Zane Wright
Contributing Writer
The Wooster Fighting Scot’s football team (3-3, 3-2 NCAC) failed to mount a second half comeback against 15th-ranked Wittenberg University (5-1, 5-0 NCAC) and fell to the Tigers 42-7 at John P. Papp Stadium on Saturday.
The Scots started off slow, beginning the game down 21-0 until late in the second quater when Richard Barnes ’15 found Darrian Owens ’17 for a 75-yard touchdown. This allowed the Scots to finish the half 21-7. However, the Scots were unable to find the endzone again in the game. They also had a difficult time finding an answer for the Wittenberg offense, which put up 21 more points in the second half to finish the game with a score of 42-7. Wittenberg capitalized in the turnover department, forcing the Scots to turn the ball over four times, while Wooster was unable to force a turnover against the Tigers offense.
Not all was lost in this defeat at the hands of Wittenberg. Barnes became Wooster’s career leader in passing yards, reaching 7,182 yards, which surpassed Rich Judd, who threw for 7,150 yards from 1995-1998. Barnes went 14-29 with 179 yards and his touchdown to Owens. Owens caught two passes for 81 yards, including his 75-yard touchdown catch. Sean Hackel ’15 came back from injury and ran the ball 20 times for 79 yards. Defensively, Mitchell Czerniak ’15 racked up 15 tackles, two of which were for a loss, and two pass breakups.
The Scots will look to turn things around tomorrow with a trip to Denison University (2-4, 1-4 NCAC) in their annual battle for the “Old Red Lantern” trophy.