Wooster 37, Ohio Wesleyan 20

Sept. 19, 2009

Sophomore quarterback Keegan Varner (Westerville/Central) scored on a 9-yard run to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 17-13 early in the second quarter, but Wooster responded with 4 straight scores to pull away for a win in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.

Wooster drew first blood, getting on the scoreboard on Kyle Murdock's 4-yard run to take a 7-0 lead just under 5 minutes into the game.

The Bishops responded with a lengthy drive, with freshman quarterback Mike Bashioum (Wyano, Pa./Yough) hitting freshman halfback Stephen Haynes (Crestview, Fla./Niceville) for 10 yards and a first down, then running himself for 14 yards and another first down. Haynes moved the chains twice more with gains of 3 and 10 yards, and with the Bishops facing a fourth-and-1 call at the Wooster 3-yard line, it was freshman halfback Isaac Morris (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) carrying around the right end and stumbling just short of the goal line. On the next play, Bashioum kept the ball on a quarterback sneak and found the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

The Fighting Scots countered with a drive of their own, moving to a first down at the Ohio Wesleyan 4, but a tripping penalty moved the Scots back to a first-and-goal at the 19, and Wooster settled for Russ Palm's 36-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Wooster recovered a Bashioum fumble at the Bishop 27-yard line, and moved to the doorstep on the next play when Austin Holter connected with Will Hansen for 26 yards and a first-and-goal at the Ohio Wesleyan 1. The Bishops held twice, with freshman defensive back Paul Schumann (West Lafayette, Ind.) dropping Holter for a 1-yard loss on first down, then forcing an incompletion on second down, but on third down, Robert Flagg scored from 2 yards out for a 17-7 Wooster lead.

Ohio Wesleyan responded quickly, with Varner hitting freshman halfback Bryan Hoover (Sciotoville/Portsmouth East) down the right sideline for 67 yards on the first play from scrimmage. With a first down at the Wooster 9-yard line, Varner kept the ball on a quarterback draw and weaved through the Fighting Scot defense for a touchdown that made it 17-13 with 12:02 left in the first half.

The Fighting Scots came back with a drive to the Ohio Wesleyan 22, but again the Bishop defense stiffened and Palm's second field goal of the game, a 34-yarder, increased the Scot lead to 20-13. Palm added a 21-yard field goal late in the half, capping a 93-yard, 19-play Wooster drive, and the Scots held a 23-13 lead at the intermission.

Wooster received the opening kickoff in the second half and assembled a 58-yard march that culminated in Holter's 10-yard quarterback draw for a 30-13 lead.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a long drive of its own, moving from its own 23 to a first down at the Wooster 31, but on fourth-and-9 from the Scot 30, Matt DeGrand stepped in front of Varner's pass and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown to make it a 37-13 game with 5:35 left in the quarter.

The Bishops wrapped up the scoring with a 10-yard scramble by freshman quarterback Geoff Gompf (Mount Gilead) in the final minutes.

Hoover set a school record by returning 7 kickoffs in the game, and his 127 yards in kick returns ties for third on the Ohio Wesleyan single-game list. Hoover also ran for 22 yards on 6 carries and caught 2 passes for 68 yards. Bashioum led the Bishops with 48 yards on 11 rushes and completed 2 of 5 passes for 10 yards. Haynes ran for 37 yards on 8 carries and led the Bishops with 4 catches for 24 yards. Varner completed 7 of 9 passes for 91 yards.

Flagg led the Scots with 97 yards in 22 rushes, while Holter finished with 76 yards on 8 carries and completed 17 of 28 passes for 138 yards, with Mike Francescangeli making 6 catches for 48 yards.

Junior linebacker Chad Murawski (Chesterland/West Geauga) led the Bishop defense with 12 tackles and a pass breakup. Senior safety Rylan Mitter-Burke (Marlborough, Mass./Marlboro) added 9 tackles, junior linebacker Pete Merkle (Loveland) made 8 stops, and Schumann finished with 8 tackles, including 1 for loss, and broke up 2 passes.

DeGrand led Wooster with 11 tackles, while Hector Clavijo added 9 stops. Dan Terhune contributed 6 tackles, including a sack, and recovered a fumble.

Box Score