WOOSTER, Ohio — The Denison football team defeated the College of Wooster 38-0 on Saturday, playing sound team football in wet conditions as the Big Red logged its second consecutive shutout win. The win marked a milestone for Denison's head coach
Jack Hatem, as the 17-year veteran recorded his 100th career collegiate coaching victory as his team moved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in NCAC play after the shutout.
The Big Red used a 10-play, 62-yard opening drive to move in front, converting third downs on
Brian Rager's 20-yard run and his nine-yard pass to
Graham Tonkonogy before
Samson Schneider scored from six yards at 9:27. The backup quarterback Schneider replaced Rager on the drive after the starter lost his helmet, allowing the freshman to score his first collegiate rushing touchdown.
Wooster's efforts to respond were immediately ended by
Cole Harris, who logged an interception on the Scots' third play from scrimmage, and two series later after the defense forced a three-and-out,
Kade Koroneos darted 30 yards for a rushing touchdown, taking the lead to two touchdowns. The defense continued to fly around with another forced three-and-out, and with 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter,
Brian Rager connected with
Grayson Kerscher for a 24-yard strike, giving the Big Red a controlling 21-0 lead.
The Big Red defense opened the second quarter by overcoming Wooster's early first downs, with
Cole Compton sacking Damon Hooks on third-and-18 to force a punt. Rager hit Kerscher for 49 yards on the Big Red's first offensive play of the quarter, and
Sean Brechbill finished the possession with a 23-yard field goal at 7:48 to make it 24-0. The defense completed the first-half shutout as
Ben Perin's third-down sack and
Fin O'Brien fourth-down sack and forced fumble ended the Scots' drive following the field goal, and later in the quarter, a forced turnover on downs stalled out Wooster at midfield.
Denison was unable to add to its lead on either of its final drives of the half, as a holding penalty backed the team out of field goal range on the final series, allowing the visitors to maintain a comfortable 24-0 lead at halftime.
The Big Red forced a punt on Wooster's opening drive of the third quarter as they continued to fly around on defense, intercepting the second series for Wooster as
Cole Harris jumped in front of a Damon Hooks pass. Denison turned the interception into points as
Brian Rager moved the team 34 yards in three plays, ending the series with his first touchdown pass to tight end
Luke Reed, with the nine-yard score making it a 31-0 game.
Wooster would turn the ball over on downs on its final drive of the third quarter as Denison maintained its five-score lead, and early in the fourth quarter, Rager put the game to rest, connecting with Graham Tonkongy for a 55-yard catch-and-run score, setting off the final fireworks of the day with 11:28 remaining in the game.
Aiming to keep the game a shutout, the defense made two final stands in the fourth quarter, wiping away a pair of threats from the Fighting Scots. With 7:10 remaining in the game,
Landon Hunter intercepted a pass from Damon Hooks to stall the Wooster threat 20 yards away from the end zone, and with 32 seconds remaining,
Ben Safly picked off the Scots' gunslinger in the end zone, icing the 38-0 victory with the defense's fourth takeaway of the afternoon.
The Big Red scored on six drives in a 38-point run while committing no turnovers, with the offense throwing for 217 yards and rushing for 145. The Big Red kept Wooster scoreless with four interceptions, five sacks, and two empty red-zone trips, holding the home team to 260 total yards of offense.
Rager completed 13 of 23 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, notching his second consecutive game with three TD strikes. Rager also rushed for 19 yards and trailed the running back duo of
Kade Koroneos and
Blayton Reid, who ran for 67 and 42 yards, respectively, on the day. Koroneos and
Samson Schneider each had rushing touchdowns in the win.
Graham Tonkonogy led the Big Red with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, while
Grayson Kerscher had two catches go for 73 yards and a score.
Defensively, the Denison squad collected nine tackles for a loss, including five sacks from five different players.
Ben Perin led the defense with six tackles and one sack, while
Cole Harris recorded five tackles and intercepted two passes, returning one of the two for 18 yards.
Drew Duffy,
Jake Tempesta,
Fin O'Brien, and
Cole Compton each had sacks in the win.
Up next, the Big Red hosts Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium in Granville, Ohio. The game takes center of the action of Family Weekend at Denison University.
