Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team erased a 27-6 second-quarter deficit to take a three-point lead in the fourth quarter only to see it disappear again late in the game as the College of Wooster Fighting Scots escaped town with a 34-30 win.
 
A string of 24 answered points had the Yeomen out in front in a fourth quarter for the first time this season, but the Scots would eventually recapture the lead, going 81 yards on seven plays with Brandon Adams capping the drive with a 10-yard TD scamper with 7:18 left in the game.
 
With plenty of ticks left on the clock the Yeomen had opportunities to respond, but on their ensuing drive they went 3-and-out, and on their next possession, the Scots came away with an interception.
 
The Yeomen defense did their job and gave the offense one last chance with 1:26 to play, but Oberlin would net just five yards before turning it over on downs to effectively end the game.
 
Freshman Zach Taylor finished 27-of-45-passing for 375 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Justin Cruz and Jabari Clemons each hauled in nine balls from Taylor. Cruz totaled 132 yards to move into fifth on the all-time yardage list with 1,955 yards. Clemons racked up 91 yards and had two touchdown catches.
 
The Scots scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game, and later in the first quarter Oberlin was looking to tie the game – marching down to the Scots' 1-yardline before ultimately settling for a 21-yard Michael Leshchyshyn field goal.
 
Back-to-back Wooster touchdowns had them up 20-3, before a 36-yard field goal from Leshchyshyn would get the Yeomen back within two scores.  However, a quick 7-play, 67-yard drive by Wooster that took just 1:59 off the clock ended with a walk-in touchdown for quarterback Gary Muntean.
 
Getting the ball to start the second half, the Yeomen knew the importance of closing out the first half strong. Taking over with 1:11 left, the Yeomen went 76 yards on seven plays in less than a minute. Taylor connected with Cruz for 22 yards on 3^rd-and-6 and then followed that up with a 20-yard strike to Corey Fussinger. The drive would end with Clemons hauling in a 20-yard TD pass to make it a 27-13 game at the break.
 
On the opening possession of the third quarter the Yeomen turned in one of their most complete drives of the season, covering 75 yards on 11 plays. A 23-yard run by Taylor got the Yeomen down to the goal line and two plays later Clemons took a shovel pass and swept the end for a 6-yard score to cut the deficit down to seven, 27-20.
 
After forcing the Scots to turn it over on downs, the Yeomen offense went right back to work, covering 82 yards on nine plays. It was Alec Bean who secured the game-tying touchdown as he took a short pass and turned it up field for a 15-yard score. Robby Reinheimer also had a big 34-yard catch on the drive that went towards his 4-catch, 69-yard performance.
 
After a quick 3-and-out by the Scots, Oberlin was looking to take lead with a 1^st-and-goal situation. On fourth down from the 1-yardline, the Yeomen elected to run a sneak with Taylor but he lost the ball in the pile so Oberlin came away with no points.
 
Early in the fourth, the Yeomen would again get deep into Wooster territory, but would have again settle for a field goal as Leshchyshyn became the fifth player in school history to make three field goals in a game by converting from 26-yards out to give the Yeomen a thee-point lead.  
 
After the two foes would trade 3-and-outs, the Scots would start the eventual game-winning drive with 9:22 left to play and from there would keep the Yeomen off the board the rest of the way.
 
Oberlin finished with 523 yards and 26 first downs. Wooster tallied 443 yards and moved the chains 21 times. Taylor was Oberlin's top ground gainer with 68 yards on 20 attempts.
 
Freshman Von Wooding guided the Yeomen defense with 12 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss.
 
The loss dropped the Yeomen to 0-7 overall and 0-6 in the NCAC. Wooster moved to 2-4 and 2-3 in conference action.
 
Oberlin is idle next week and will return to action at home on October 29 when it host Wittenberg at 3 p.m.