WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to tie DePauw University at 24 with 7:52 remaining, but the Fighting Scots ultimately could not rebound from five turnovers during Saturday's 34-30 setback at John P. Papp Stadium on Black & Gold Weekend.
Sophomore Mitchell Heilman, who had a career-high eight receptions for 145 yards, delivered as the chain-mover during a key fourth quarter drive. The shifty speedster went for 17 yards on a second-and-14 play that moved the ball just shy of Wooster's (2-2, 1-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) 40-yard line, and he kept the drive alive with a 10-yard grab on a third-and-3 play. Later, Heilman's 15-yard third-down grab moved the pigskin to DePauw's (2-1, 2-0 NCAC) 10-yard line, and two plays later, senior Mateo Renteria went right back to his hot read for an 11-yard score.
Moments later, a host of Scots swarmed Drew Moore, resulting in senior Chris Savaglio knocking the pigskin free, and sophomore Andrew Armile emerging from the pile with it secured. Offensively, Wooster went on to settle for a field goal, with junior Lake Barrett's 21-yard boot tying the game at 24 with 7:52 remaining.
DePauw's Gus Baumgartner squirted through Wooster's defense for the go-ahead score with 1:46 remaining, and Joe Sullivan put the game out of reach with a 32-yard field goal in the final minute.
Senior Cole Hissong secured his third touchdown reception of the day as time expired. Of note, that yardage bumped the four-year standout's career haul north of 1,000, making him the 20th play in program history to hit the mark, and just the second to do so as a tight end. Earlier in the game, Hissong capped Wooster's first drive with a 3-yard touchdown reception, and he scored from 15-yards out in the second quarter, when Wooster took a 14-7 lead at the 9:42 mark.
At the onset, Wooster's defense caused plenty of fits for DePauw, with sophomore Kobe Nadu dumping Chase Andries for a 10-yard sack on the opening series. On the next drive, senior Dylan Carr had Andries wrapped up, with sophomore PT Fischer flying in to help clean up a 16-yard sack. That, plus a 15-yard pass interference penalty, set up a third-and-40 situation for DePauw, which snapped off 11 plays in the first quarter for a total of zero yards once the penalties stripes were factored in.
Andries, and DePauw, found footing in the second quarter, starting with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Jaylon Smith, and later, Andries darted in from a yard out, capping a 16-play, 74 yard drive. Sullivan was on point with the extra point tries, resulting in a 14-14 game at the half. DePauw led 21-14 with 9:52 left in the third, when Andries hooked up with Trey Shaw on a nine-yard pass, and Sullivan booted the extra point try through the uprights.
Renteria completed 29-of-41 passes for 355 yards and four touchdowns, and in his three career starts versus DePauw, the signal-caller's amassed 1,087 yards. Renteria's 355 on Saturday are the second-most of his career, trailing the 388 he went for against DePauw in 2018. The four-year starter moved up to fourth-place on Wooster's all-time passing yardage list at 5,822 yards, and he became the seventh player in program history to climb north of 40 passing touchdowns.
Hissong caught 10 of Renteria's 29 completions and was responsible for 119 of the yards. Junior Andrew Yanssens had the most success on the ground against DePauw, going for 41 yards on five carries.
Senior Angelo Petracci kept his run of leading the team in tackles intact with a game-high 12, and Armile was right behind with 10.
Andries completed 15-of-21 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Baumgartner and Moore bullied through Wooster's defense for a combined 188 yards on 39 carries.
Brevon Gude's number was called a lot on defense, as he had a team-leading eight tackles.
Wooster outgained DePauw 381-360, but Renteria was picked off twice, and the Scots lost three fumbles on the day.
Next, Wooster's at Oberlin College (0-4, 0-3 NCAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 2.