• Box Score

WAYNESBURG (Oct. 20) – Freshman running back Robert Heller broke a pair of single-season school records at John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday, as No. 25 Waynesburg University remained unbeaten with a 25-20 victory over Thiel College. With the victory, the Yellow Jackets improve to 7-0 overall with a 4-0 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Heller set both the single-season rushing record with 1,305 yards and single-season attempts record with 238. The freshman broke the rushing record of 1,299 set by Ryan Abels in 2005, while the attempts record stood for over 40 years with Rich Dahar setting the mark at 230 during the 1966 NAIA National Championship season. Heller finished the game against Thiel with a tough 135 yards with a touchdown on 32 attempts.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 25-0 lead in the opening two quarters before the Tomcats trimmed the deficit to 25-7 before halftime. Thiel added a pair of touchdowns in the second half to make it a 25-20 contest before Waynesburg recovered an onside kick attempt in the final minute to preserve the victory.

Waynesburg took control of the game early when sophomore safety Ryan Krull registered the first of five interceptions thrown by Tomcat quarterback Marc LaScola. Heller capped the ensuing 10-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:34 left in the quarter, 6-0 (kick blocked).

Senior cornerback Jacques Newberry gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-0 lead (pass failed) with 4:00 minutes left in the opening frame after he returned an interception 20 yards for his first career touchdown. The Yellow Jackets added to their lead, 18-0 (pass failed), midway through the second quarter when senior fullback Aaron Davis sprinted 63 yards for a touchdown.

After the Davis score, the Waynesburg defense forced a Thiel punt on the next possession that set up a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by sophomore Scott Cree, 25-0. It marks the first punt return for a touchdown by a Yellow Jacket player since 2004.

Thiel gained some momentum late in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run by Dan Hess with 1:06 left before halftime, 25-7.

The Tomcats cut the lead to 25-13 after benefiting from great field position following a high snap on a Waynesburg punt attempt, as Hess added a 1-yard score, 25-13 (kick failed), with 9:34 left in the third quarter

A pair of interceptions by senior safety Stefon Strothers, along with an interception by senior linebacker Brendon Steele, ended three Thiel drives in the second half. However, the Tomcats eventually trimmed the deficit to five points, 25-20, when LaScola connected with John Adams for a 14-yard touchdown with 1:00 left in the game.

Cree returned the ensuing onside kick attempt to ensure the Waynesburg victory.

The Yellow Jacket defense limited the Tomcats to only 63 rushing yards on 40 attempts, forced five interceptions and registered seven sacks.

Senior linebacker Dan Andreassi led the Waynesburg unit with a career-best 14 tackles (eight solo) and a sack. Senior defensive end Mike Czerwien, who entered the game leading the country in sacks, finished with nine stops (six solo) with 4.5 TFL, three sacks, three quarterback hurries and a pass break-up. Steele finished with eight tackles (five solo), an interception and a sack, while Strothers had four stops with two interceptions.

Waynesburg returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 27, for a pivotal home game against conference-rival and nationally-ranked Washington & Jefferson. Kickoff next weekend between the Yellow Jackets and Presidents is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.