OBERLIN, Ohio – A relentless defensive effort enabled The College of Wooster football team to double its season interception total, and the Fighting Scots recorded five takeaways and five sacks in Saturday's 56-13 season-ending win over Oberlin College at Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex. With the win, Wooster finishes with a record above .500 for the third consecutive season, while the Scots' 56 points are the most in a season finale since dropping that many on Oberlin in 1967.
Junior defensive end Domenic DeMuth ran through Oberlin's (0-10, 0-8 North Coast Athletic Conference) offensive line the entire first half and finished with a career-high three sacks. The first was the strip variety on Oberlin's Chris Allen Jr., who was booked for a loss of 10 before Wooster (6-4, 4-4 NCAC) first-year linebacker Mason Gilton scooped and scored from 26 yards out. DeMuth's other times spilling Allen Jr. to the turf came on third-down plays on consecutive second-quarter drives.
Gilton's score marked Wooster's second touchdown in a 9-second span in the opening quarter. Moments earlier, senior quarterback Mateo Renteria followed his line in for a 1-yard sneak that opened the afternoon's scoring at the 2:49 mark.
In the second quarter, Wooster's wideouts controlled the edges of the field on a pair of quick screens to sophomore Brazos Gadler. Gadler's uncatchable speed once he got past the line added 31- and 46-yard passing touchdowns to the scoreboard. Later, sophomore Andrew Hammer was open for a 27-yard reception on a third-and-12 snap, then Renteria went back to him for a 35-yard touchdown at the 2:23 mark that pushed Wooster's lead to 34-7.
First-year defensive back Brock Sivon's interception gave Wooster the ball just shy of its 40-yard line in the final minute of the opening half. A 30-yard completion to first-year Jarvis Mims Jr. moved the ball into legitimate scoring range, then Renteria led Gadler to the corner of the end zone for the duo's third touchdown connection of the half with :05 on the clock. Senior Lake Barrett's sure-footed extra point extended the lead to 42-13 at the half.
Wooster scored touchdowns following its two second-half interceptions. Junior linebacker Kobe Nadu tipped an Allen Jr. pass into that air that was secured by senior linebacker Chris Savaglio in the third quarter. Senior Andrew Yanssens cashed in with the 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Next, senior defensive back Langston Williams logged an interception in the second straight game and returned this one to Oberlin's 15-yard line. Mims Jr. capped the afternoon's scoring with a 2-yard rush.
Other impact defensive plays included senior defensive back Matt Ulishney spying Allen Jr. in the first quarter for an easy uncontested interception in the end zone after the Yeomen reached the red zone, first-year linebacker Braydon Hudson and senior defensive tackle Quincy Taylor sacking Allen Jr. in the second quarter, and junior linebacker Alex White logging the fifth sack of the day in the fourth quarter.
Renteria surpassed 10,000 career passing yards in his final collegiate game. He completed 19-of-30 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns. The program's all-time leader in completions (770), yards (10,083), passing touchdowns (78), and total offense (10,614 yards) hit 2,000 yards passing in each season donning the Black & Gold.
Gadler had a day with five receptions for 119 yards and three touchdowns, senior tight end Cole Hissong surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards with 31 stripes on the day, and he finished with the third-most receptions in program history at 145.
Mims Jr. was the leading rusher at 85 yards on 18 carries. Of note, the Scots' 21 rushing touchdowns this year marked the program's most since 2016.
DeMuth and White each had four tackles, DeMuth tallied 24 negative yards on his three sacks, and the Scots had eight pass breakups on the day, including three from first-year defensive back Louie Lindsay.
Allen Jr. was 13-of-30 for 152 yards and the four picks. Brian Colarusso was the bright spot with eight receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Oberlin had just 22 net yards rushing on the day.
Elliott Meyer's 16 tackles led all players, Brandon Hall added 12, and Hunter Green finished at 11.
Wooster outgained Oberlin 470-235, held the Yeomen to just 3-of-16 on third-down conversions, and nearly doubled up the hosts on first downs, finishing with a 23-12 lead.
Of note, Wooster's current three-year run of finishing above .500 is the program's best stretch since a five-year run from 2002-2006.