Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 1) – Injuries to key starters on both sides of the ball appeared to have finally taken their toll on the Waynesburg football team as a depleted Yellow Jackets' squad lost a halftime lead and dropped a 23-19 contest to Grove City.

The loss dropped the Jackets to 4-4 overall on the year and 1-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). The Wolverines, meanwhile, improved to 5-3 on the season and evened their PAC record at 2-2.

 
Waynesburg went into the contest without starting offensive lineman Corey Dieterle, running back Billy Becker and safety Dylan August, among others. 

The game started out well for Waynesburg as they won the toss and started the game with the ball. Freshman kicker Bryan Arbes capped what ended up being a six-play, 20-yard drive with a 47-yard field goal at the 12:43 mark to give the Jackets a 3-0 lead.

The Wolverines responded on the ensuing drive with a 33-yard field goal by kicker Craig Bicehouse, capping a 10-play 36-yard drive that chewed up 3:20 of game time.

Two drives later, the Jackets regained the lead with the game's first touchdown.

After recovering a fumbled punt return, Waynesburg set up shop at the GCC 29-yard line. The Jackets inched their way to the goal line before sophomore quarterback Brad Dawson hit junior wide receiver Josh Fisher on a slant route in the end zone to put the home team up 9-3. The Wolverines blocked Arbes' extra point attempt at the 4:22 mark.

The lead was short-lived for Waynesburg as GCC responded on their ensuing drive, which covered 66 yards in seven plays over a 2:06 span. The march was capped with the first of three Brian Mercer touchdown runs, this one coming from one yard out.

Bicehouse's extra point gave the Wolverines their first lead of the day at 10-9.

In this back-and-forth game, the Jackets regained the lead just minutes into the second quarter as Arbes nailed another long field goal, this one from 45 yards out, which ended an 11-play, 30-yard field and gave Waynesburg the lead back at 12-10.

The Jackets appeared to gain control of the game after forcing Grove City to punt following a three-and-out. After taking over at the Wolverines' 45-yard line, Waynesburg drove down to the GCC 13, where the drive appeared to stall.

Head coach Rick Shepas trotted his field goal team to set up for what appeared to be 30-yard kick. Instead, holder Chris Smithley took the snap and rambled 13 yards into the end zone, giving the Jackets' the game's largest lead at 19-10, following Arbes' PAT.

Following the trick play, the two teams ran out the rest of the half with the score remaining at 19-10.

After emerging from their respective locker rooms, the two teams traded possessions until around the midway point of the third quarter. Grove City started their second drive of the period at their own 43, following a Nate Feniello punt and a personal foul penalty on the home team.

From there, the potent GCC running game took over and marched 57 yards, with the assistance of another personal foul penalty against the Jackets, to the end zone, where Mercer pounded in his second score of the afternoon from two yards out. Another Bicehouse kick trimmed Waynesburg's advantage to just 19-17.

Two drives later, the Wolverines grabbed the lead for good when Mercer crossed the goal line for a final time from four yards out, putting a cap on a 10-play, 65-yard march to pay dirt. With the game clock reading 1:34 and Grove City failing to convert on a two-point conversion try, the Wolverines took a 23-19 lead.

The score remained unchanged through the rest of the third and most of the fourth, giving Waynesburg one last chance to pull out a victory.

After the defense forced their opponents to punt, the Yellow Jackets took over at their own 12-yard line with just 38 seconds left in the contest.

However, the offense couldn't hook up on four-straight passes and the Jackets turned the ball over on downs at the GCC 12-yard line, where the Wolverines kneeled on the ball to run out the clock.

For the first time since the season-opener, Waynesburg was dominated in the ground game, being out-gained 202-87 on the day. Mercer was the Wolverine's main weapon in the run game, toting the ball 24 times for 95 yards and three scores.

That efficiency on the ground was key to GCC's win as it allowed them to hold the ball for a whopping 10:57 in the fourth quarter.

Freshman running back Justin Falcon made his second-straight start for the Jackets and gained 71 yards on 16 carries to lead the home ground attack.

Dawson was a busy man on the day as he threw 36 passes, completing 22 of them for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

His counterpart, junior Andrew DiDonato, hit on just eight-of-21 tosses, but they went for 120 yards.

Waynesburg sophomore wide receiver Ray Hightower II hauled in a game-high eight passes for 77 yards.

On the defensive side of things, Waynesburg junior linebacker Ryan Krull was a one-man gang, rolling up a whopping 16 tackles, including six solo stops, on the day and breaking up two passes.

Safety Gino Scampone added four solo tackles and four assists for eight stops on the day. Grove City was led by Ian Minster, who piled up eight solo stops and 12 total tackles.

Waynesburg will try to end their current two-game losing streak next weekend when they travel to Greenville to take on Thiel.  

NOTE:

With his two field goals, Arbes tied Ben Popson's (2003-2006) single-season record for most field goals made (11).