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Box Score
WAYNESBURG (Oct. 27) – In a match-up of nationally-ranked opponents, No. 7 Washington & Jefferson narrowly defeated No. 21 Waynesburg on Saturday by a score of 22-21 at John F. Wiley Stadium in front of a standing-room only attendance of over 4,000.
With the loss, Waynesburg falls to 7-1 overall with a 4-1 mark in league play, while W&J improves to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference action. The Presidents hold a half-game lead in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings with two weeks left in the regular season.
Waynesburg held a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter before W&J scored the final nine points of the game to escape Wiley Stadium with a 22-21 lead.
Freshman running back
Robert Heller continued his record-setting campaign breaking two school records against the Presidents. The Ringgold product broke his own single-game rushing record 289 yards with two touchdowns on 30 attempts. The two touchdowns moved Heller past wide receiver
Don Herrmann (1968) for most single-season touchdowns with 21 (20 rushing, one receiving).
The Yellow Jacket defense limited the Presidents to a season-low 311 yards of total offense after W&J entered the game ranked second in the country with an average of nearly 575 yards/game. The Waynesburg defensive line registered six sacks on junior Bobby Swallow, who finished with only 208 passing yards – nearly 100 below his season average.
Leading 7-0 after benefiting from tremendous field position, W&J looked to make it a two-score game late in the first quarter with a first-and goal from the 1-yard line. However, senior linebacker
Dan Andreassi forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on the turnover when Heller sprinted for an 89-yard touchdown, his longest run of the season, to tie the score at 7-7.
Midway through the second quarter, Heller set the single-season touchdown and point record – each formerly held by Herrmann – with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, 14-7, and 4:05 remaining until halftime.
W&J responded on the opening series of the second half with a five-touchdown pass from Swallow to junior David Ravida, 14-14. Waynesburg responded back with a touchdown pass of its own when freshman quarterback
Kyle Kyper found junior receiver
Andy Hodanich.
On the ensuing drive, the Presidents moved the ball inside the red zone before Swallow threw an incompletion on fourth down. With the Yellow Jackets pinned by their own end zone, the Presidents registered a safety on third down to cut the lead to 21-16.
The Presidents took the final lead of the game with 7:29 left in the contest when Swallow converted a fourth-down situation with a 1-yard quarterback sneak, 22-21.
Andreassi finished with a game and career-high 18 tackles (12 solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss (TFL), a forced fumble and fumble recovery, while senior defensive back
Stefon Strothers made nine stops (five tackles) with a forced fumble and pass breakup. Senior defensive end
Mike Czerwien and junior defensive end
DJ DeWitt each finished with three sacks and two quarterback hurries. Czerwien finished with five tackles (five solo) with 3.0 TFL for a total of negative-21 yards.
Waynesburg returns to action next weekend, Saturday, Nov. 3, with 1:30 p.m. contest against provisional conference-member Geneva College. The meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Golden Tornadoes will be the first since 1991.
Notes:
The one-point contest is the first since the 1997 season when the Presidents won 28-27 in Waynesburg … The Yellow Jackets held the edge in total offense, 358-311, despite running 19 fewer plays, 79-60 … The Waynesburg defense allowed an opposing team to amass 100-plus yards in a game for the first time all season (103 yards on 37 attempts) … The kickoff for next week's game has been moved to 1:30 p.m. after originally being scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
