Wooster, OH – The Wittenberg Tiger football team traveled to the College of Wooster on Saturday afternoon, falling in a hard-fought North Coast Athletic Conference showdown, 44-43, with the Fighting Scots. Wittenberg held a 30-7 lead at the break, after going up 21-0 through the first quarter of action.
Wittenberg took advantage of back-to-back blundered punt plays by the Wooster special teams unit in the first quarter. The first Tiger score came from a wild Wooster snap and Wittenberg falling on the ball in the endzone. Wittenberg had Wooster pinned inside their own 30 on the following possession. Eli Renick broke through the coverage, falling on the blocked punt, giving the Tigers a 14-0 advantage. Wittenberg capped off their first quarter scoring surge with a their first offensive touchdown, coming with 5:30 left in the quarter. Gene Nobles reeled in the four-yard reception from Collin Brown, capping off the 52-yard scoring drive for the Tigers.
Wittenberg tallied their final touchdown of the half with CJ Burnett making his way into the Wooster endzone on the 30-yard catch-and-score.
After Wittenberg ended the half with a field goal and opened the half with a field goal, Wooster found a spark on back-to-back scores, cutting the deficit to 33-21 with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Garrett Gross broke-off a 49-yard touchdown run, extending the Wittenberg advantage back out to 40-21 on the following Tiger possession. The Tiger offense would have to settle for a lone field goal in the final quarter of action, as Nathan Hawks split the uprights from 39-yards out.
The two sides were evenly matched, with Wittenberg producing 351-yards of total offense and Wooster posting 364. Wooster held the advantage in the first down category, picking up 26 to Wittenberg's 16. Brown went 12 for 21 on the day with 155 yards with two touchdowns. Utilizing his deep mix of receivers, Brown found seven different Tigers for catches on the day. Burnett and Milik Bowe led the unit with three catches apiece, Burnette finished with 48-yards and Bowe with 33.
Cameron Snurr led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles on the day, including seven solo takedowns. Max Yost tallied eight with five solo. Matt Render added seven with four solo, including two tackles for a loss.
Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, November 5, hosting Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm at home from Edwards-Maurer Field.