HIRAM, Ohio – The College of Wooster football team continued its recent run of record-setting performances when it plays at Hiram College, where the Fighting Scots closed out their 2019 season with a 37-12 victory over the Terriers on Saturday afternoon at Charles A. Henry Field.
Freshman Lake Barrett's record-setting field goal led off the lineup for Wooster (6-4, 5-4 North Coast Athletic Conference). The rookie drilled a 37-yard field goal with 5:47 remaining in the opening half, which upped Wooster's lead to 10-0. That marked Barrett's 11th field goal on the year and moved him out of a four-way tie atop the program's single-season leaders list.
On the next drive, senior Nick Strausbaugh caught a 37-yard touchdown reception to cap a seven-play, 58-yard drive. The touchdown marked the 31st of his career, and he moved past Brandon Good for the most in program history.
Wooster wasn't done building its pre-halftime lead just yet, as sophomore Mateo Renteria completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to classmate Troy Baughman with six ticks left on the first-half clock. That upped Wooster's lead to 23-0 at the break.
Renteria's big afternoon continued on the flip side of halftime, and by game's end, the sophomore signal-caller fired a career-high four touchdown passes. His two in the second half went to senior Jacob Lewis and freshman Charlie Henegar. Lewis' measured out at 25 yards, and that play was the capper on a seven-play, 81-yard drive right out of halftime. Henegar curled into the end zone from four yards out, and that score made it a 37-0 game.
Hiram (0-10, 0-9 NCAC) scored twice in the fourth quarter with Xavier Reyero completing touchdown passes of 48 and 52 yards to Moe Yarbrough and Tahj Lorthridge, respectively.
Renteria completed 18-of-26 passes for 286 yards and the four scores. He finished the year 203-of-333 for 2,496 yards and 17 touchdowns. Renteria's completions and yards are the third-most in program history.
Strausbaugh turned his four receptions into 99 yards and a score, while tight ends Cole Hissong and Lewis combined for nine receptions and 109 yards. Baughman toted the ball 24 times for 93 yards, and he opened the afternoon's scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Of note, Strausbaugh's three-year line wound up at 167 receptions for 3,178 yards and 31 touchdowns. At 19.0 yards per catch, he's Wooster's new leader in that category, with his total exceeding Chris Cabot's '02 per-catch average of 16.1.
Defensively, sophomores Kellen Calhoun and Angelo Petracci made a co-team-high nine tackles. Wooster's pass rush factored heavily into the outcome with the Scots logging seven sacks, five of which came when Collin McNamara was under center. Sophomore Kobe Matesic led the forces with 2.5 sacks, while Calhoun, senior Christian Santos, and senior Jake Stewart each had one.
Wooster's defense logged a pair of goal-line stands in the first quarter. First, freshman Brandon Holt and Stewart teamed up to knock Jacquaris Wall back a yard on fourth-and-1 from Wooster's 3-yard line. On the next drive, Stewart pried the pigskin out of McNamara's hands on the 3-yard line, a fumble that was recovered by freshman Korey Simmons.
Noteworthy, Wooster finished the season allowing 162 points and 3,433 yards, the program's best showings since 2008 and 2011, respectively. The Scots were flagged for 45 penalties on the year, with 1994 marking the last year Wooster posted a lower total.
Hiram lined up three signal-callers on the day. Reyero was the most effective, evidenced by completing 12-of-17 throws for 173 yards, 88 of which were attributed to Lorthridge. Hiram's Delanoe Harris led all players with 13 tackles.