Andrew Bell
Staff Writer
The College of Wooster buses rolled into Springfield, Ohio for the final football game of the season against NCAC rival Wittenberg University. The Scots were competing for back-to-back wins against the Tigers — a feat which had not been reached since 1949. In fact, Wittenberg held an eleven-game win streak against Wooster prior to last year’s matchup. The rivalry, which dates back to 1912, has been dominated by the Tigers with an all-time record of 42-13-1. The Fighting Scots were sitting at a 4-5 season record entering the game and strived to close it out with one more win. Unfortunately, the game clock ran out leaving the Tigers at the top of the scoreboard.
Wooster scored in every quarter of the game and racked up 330 offensive yards. Jarvis Mims Jr. ’26 was the leading rusher with 85 yards. Top receiver Brazos Gadler ’25 garnered 78 yards in receptions. The Scots controlled the time of possession by over eight minutes. Wooster’s offense started off strong, marked by a flea flicker pass from Andrew Hammer ’25 to Tate Journell ’26 for a gain of 39 yards. However, the drive was cut short on the very next play with an interception by the Tigers’ Anthony Pedro ’25. The interception was the first of five Wooster turnovers that day. Wittenberg’s five takeaways were game changers, as they enabled the Tigers to score 28 points.
The Scots were still able to showcase their talent at various moments during the afternoon of play. Early in the first quarter, the Black and Gold defensive line, led by Domenic DeMuth ’24, broke through to quarterback Max Milton ’25 and created a strip sack. Wittenberg saved the drive by recovering and eventually converting for the first score of the game. Wooster answered right back on their longest scoring drive of the day. Gadler returned the kickoff to his own 22-yard line. After two consecutive rush attempts by Shakir Perkins ’26 and Gadler, Noah Clark ’26 scrambled to convert the first down. The Scots continued to run the ball, but the Tigers’ defense sniffed out the conservative play call on second down and tackled Perkins for a loss. However, Clark was shining on third down with a rainbow pass to Gadler for a 41-yard gain. A short reception by Sebestyen Balassy ’24 and a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball deep into the red zone. Perkins punched the ball in with a five-yard rush to tie the game at seven a piece with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.
Despite a crushing 15-yard quarterback sack by Neil Clayton ’24, the Tigers scored two more touchdowns before the Black and Gold wove together another scoring drive. Nearly two-thirds through the second quarter, the Scots received fantastic midfield positions after the Scots defense created a physical stop. Defensive lineman DeMuth forced a hurried pass for an incompletion on a Tigers’ third and long. Wittenberg’s punt from deep in their own red zone set up the Fighting Scots offense from the 50-yard line.
Jarvis Mims Jr. ’26 ran for back-to-back six-yard gains, and a completion to Hammer gave the offense a fresh set of downs. The Scots soon found themselves behind schedule after a short gain on first down and a nine-yard sack on second down. An incompletion on third down brought out the field goal unit for a 42-yard attempt. Tying his career long, Lake Barrett ’23 drove his leg through the ball and squeezed it in between the uprights. He rounded out his fifth year with a 76% career success rate for field goals, which ranks second all-time in Wooster history. The Scots went into the locker room at halftime down by eleven points with the score 21-10.
The Scots scored their second touchdown of the day on a 50-yard, seven-play drive nearly midway through the third quarter. The score was made on a ten-yard pass completion by Clark to Hammer. Mims Jr. scored the final Scots touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Barrett’s successful point after touchdown (PAT) attempt secured his third consecutive season of never missing an extra point. His totals are legendary for Wooster: 242 career points — fifth-highest in program history, 155 extra points — second highest ever for Wooster and a 99.4% kick success rate — the Black and Gold’s best ever.
Paul Thomas Fischer ’24 and Brock Sivon ’26 played hard with nine tackles each. Braydon Hudson ’26 and Jon Banal ’25 both had seven tackles on the day. One of Banal’s takedowns was a monster fourth down stop. However, individual standouts were not enough to overcome the coordinated team effort of the Tigers who capitalized on turnovers. The final score was 52-24.
Wooster finishes for the first time since 2018 with a less than .500 record. Head Coach Frank Colaprete remarked, “we’ve had our ups and downs this year because we were pretty young in some key positions, but they really blossomed and got better each week. It’s exciting what the future holds for Fighting Scots football.”
Wooster will have plenty of time during the off-season to bulk up and build out this team with great potential for next season. Outgoing senior Sebestyen Balassy shared some motivation for his teammates. “We’re definitely getting after it in the off-season. We’re hitting that full go. Staying locked in to getting ourselves better every day — taking care of our bodies, watching film, studying the playbook, doing whatever it takes.”
While some starters will be graduating, several student athletes will be returning for two more seasons. Many of the standout players whose numbers have been called all season long are sophomores who already demonstrate marvelous capacity for the game. Colaprete reflected, “They’ve worked and improved every week. They’ve learned and moved forward.”
Journell, one of those promising team leaders, commented, “I’m committed to being a team leader. To do so, I know that I need to get my strength up and be more physical. We can really come together as a team during this off-season.” Their conviction to be high achievers on and off the field is evident in their determination for self-discipline and team improvement.
