DePauw offense comes up one drive short against Wooster

Saturday, November 2, 2013
Barry Flynn catches a pass between two defenders as quarterback, Matt Hunt peaks to see the result of his throw.

The first half wasn't the shoot-out that stats predicted for the DePauw game against Wooster on Saturday, but the offenses began rolling in the third quarter. With senior running back Nikko Sansone sidelined with an injury, DePauw returned to the immaculate strategy of chucking it deep to senior Barry Flynn and as he is wont to do, Flynn delivered.

Flynn finished with 130 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn't enough as the Tigers lost to the quick-scoring Scots 27-24.

"We let a very good offense team hang around, and they did," DPU coach Bill Lynch said. "You've got to give Wooster credit. Our guys kept fighting, we just didn't play as well as we had to."

DePauw (3-5, 3-4 NCAC) jumped out to an early 10-0 lead after a field goal from senior Eric Malm and touchdown pass from freshman Matt Hunt to Flynn in the first quarter and the Tigers' defense was stout. Wooster moved the ball with moderate success on the ground but their senior quarterback, Richard Barnes, struggled with the DPU secondary.

Wooster (5-3, 5-2 NCAC) entered the game averaging 32.4 points but played a DePauw defense that has allowed just 23.4. The Scots finally got on the board late in the second quarter after a DePauw drive was halted by back-to-back penalties.

Facing a third-and-6 on his 34, Hunt scrambled for an 11-yard gain that was brought back for a holding penalty. On the next play, now third-and-16, Hunt threw a short screen pass to Sansone that went for 15 yards. Again it was called back, this time for a clip.

"I really thought the turning point of the game was in the second quarter," Lynch said. "We had our opportunities to score points at the end of the first half and I think that would have made a difference."

Now backed up to their own 13, the Tigers punted on fourth down and gave the Scots the ball on the 41. Five plays later junior Sean Hackel punched a run to make it 10-6 before the break.

Hackel finished with 33 carries for 105 yards.

The disadvantageous ending to the first half for the Tigers carried into the second as Wooster began to find a rhythm and DePauw failed to sustain any drives to keep the Scots off the field.

Barnes, 2-for-10 passing in the first half, was 14-for-17 in the second. He finished with 186 yards and a touchdown through the air and 105 yards on 18 carries on the ground.

The Scots first five possessions of the second half were an 11-play drive that stalled on the DePauw 6, three touchdowns and a punt.

For a while, it seemed the Tigers would be able to respond to the game's offensive turn.

DPU gave up a touchdown drive and, with Sansone sidelined with a shoulder injury, Hunt led the offense down the field. Scrambling for his life he drifted to the sideline, turned then threw across his body for a 38-yard gain to D.J. Steward. Hunt looked deep again on the next play, this time to the 9-yard line to J.D. Robinson.

Flynn did the rest. Hunt dropped back, scanned the field in the immediate vicinity of Flynn's corner fade, then threw a pass anyway. Flynn batted it up, nearly to the defender, took both players to the ground then recovered to haul it in for the go-ahead touchdown and a 17-13 lead at 6:33 in the third.

Two drives later, Wooster showed it was willing to dig deep in its playbook do get the win against DePauw.

Barnes threw a swing pass to sophomore Keir Pace, who then turned and fired downfield to his wide-open target, freshman Darrian Owens. The double-pass went for a touchdown, as the defense seemed to fall asleep.

It might have been reasonable to do so as the first pass appeared to be forward, but the score held without protest. Again DePauw answered, again with a pass from Hunt to Flynn, but the Tigers' two second-half scoring drives took only a combined seven plays.

The Tigers will take big-play scores, but sustaining drives was important to the team as it tried to slow the high-paced attack from Wooster.

DPU did that successfully in the first half, running 48 plays and maintaining possession for more than 21 minutes. In the second half, without Sansone, the running game was less effective and the Tigers couldn't keep Wooster off the field.

"We didn't control the ball as well in the second half as we did in the first half, and that's important against a team like this," Lynch said.

The Scots controlled the ball (17:21) and the field (296 yards from scrimmage).

Despite the second-half struggles, the Tigers still had several chance in the fourth-quarter to secure at least a tie.

Trailing 27-24, the Tigers took control of the ball on their own 28 after a kickoff. They went three-and-out. Another opportunity on the next drive came and went. DPU moved the ball and held it for 10 plays, but managed just 24 yards. Hunt scrambled on fourth-and-10 from the Wooster 32 but as he tried to create space, he dropped further and further back behind the line of scrimmage. He was eventually sacked for a 22-yard loss.

The Tigers final drive ended with an interception when Hunt's third-down pass was stalled by strong wind, coming up short of sophomore Connor Jeffers and falling into the hands of sophomore Vinnie Congedo.

"(Hunt) made some great plays and he's played very well as a freshman," Lynch said. "He's a big reason we were in the game to begin with."

The DePauw defense returned to give its offense chances, but the unit failed to get the final stop it needed as Wooster picked up its final first down with 1:36 remaining.

DPU has one game left before its showdown with Wabash on Nov. 16.

The Tigers travel to Hiram (2-6) next week for a 1 p.m. start.

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