Scots football opener will break the mold
- Tom Rife: Livin' the Team
- July 22, 2021
- 1460
Old-school is the new-cool. So here’s a trivia question you’re not likely to be asked any time soon: Can you name a pair of small colleges that have been around for a combined 328 years?
Hint: you don’t have to rummage too hard — or too far — to find the answer. In fact, the two history-drenched schools will actually meet face to face come Sept. 4 at The College of Wooster’s aging John P. Papp Stadium. That’s when the Fighting Scots will host Geneva College in the first-ever football clash between the institutions founded in 1866 and 1848, respectively.
Almost as unusual as the matchup itself is the 6 p.m. kickoff between the Scots and Golden Tornadoes. COW head coach Frank Colaprete isn’t a big fan of evening outings, but for the 2021 opener, he’ll be overjoyed just to finally get a full season of football underway following last fall’s COVID-19 derailment.
Might we talk a little more Scots football while the Cleveland Indians struggle to keep their bats above water in the American League wild-card race?
The Wooster vs. Geneva encounter is the first of back-to-back home appearances for the Scots, who will entertain Kenyon at 1 p.m. on Sept. 11. When the Golden Tornadoes of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference travel to Wayne County from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, they will put their old-school, triple-option offense on display on the Papp rug.
The creative matchup makes perfect sense when you look at the big picture. The game should help the “Scottie Dawgs” get ready for their road trip to Wabash on Oct. 16. Always among the North Coast Athletic Conference favorites and probably the team to beat in the league this year, the Little Giants of Crawfordsville, Indiana also make hay with the triple-option attack.
Incidentally, old-school has become new-cool this season at Wabash, where they are about to christen the new $13 million Little Giant Stadium, complete with seating for 3,500, four luxury suites and a W Club Lounge. The new facility also includes game operations and media booths, a new scoreboard, a new playing surface, an all-weather track, landscaping, and expanded restroom and upgraded concession areas.
It has to be said that the construction project at Wabash represents an ambitious, forward-thinking mindset for the Div. III school, where the appetite for football is downright calorific.
As for the Scots, players report to campus on Aug. 11. While there was no fall season a year ago, Colaprete’s troops did engage in workouts when COVID-19 protocols allowed, completing a spring effort with two exhibition games. Though Wooster lost home outings against DePauw (37-3) and Ohio Wesleyan (58-32), the action provided the COW staff and players a reward for their off-season commitments. The spring exhibitions also provided additional opportunities to better evaluate the team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Fans might say the success of the squad rests on the arm of quarterback Mateo Renteria. The Houston signal caller stuck with the program through thick and thin and goes into this season at the top of the QB depth chart. In the two exhibitions, Renteria completed 29 of 51 pass attempts (57%) for 329 yards with just one interception.
Troy Baughman of football-hungry McKinney, Texas is back and is expected to anchor the ground attack. Renteria is always a threat to run the ball as well. Baughman, the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder, averaged 6 yards per exhibition tote, netting 161 stripes on 27 rushes.
In general, the receiving corps could be characterized as young and inexperienced. Returning tight end Cole Hissong, out of Triway High, is looking to have a breakout year. In his first two seasons, the 6-2, 225-pound mainstay piled up 667 total yards on 40 receptions and scored six touchdowns.
Hissong’s challenge early on will be breaking free from swarming defenders until the up-and-coming wideouts work to find their stride. Those promising receivers include freshman Mitchell Heilman, the Ashland grad from Jeromesville, and freshman Brennan South, out of Bellville’s Clear Fork High.
While the pigskin technically is a prolate, spheroid-shaped projectile, it is said that on the defensive “side” of the ball, Wooster’s stalwart is expected to be fifth-year man Beau Greenwood, who hails from Pittsburgh. In the defensive back’s three seasons (28 games) to date — he did not lose a year of eligibility last year — Greenwood has racked up 86 tackles and 74 assists.
Junior linebacker Angelo Petracci was the team’s co-leader in tackles in 2019. As a defensive end, Kellen Calhoun is back as a Scot go-getter. Sophomore Matt Ulishney expects to be one busy cornerback. In his 10 games in a COW uniform, he’s garnered 31 solo tackles and 11 assists.
Now if all those names and numbers don’t get your football juices flowing just a little bit, you’ve probably been quarantining too long.
Or dreaming of rocketing into space like innovators Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos. Just remember:
New-cool billionaires will never outlive old schools like Wooster and Geneva.