Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
The Wooster football team earned its first victory of 2012 in thrilling fashion on Saturday, as it came back to take down Saint Vincent College on the road in overtime, 27-21. Chase Ullman ’15 scored a 13-yard rushing touchdown on only his eighth career carry to win the game in Latrobe, Pa.
The Scots were the first team on the board in a back-and-forth game. Following a fumble recovery by Mike Tozzi ’16, Wooster scored early in the first quarter on a 41-yard pass from Richard Barnes ’14 to Joe Stoffer ’14. The Bearcats tied the game up near the end of the quarter, running a 12-play, 65-yard drive culminating in a two-yard touchdown pass from halfback Huey Ehredt to Cody Strelick.
Wooster countered on the next possession, as Jonathan Miller ’16 accounted for 59 of his 102 total rushing yards on the day. Miller’s 47-yard touchdown run gave the Scots a 14-7 lead. It would be their last lead until overtime.
Saint Vincent quarterback Manny Speal led a drive to equalize the game on the Bearcats’ next possession. Speal had two 23-yard completions on the drive, including one on third down, to put his team in scoring position. A three-yard rush by Ryan Crawford tied the game up at 14 points apiece.
The Scots drove all the way down to the Saint Vincent seven-yard line on the next drive, but the field goal attempt from Tyler Gerwig ’15 went wide left. The Bearcats drove 90 yards on their final drive of the half, but needed a few breaks to get to the endzone. Mitchell Czerniak ’15 intercepted a pass on 3rd-and-22, but it was called back due to defensive holding on Brendon Taylor ’14. The penalty gave Saint Vincent a first down. Later in the drive, Quinn Hood ’14 was called for roughing the passer. Facing 4th-and-10, Speal scrambled for 11 yards to get a first down. On the next play, he hit Strelick in the endzone to give the Bearcats a 21-14 lead at the half.
The pace was much slower in the second half. Shawn Chaffee ’13 recovered a Saint Vincent fumble in the third quarter, setting up Barnes for a 35-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Bowman ’15, tying the game at 21. It was the only score of the half for either team.
The Wooster defense played stoutly on the only Saint Vincent possession in overtime, forcing a two-yard loss from Eherdt and two incomplete passes. A 44-yard field goal attempt missed wide left, opening the door for the Scots to win.
The Scots were almost in the same position as Saint Vincent, but Barnes rushed for a first down on 3rd-and-11 to set up the game-winning touchdown. Two plays later, Ullman carried the ball in on a counter to earn Wooster a 27-21 victory.
The Fighting Scots (1-1) are off this week, but they will play archrival Wittenberg University next Saturday at John P. Papp Stadium as part of the Homecoming festivities.