WILMINGTON, Ohio – There were certainly plenty of big plays for The College of Wooster football team in the 2023 season lid-lifter, however, the Fighting Scots ultimately did not stop host Wilmington College enough times in Saturday's 63-43 loss at Williams Stadium.
Wooster (0-1) scored twice from 88 yards out in the fourth quarter. First-year Kieran Klingsberg delivered excitement in his collegiate debut with an 88-yard kickoff return for a score. Later, sophomore Chanden Lee hit junior Brazos Gadler in stride for another 88-yard touchdown. Senior Lake Barrett followed up the passing touchdown with an extra point to pull Wooster within 56-43 with 2:37 remaining.
In between the 88-yard touchdowns, sophomore Braydon Hudson knocked the ball from Nathan Throckmorton's grasp just past the line of scrimmage near Wilmington's 40-yard line. Junior Liam Regan scooped and scored from 37 yards out. The forced fumble marked the second by the Scots on a Fightin' Quakers rushing play on the day. Earlier, Ben Hobbs ran right into senior Domenic DeMuth in Wilmington's backfield, and the Scots' star defensive lineman jarred the ball loose. Senior Paul Thomas Fischer recovered that fumble, which kicked off quarter two.
Wooster wasted no time scoring after Fischer's fumble recovery. Lee rolled to his right on a second-and-14 play to escape pressure, and that enabled time for sophomore Tate Journell to come open in the end zone for the touchdown. Barrett's extra point made the score 15 all at the 14:05 mark of the second quarter.
In the first quarter, Lee took a shot downfield when Wilmington jumped offsides, and Gadler was there for a 40-yard reception. In all, Wooster had three passing plays go for at least 40 yards. Sophomore Jordan Lewis caught the third one, which went for 74 yards and a third-quarter touchdown after he had a step on a Wilmington (1-0) defender.
Wooster tied the score at eight not long after Gadler's 40-yard reception. Lee rolled to his left, then found junior Andrew Hammer on a corner route from 13 yards out. Journell, Wooster's holder, took a shotgun snap and threw a slightly-backwards pass to first-year Jayden Taylor, who converted the two-point rush attempt.
Wilmington scored on nine of its 16 drives, including three straight in the second half. Nehemia Jenkins' 2-yard run with 11:21 left in the game had Wilmington ahead 56-22.
Lee completed 20-of-30 passes for 329 yards and four touchdowns in his first collegiate start. Gadler was the playmaker among the receivers, turning four receptions into 146 yards and the touchdown. Senior Sebestyen Balassy and Hammer combined for 10 receptions and 83 yards. Sophomore Jarvis Mims Jr. was the leading rusher at 32 yards on 12 carries.
Hudson's 10 tackles led the Scots, while junior Jon Banal was next at nine, with four of his going for loss. Sophomore Wyatt Harris was another Scot whose number was called a lot on defense with nine tackles, seven of which were solo stops.
Derek Larimer completed 12-of-21 passes for 168 yards and five touchdowns for Wilmington. The Fightin' Quakers set up the plethora of passing scores with a consistent ground attack, as they rushed 67 times for 388 yards and had two backs north of the century mark.
Quentin Davis' nine tackles led Wilmington.
Wilmington outgained Wooster 587 yards to 369 yards and had 27 first downs to the Scots' 14. The teams combined for eight turnovers.
Next, Wooster hosts The University of Olivet (1-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 9. The game is the first since the new artificial turf was installed at John P. Papp Stadium.