WOOSTER, Ohio – Seventy points – 12 of which were scored by the defense – were hung on Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium, as The College of Wooster football team turned in one of the most complete and balanced offensive games in program history in what went in the books as a 70-21 victory.
Wooster's (2-2, 1-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) 70 points marked the fourth-most in program history since six points started being awarded for a touchdown in 1912, and the most since the program-record 84 hung on Kenyon on October 9, 2004. The offense averaged 7.9 yards per play, and it simply did not matter if Wooster dialed up a run or pass, as the team finished with 627 yards, 319 through the air, and just 11 fewer on the ground. It truly was a team performance, as no Fighting Scot had over 100 yards receiving, and sophomore Jarvis Mims Jr. had 132 yards rushing to lead three Wooster players with at least 60 on the day.
No Kenyon (0-4, 0-2 NCAC) player kept track of Wooster sophomore Tate Journell on the opening drive, and a textbook example of a wide-open touchdown catch was the price paid by the Owls. Journell caught his 40-yard touchdown at the 10-yard line and had a free pass into the end zone. The two-way standout had to earn his second touchdown, and did so, scoring from six yards out with 12:30 remaining in the game. Senior Lake Barrett's eighth extra-point kick of the day upped the lead to 56-21.
On the next offensive play, senior linebacker Kobe Nadu deflected a Kenyon pass over the middle. Senior defensive lineman Neil Clayton plucked the deflection out of the air at the 25 yard line and had just enough speed to beat Kenyon's tight end to the corner of the end zone on the pick-six, which marked Wooster's first interception return for a touchdown since 2018. Later, sophomore running back Shakir Perkins would not be denied, capping a nine-play, 85-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush. Earlier in the drive, Perkins ran through the Owls' defense for gains of 11 and 39 yards, and he converted a rare Wooster third-down play with a 5-yard burst up the middle.
Wooster hung 21 points on Kenyon in the first quarter alone. Mims Jr. answered Kenyon's opening score of the day with a 5-yard touchdown run to put Wooster ahead for good. Journell had a hand in setting that prime scoring chance up with a 44-yard reception, and a 15-yard facemask penalty was tacked on to the end, resulting in the ball moving from Wooster's 40-yard line to Kenyon's eight.
A major miscue by Kenyon's Dominic Simpson was arguably the game's big turning point. After Mims Jr.'s first touchdown, Simpson let a kickoff drop near the goal line, only it did not make it into the end zone for a touchback. That resulted in Simpson having to retrieve it, and the ball was spotted on Kenyon's 1-yard line due to Simpson taking a knee while scooping the ball up. With nowhere to work, Wooster ramped up the pressure and senior Langston Williams simply blew past the Kenyon receiver attempting to block him, enabling him to take a swipe at the ball upon it being handed off to Jordon Benjamin. A fumble occurred, with first-year defensive back Wyatt Wilkie falling on it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Wooster's offense was even more impressive in the second quarter, scoring 28 points to take a commanding 49-14 halftime lead. Mims Jr. led the charge, scoring from five yards out on the ground with 3:22 remaining in the stanza, then again on a 17-yard reception with 1:10 on the clock. Lee's 5-yard keeper and a 3-yard Perkins run were the other scoring plays.
Lee completed 18-of-30 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He had 379 yards of total offense on the afternoon, thanks to 64 rushing yards, most of which came on savvy scrambling awareness that resulted in a 5.8 per-rush average. Journell's 92 yards led the receivers, while Perkins backed up Mims Jr.'s 132 yards rushing with 86 on just 10 carries.
Barrett converted all 10 extra-point kicks to eclipse 200 career points. He is now tied with Dustin Sheppard for the sixth-most points in program history, and his 204 ranks second among placekickers.
Junior Jon Banal was Wooster's defensive force, finishing with a co-team-high eight tackles. He had 2.5 tackles-for-loss, half a sack, and nearly wrestled the ball away from an Owl for a major highlight-reel interception. Sophomore Brock Sivon had eight tackles, while Clayton had three to go with his pick-six.
Of note, Wooster's 627 yards of total offense marked the most since the team had 635 against Hiram College in 2005. Wooster's 308 rushing yards were the most since gouging Allegheny College for 351 in 2014 and it was the program's first 300-yard rushing game since playing Kenyon in 2016.
Other big stats for Wooster included an 8-of-12 showing on third downs and holding Kenyon to just two successful third-down conversions on 13 tries.
Kenyon did not have success through the air, as Park Penrod was just 7-for-17 for 51 yards with two interceptions. He completed just one pass that went for over 10 yards. Drake Lewis rushed 15 times for 167 yards and a touchdown, and Benjamin backed that up with 105 yards on 21 carries, one of which was a touchdown.
Simpson's 11 tackles were the game high. Jared Hancock added eight.
Next, Wooster heads to Wabash College (2-1, 1-0 NCAC) for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, October 7.