WOOSTER, Ohio - Brandon Adams plunged in from one yard out and Trevor Bowden's ensuing extra-point make pulled The College of Wooster within a field goal at 27-24 with 4:01 remaining in the game, but a 50-yard touchdown scamper from DePauw University quarterback Matt Hunt, and a two-point conversion run by Ian Good proved too much to overcome as the Tigers topped the Fighting Scots 35-24 on Black & Gold Weekend at John P. Papp Stadium.
DePauw (2-0, 1-0 North Coast Athletic Conference), which began the week just outside of the D3football.com Top-25, twice opened up a 10-point lead on Wooster in the first half. First, Marko Adams knocked in a 42-yard field goal with :15 remaining in the opening quarter, that came on the heels of a 1-yard run by Jason Kirchhoff on the previous drive to put the Tigers up 10-0.
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| Sophomore Connor Allan had two big receptions on Wooster's first touchdown drive of the day. He finished the game with 166 yards receiving on eight receptions. |
Two drives later, Wooster (1-2, 1-1 NCAC) put its first points of the day on the scoreboard with a 3-yard run by Gary Muntean to cap a 6-play, 83-yard drive and, pull Wooster within 10-7 with 10:39 left in the first half. Notable, two big Muntean-to-Connor Allan completions set Wooster up inside the DePauw 10-yard line. First, the two connected for 18 yards, and then topped that on the very next play with a 57-yard hookup.
DePauw answered right back with a 1-yard run by Hunt on the ensuing possession to retake a 10-point (17-7) lead with 5:51 left in the half. However, that touchdown took a lot of effort from the Tigers as the Scots' defense nearly made a superb goal-line stand.
First, Cornelius Gyamfi and Riley Markko combined to stop Kirchhoff short of the goal line on a second-down play from the Wooster 1-yard line. Then, on third down, Aaron Roberson was able to knife into the DePauw backfield and record a quarterback hurry.
After Hunt's touchdown, Wooster mounted an impressive comeback and tied the game at 17.
The Scots struck just before the half with Muntean flipping the ball to Adams for a 10-yard touchdown pass that made it 17-14 with :24 left in the second quarter.
Then, on their first drive of the third quarter, the Scots marched 65 yards on 11 plays before setting for a 24-yard Bowden field goal that knotted the score at 17.
That's where the score stood until Kirchhoff darted in from nine yards out with 13:52 left in the game to push DePauw ahead 24-17. The Tigers tacked on a 25-yard field goal just over midway through the half to open back up a 10-point lead prior to Adams' touchdown run.
Muntean led Wooster's offense on the afternoon recording his sixth-straight 300-yard passing game. In fact, Muntean went for 435 yards, trailing only the 488 he had at Hiram College in 2015 in the program annals. The junior signal-caller set a new program with 58 passing attempts, of which he completed 34, a total tied for second in program history.
In the receiving game, Allan was the recipient of eight of those completions, and went for a career-best 166 stripes, while Adams turned seven receptions into 74 yards and a score out of the backfield.
Defensively, Marcus Bowers led the way with 15 stops, while Christian Golden added 13, including 12 solo tackles. Hunter Coia also turned in three breakups on the afternoon.
Hunt, DePauw's dual-threat quarterback, completed 32-of-47 throws for 279 yards, and added 121 yards on the ground on 18 carries. Good hauled in 14 receptions for 123 yards.
Will Longthorne paced DePauw's defense with 12 tackles, three of which went for loss.
Wooster plays its first league game on the road next week Saturday, Sept. 24, when the Scots travel to Denison University (1-0, 0-0 NCAC). The winner of the game takes home the "Old Red Lantern" trophy.