When the Scots stepped onto the field Saturday, few people would have believed they were about to witness one of the greatest offensive performances in Scots history.
By the end of the day senior quarterback Austin Holter í10 had racked up 424 yards of total offense, including an outstanding 84-yard game winning drive which ended in a 27-yard touchdown run that propelled the Scots to victory over the Washington University of St. Louis Bears. Despite continuous pressure from the Bearsí defense, Holter managed to collect 152 yards rushing in addition to his 272 yards through the air. He also had excellent accuracy, completing a very impressive 26 of 34, attempts giving him a completion percentage of just over 76 percent.
The game began with disappointment for the Scots after they allowed a Washington touchdown on the opening drive. Despite this early turn of events the Scots soon retaliated with 17 points through the first two quarters. The first three points came from a 22-yard field goal by Russ Palm í11, quickly followed by a 96-yard drive, the Scots longest of the season, into the end zone, which put the Scots up 10-7.† Late in the second quarter, Holter started to begin his own personal offensive onslaught as he completed six passes in a very impressive 75-yard touchdown drive, which put the Scots up 17-7.
The Bears would soon bounce back with a 50-yard drive of their own making the score a very close 17-13 at the half.
Despite being down at the end of the first half, the opposition opened up the second half with a quick 13-play, 68-yard drive to take the lead 20-17 and† bringing the Bears within striking distance of a victory and a very disappointing loss for the Scots.
Wooster found themselves unable to put points on the board throughout most of the second half as they were twice shut down in the red zone by the Wash. U-St. Louis defense. Wooster failed to produce in the third quarter when faced with a fourth and goal situation and then experienced a rare fumble on the Washington 10-yard line which cost the Scots a much needed opportunity to score.
It wasnít until late in the fourth quarter that Holter finally managed to rally the Scotís offense in a final 84-yard drive to finish off the Bears.
Holterís stellar offensive performance resulted not only in a Scotís victory, but also in him being named the North Coast Athletic Conferenceís Offensive Player of the Week.
This weekend, the Scots return home to face 5-1 Wabash College. Wabash will be looking for a victory after recently losing a very close defensive battle to Wittenberg University, 10-7. This game will mark a return to conference play for the Scots as they look to continue their domination of NCAC teams. The game will be at 1 p.m. tomororrow afternoon in John P. Papp Stadium.
Despite the Wabash game being important for NCAC standings, the Scots can afford to lose this game and still win the NCAC crown, so long as they win the remaining conference games on their schedule against Allegheny College, Oberlin College and arch-rival Wittenberg.