WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster football team torched Kenyon College's secondary for touchdown passes of 69, 55, 77, and 54 yards, and the Fighting Scots' defense contributed to the 49-7 blowout victory with a pair of takeaways on Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.
Wooster's (2-0, 1-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) big-play fireworks almost started on the first defensive series. There, junior Dorion Talley, who had the game-clinching breakup during last Saturday's 42-35 win over Geneva College, nearly had a pick-six on Kenyon's (0-2, 0-1 NCAC) third-down play. Nonetheless, the defensive back was credited with another breakup, and that marked the first of three straight three-and-outs turned in by Wooster's defense.
Offensively, it was a very methodical approach to start, as the Scots worked the ball 70 yards on 12 plays, culminating with a 2-yard touchdown tote by senior Troy Baughman, which opened the scoring at the 8:50 mark in the opening quarter. Next, seniors Angelo Petracci and Chris Savaglio spilled AJ Allen for a 6-yard sack on a third-and-6 play, and come its own third-down try, first-year Bryant Douglas II broke free from Kenyon's defense en route to a 69-yard touchdown reception.
In the second quarter, sophomore Mitchell Heilman had a step on his defender, and senior quarterback Mateo Renteria was spot on with a 55-yard touchdown strike, as the Scots opened a 21-0 lead after junior Lake Barrett split the uprights on his extra point kick. On the next possession, sophomore Carter Warstler eluded a host of Lords on his way to a 77-yard touchdown reception on a screen play. Other second-quarter highlights included a forced fumble by senior Beau Greenwood on a third-and-8 play, when the Scots' star defensive back was matched up one-on-one with the Lords' tight end.
Sophomore defensive back Andrew Armile jump-started the Scots in the second half with an interception and 16-yard return that gave Wooster the ball on Kenyon's 11-yard line. Two plays later, Baughman upped the lead to 34-0 with a 2-yard touchdown rush up the middle, and later in the quarter, junior Andrew Yanssens added the Scots third rushing touchdown of the day from three yards out.
Warstler, who went for 148 stripes on three receptions, had one more for the highlight reel tucked away for the fourth quarter. He beat his man, and sophomore Seth Jutz delivered a 54-yard touchdown strike, with Barrett's extra point closing out the day's scoring at the 6:46 mark.
Renteria completed 15-of-19 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Of note, Renteria's 340 passing yards are the third-most during his career, and it marked his fourth time over 300 passing yards. Wooster actually passed for 411 yards on the day, thanks to Jutz, who was 2-of-2 for 71 stripes. Douglas II backed Warstler's big day up with three receptions for 90 yards, and senior Cole Hissong had 52 yards on three receptions.
Wooster finished with 184 yards on the ground, 63 of which came from sophomore Josh Pond in the second half. Pond averaged 5.7 yards over 11 carries.
Petracci was a big havoc-causer for Kenyon's offensive line. He led Wooster with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a half sack, and had a couple of just-misses in the sack department. Senior Dylan Carr, sophomore Domenic DeMuth, and Savaglio finished with seven tackles apiece.
The duo of Allen and Ryan O'Leary combined to go 18-for-33 for 185 yards on the day. Kenyon had 89 yards rushing, with 24 of those coming on O'Leary's third-quarter touchdown. Mychael Leno and Jason Kessler were busy all afternoon with 10 tackles each.
Of note, Wooster converted 10-of-13 third downs, while Kenyon was held to 5-of-16.
Next, Wooster hits the road for the first time. The Scots play at Ohio Wesleyan University (1-0, 0-0 NCAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 18.