Torres, junior linebacker Christian Kring, Harban, and Sivon all had five tackles. Kring and senior defensive lineman Paul Ehenger had two sacks each, while the Scots had four forced fumbles on the day.
Phillips was 19-of-37 passing for St. Vincent for 281 yards and two scores. Wooster held St. Vincent to net 13 rushing yards. Walker was the leader with 19 on seven carries. Downs led the Bearcats' receivers with 104 yards on seven receptions.
Tyler Harpst had a game-high 10 tackles. Nile Thomas had the Bearcats' lone sack of the day.
Wooster had 385 yards of offense to 294 for St. Vincent. The Scots went 5-of-16 on third down to a 3-of-14 mark for the Bearcats.
The win marked the first collegiate head coaching win for Scots' coach Austin Holter, a 2010 alumnus of the College.
Next, Wabash College (1-0 as of posting time with Saturday's game with Case Western Reserve University in several extended lightning delays) visits John P. Papp Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game is part of the College's Homecoming for Alumni and Families Weekend.