Big First Quarter Propels Tigers To Win Over Wooster
The Wittenberg Tigers haven't lost to the College of Wooster at home since 1949.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers haven't lost to the College of Wooster at home since 1949. They extended the dominance with a suprisingly lopsided 58-7 victory Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field.
The win wasn't necessarily a surprise, but the manner in which the Tigers did it was an eye-opener. It was all Wittenberg from the opening kick as the Tigers rolled to a 31-0 lead through the end of the first quarter and sent 75 players into the game before it was all over. The 31 points in a quarter was four short of the Wittenberg record of 35 against Case Western in 1999, and the 633 yards of total offense was 50 short of the record posted against Ohio Northern in 1987.
After senior kicker Mark Porter (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) hit a 39-yard field goal - the second-longest of his career - to open the scoring, the Tiger offense exploded. Junior wide receiver Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Aaron Huffman (Newark, Ohio/Newark), senior fullback Andy Vanover (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) added a one-yard touchdown run, freshman tailback Corey Weber (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) contributed at seven-yard touchdown scamper and then freshman tailback Rod Belcher (Covington, Ga./Newton County) capped the first quarter with an 81-yard scoring burst. It was just his second carry in a collegiate game.
In the second quarter, Huffman scored the only points on an eight-yard run. He tossed a 24-yard TD pass to sophomore tight end Mat Guida (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County) and Weber tacked on a 25-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Sophomore wide receiver Greg Phelps (Milford Center, Ohio/Fairbanks)rounded out the scoring with his first career reception, a 24-yard scoring strike delivered by junior quarterback Matt Brumfield (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge)in the late stages of the game.
Wooster could only muster 36 yards rushing on 33 carries and 255 yards of total offense, much of which came in the late stages of the game. Ben Schrock caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Austin Holter in the third quarter to account for the Scots' lone points in the game.
Individually, Belcher led with a career-high 131 yards rushing, followed by senior tailback Derrick Braziel (Brook Park, Ohio/West Springfield (Va.)) with 81 yards on four carries. Weber added 78 yards on four carries and Vanover chipped in with 47 yards on nine rushes. Huffman was an efficient 6-of-12 for 195 yards as the Tigers piled up 275 yards passing. Freshman wide receiver Demetrius Lindsay (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) saw his first action as a collegian, and he finished with 111 yards on two receptions, while Williams added a career-high 86 yards on two catches.
Wooster picked up 36 yards rushing on 15 carries from Dustin Sheppard and a total of 219 yards through the air between quarterbacks Austin Holter and Chad Parker. Schrock led in receiving with 56 yards on nine receptions.
Sophomore linebacker Kyle Lohrman (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) led a balanced Wittenberg defense with eight tackles.