Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
For the second week in a row, the Wooster football team did not allow a touchdown from the opponent. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in the second win in a row for the Scots, as they knocked off Ohio Wesleyan University in a 10-6 defensive struggle on Saturday night.
Wooster (2-2, 1-1 NCAC) set the tone early by forcing a three-and-out on the first drive from the Battling Bishops (1-3, 0-3 NCAC), as three passes from Mason Espinosa wound up on the grass. The Scots’ offense took over and worked its way down the field, starting with a 27-yard pass from Brett Frongillo ’14 to Justin Rice ’15 on the first play. A few runs by Frongillo and Robert Flagg ’12 and an 11-yard pass to Cameron Daniels ’12 put Wooster in the red zone, where Ryan Miner ’13 made a 32-yard kick to give the Scots a 3-0 lead.
Taylor Trout ’12 intercepted a pass on Ohio Wesleyan’s ensuing drive, but Wooster was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs on the Bishops’ 36-yard line. The defense held Ohio Wesleyan without a score for the rest of the half, but two missed field goals by Miner kept the lead at three points going into the locker room. On the Bishops’ final drive of the second quarter, Dan Terhune ’12 sacked Espinosa on two consecutive plays before Rob Holtz ’13 picked off a pass on third and 22.
Wooster was forced to punt on the first drive of the period, the kick was dropped by Ohio Wesleyan’s Kevin Herman and recovered on the 17-yard line by Mitch Czerniak ’15. Frongillo’s pass to Zack Weidrick ’13 put the ball on the one-yard line, and Flagg punched it in on the following play to give Wooster a 10-0 lead.
The Battling Bishops found themselves on Wooster’s two-yard line midway through the third quarter following three passes for 52 yards by Espinosa. The Scots pushed Ohio Wesleyan back six yards with two rushing attempts and broke up a pass in the endzone to force a field goal. The kick cut Wooster’s lead to seven.
After forcing the Scots to punt quickly on the next possession, the Bishops drove 83 yards in 10 plays and wound up on Wooster’s six-yard line. The Fighting Scots held strong, defending the next three passes and holding Ohio Wesleyan to another field goal, closing the gap to 10-6.
The Bishops were unable to take advantage of a midfield fumble by Frongillo on the next drive, as the Scots forced a punt despite the good field position. Wooster then ate four minutes of the clock before punting it back to Ohio Wesleyan, who were forced to punt yet again in spite of a 21-yard completion at the beginning of the next drive.
Wooster ran out the clock thanks to a series of runs by Frongillo and Flagg, and walked away with a crucial NCAC victory.
The Scots play tomorrow at home against Denison University (2-2, 1-0 NCAC) at 1 p.m.