It has been an uneven season for the Fighting Scots in their first two games.† Sometimes the offense has looked good, but the defense could not get a stop and other times, the defense has stood strong, only for the offense to falter.
This sort of unbalanced play is what put the Scots into their 0-2 hole.† But last Saturday,† Wooster showed just what kind of team they are when both the offense and defense were firing on all cylinders.† If they can manage to keep the momentum from this game going, it could be an exciting rest of the season for a Scots football team that looks to have finally come together.
One of the major problems for Wooster was the defense.† What should have been a strength for the Scots became a hindrance as the defense gave up early leads of 31 and 14 in the first two games.† In order for Wooster to get their first win, the defense needed to step up early.† And did they ever.
In Oberlin’s first three drives quarterback Josh Barnes ’14, who threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns in Oberlin’s overtime loss to Kenyon, was picked off three times by the Fighting Scots’ defense.† This put Oberlin on its heels early and gave the offense some much needed room to work.
At first, it seemed that the roles had been reversed and the Scots’ offense would be the one to struggle early.† On their first possession, a botched snap placed the Scots close to their own end zone, which resulted in a Wooster punt.
In the first quarter, Wooster was unable to take advantage of the Oberlin turnovers, with no score for either team.† However, business picked up in the second quarter.† After a pretty good drive, capped off by a missed field goal, the Scots drove 71 yards to score a touchdown, ending with a fantastic 20-yard run by running back Robert Flagg ’12.† Neither team would score again until the third quarter, when Jordan McIntyre ’13 made what could quite possibly be called the play of the season so far.† On first and ten from the Oberlin 37 yard line, Richard Barnes ’14 passed to McIntyre on the sideline.
As McIntyre started up the field, an Oberlin player moved to make a tackle.† McIntyre made sure the Oberlin player would not make that mistake again.
McIntyre lowered his shoulder and drilled the defender, knocking his helmet off and sending him stumbling out of his way.† McIntyre then ran the rest of the way for an amazing† 35 yard touchdown.
Oberlin wasn’t finished, however, and was able to drive down the field on their next possession and make it a one touchdown game,† at least for a few minutes.† On the Scots’ first play from the line of scrimmage† Flagg† took it up the middle for a 58 yard touchdown.† Oberlin responded on their next drive with another touchdown, but it would be their last, as the Scots pounded the Yeoman in the last quarter to win the game, 31-14.
The Scots’ offense looked spectacular on Saturday, especially quarterback Richard and running back† Flagg.† Flagg, whose feature video is viewable on the Wooster athletic page, had a phenomenal game, going for 158 yards and two touchdowns.† A junior from Dunedin, Florida, Flagg has impressed Wooster football fans with his ability to make defenders miss and his blinding speed in the open field.† As Oberlin learned, you do not want to give this man room to run.† Standing 5’6″, Flagg runs over competitors who are eight inches taller than him like they are nothing, and can run the ball any way you tell him.
He is one of the most dynamic players in the Scots’ offense, as he is always a threat to make a great play. Flagg was named to the Second all-NCAC team last season, and if he can keep his performance up a possible first team nomination could be in the near future.
Also impressive was quarterback Barnes, who played like a senior on Saturday, handling blitzes and running the no-huddle offense to perfection, going 17-for-26 for 224 yards and one touchdown.† A major concern for this Scots’ offense was how they were going to fill Austin Holter’s shoes. After two solid games before this, Barnes looks like he has really come into his own behind center for the Scots.† Part of his success on Saturday was his ability to spread the ball to different players.† Four receivers had more than 30 yards receiving on Saturday.
The Scots’ defense had a strong day, and it looked like the defense everyone expected this season, holding Oberlin to only 42 rushing yards and 224 total yards.† The Scots denied anything and everything on the ground and harassed the Oberlin quarterback the entire game, causing three interceptions and sacking him three times.
Dan Terhune ’12 continued to get after the quarterback, picking up two sacks and bringing his total to five over the past two games.† Wooster looks to pick up their second win this year against the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan this week.