Football Claws Down Wooster on Senior Day

The Wittenberg Football team took down the Fighting Scots 47-21 for the team’s first undefeated regular season since 2010.
This season was head coach Joe Fincham’s sixth career undefeated regular season, adding another benchmark on the team’s run into their seventh NCAA tournament berth since 2009.
Senior Day rivalry showcased new players to the field, as Fincham allowed non-starting seniors to make big plays during Saturday’s boom-and-bust.
Notably, Taylor Clark, ’18, was the starting kicker for the day, kicking-off six times to start Wooster drives, averaging 53 yards per attempt. Quinn Cook, ’18, threw his first touchdown of his career with an 11-yard connection to Andrew Tate, ’18.
The Wooster defense shut down Wittenberg’s lead running back Deshawn Sarley, ’19, who averaged 2.6 yards on 12 attempts.
Wittenberg spread the running offense, giving opportunities to Nick Kendall, ’20, and Jaheem Washington, ’20, to run 81 yards and 65 yards respectively. Washington carried the ball into the end-zone twice.
Once again, Jake Kennedy, ’19, led the Tigers under center as starting quarterback, and threw for over 300 yards on the day. Kennedy went 19 for 30 in the air, throwing two touchdown passes during the rivalry game.
Kennedy’s main target was Thad Snodgrass, ’19, who hauled in five receptions for 108 yards. Liam Duncan, ’19, tailed close behind on the day with 106 yards on five catches.
Kennedy lost one target on his only interception on the day, however the Tiger offense quickly recovered on the same play. Duncan forced the fumble on the interception return and Trey Ellis, ’18, was the first to fall on the ball, coming up with the recovery.
Saturday was a defensive boom for the red and white, despite allowing three touchdowns.
The first quarter alone was articulated with interceptions on three of Wooster’s first four drives; one by Jack Kayser, ’18, and two by Jonathan Seay, ’20. Each interception led to a touchdown, ending the quarter with a score of 20-0.
Jeremy Asiffo, ’19, was the lead tackler for the Tiger defense, tallying nine on the day including one sack.
The drive after the third interception led to a lateral pass trick to throw off the Wooster defense just enough to allow Sarley, to scoot by the Wooster defender to receive a 48-yard touchdown pass from wide reciever Jeff Tiffner, ’19, to end the first quarter.
Despite the boom, the defense was busted when it came to taking down the Fighting Scots’ star Nick Strausbaugh, Wooster sophomore, received eight catches for 174 yards on the day. His ability to outrun the Tiger defenders resulted in three touchdowns against the red and white.
Saturday’s win tacked on the program’s sixth outright NCAC first-place standing in the past 10 seasons. The Tigers now hold league title number 15 since joining the NCAC for the 1989 season.
The Tigers are set to take on Frostburg State at home on Saturday, Nov. 18 at noon for the first-round playoff game.