Football loses to Wooster but gains new record
by Adam Tobin
Last Saturday the Quaker football team opened up its first intra-conference season game against the College of Wooster ‘Fighting Scots’ but ultimately fell 49-3. One bright spot in the game was senior kicker Max Crumley-Effinger’s successful 52-yard field goal that broke his and John Richey’s previous record by four yards.
From the get-go, the Quakers faced a lot of difficulty in stopping the Scots’ offensive gains. As soon as Wooster was in possession of the ball, they immediately scored and were up 7-0 on the Quakers. The Quakers tried to fight back, but their attempts were futile. In the outset of the second period the Scots scored yet again, extending their lead to 14-0.
Head Coach Gerry Keesling praised the defensive efforts against the offensive prowess of the Fighting Scots:
“Our defense, put under great duress, played extremely well against one of the top offenses in the conferences.”
Last year, Wooster narrowly beat Earlham, 16-14. Keesling, hoping for a victory, expressed some disappointment about the game:
“My expectations were not what the outcome was. We turned over the ball five times in the first half, and it was disappointing that Wooster had the same people back from last year.”
A New Record
Although the Scots had a sizeable lead halfway into the second quarter, the Quakers added three points to the score when senior kicker Max Crumely-Effinger, already a multi-record holder for the school, made history yet again after he booted in a 52-yard field goal. This record broke his and John Tichey’s (1988) previous record of 48 yards after Crumley-Effinger tied the record three weeks ago against Manchester College. Crumley-Effinger also tied the career field goals record at 14 career field goals. He is tied with Earlham Athletics Hall of Fame member Don Siler (1994).
Crumley-Effinger credited his new volunteer coach, a Earlham 2004 graduate, for helping him in his consistency:
“Coach B [Michael Eliorraga] started helping me before the first game, and he has helped me immeasurably with my kicking, and overall has made me more consistent, which has also helped the mental part of my game.”
He also noted that he has made great strides from last year:
“I was always inconsistent last year trying to fix problems without having any idea on how to fix them.”
The momentum from Crumley-Effinger’s field goal was quickly eclipsed by the Scots right before the clock ran out before halftime, when they scored yet another touchdown to make the score 21-3 at halftime.
The dispirited EC fans were hoping for a Quaker comeback after halftime, but the team was unable to produce or execute any plays. Any hope for a comeback was soon crushed when the Scots unleashed hell and put the Quakers to rest with three more touchdowns in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, sophomore defensive back Taylor Trout of the Scots intercepted a pass intended for the Quakers. Trout caught it inside the ten yard line and ran 94 yards and scored to make the final score 49-3.
Scots’ senior quarterback Austin Holter tied a school record with five touchdown passes and ran for another score in the game. Holter threw for 180 yards and completed 20 of 33 passes. After the game the Scots nearly doubled the total yards of the Quakers, 462-257.
Freshman quarterback James Mees led the Quakers in rushing with 31 yards. Mees also completed 10 of 18 passes for 65 yards. This was Mees’ first season appearance for the Quakers. Mees entered the second half for sophomore quarterback Dorian Jenkins, whom Coach Keesling wanted to rest. Mees reflected on his performance and his team’s overall performance:
“The goal was to get the first conference win, it was going to be a big thing. I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities but I could’ve played better. It was my first game in, I was a little nervous, and I did what I could.”
He also looked ahead to the Wittenberg match: “We should be able to give them a fight.”
Jenkins played the first half of the game and completed nine of 17 passes for 90 yards.
Senior linebacker Cale Gulliford led the Quakers defensively with 11 tackles while freshman running back Kevin Powers and junior defensive back Ben Randall had seven tackles each.
The Quakers (2-2, 0-1 NCAC) are home again tomorrow against Wittenberg University at 1 p.m. Last fall the Wittenberg Tigers beat the Quakers, 45-13.
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