It was a big day for Ohio Wesleyan University (0-4, 0-2 NCAC), they were having their first night game at Selby Field, the lights were shining and 6,200 fans were on hand to watch the game.† But, to paraphrase “Casey at the Bat,” there was no joy in Selby Field, because the Bishops laid an egg on Saturday night.† The Fighting Scots’ defense was the star of the game, forcing six turnovers to keep the Bishops offense on their heels the whole game.† The Bishops gave their fans a reason to be excited when on the second play of scrimmage, Richard Barnes ’14 threw a pass that was picked off and ran back for a 37-yard touchdown, but after that the Scots’ defense locked down the Bishops, preventing them from scoring again until the fourth quarter. The Scots’ offense then scored 15 unanswered points and never looked back.† Mike Reddick ’11 caught a two yard touchdown pass from Barnes to bring Wooster to within one point.† After an Ohio Wesleyan interception, Wooster drove the ball 50 yards to set up a Ryan Miner ’13 40-yard field goal to put the Scots up 9-7.† After another Wesleyan punt, Wooster drove 50 yards ending with a Robert Flagg ’12 25 yard touchdown to put the Scots up 15-7.
Going into the fourth quarter down 15-7, Ohio Wesleyan did not go down without a fight. The Bishops drove 89 yards ending in a touchdown to make the game 15-13 after a failed two point conversion attempt.† The game appeared to be in the Scots hands until Barnes fumbled the ball on the Ohio Weslyan two yard line.† However, the defense showed its resolve, and on the first play from scrimmage harassed the quarterback and the pass was intercepted by Ohio Wesleyan at their five yard line by Matt Breidigam ’12.† Two plays later, Flagg ran the ball in for a 2 yard touchdown to put the Scots up 22-13 to end the game.
The Scots’ offense played extremely well, especially the tandem of Barnes and Flagg.† Flagg, who was named NCAC player of the week for his performance on Saturday, went for 207 all purpose yards and two touchdowns.† Flagg has had his third straight strong performance and is a major reason that the Scots have pulled themselves out of their 0-2 hole. Barnes has had nothing but solid performances since taking over the Scot offense and continued that trend this game, going 16-22 with one interception, 227 yards and two touchdowns.† His continued improvement over the course of the year has been a great sign for the Scots going forward.
The defense also had a huge game forcing turnovers in key situations.† They forced Ohio Wesleyan quarterbacks to throw four total interceptions.† Taylor Trout ’12 had two interceptions, while Quinton Howard ’13 and Breidigam each had one.† Next week the Scots head to Denison to battle the Big Red.† The Scots return home on Oct. 16 to take on Washington University in St. Louis.