Sophomore running back Billy Becker stiff arms W&J safety Mitch Erdely to the ground during Saturday's game as the Presidents' Craig Sedunov and Jacket wide out Ray Hightower II look on.
Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 15) – The 2008 Yellow Jacket football season ended with a thud on Saturday at John F. Wiley Stadium as Waynesburg dropped a 42-9 contest to visiting Washington and Jefferson.
The loss gives the Jackets a final overall record of 5-5 and a 2-4 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. The win, combined with some help from around the country, has W&J in prime position to grab an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament with an 9-1 overall record and a mark of 5-1 in conference action.
Much like the stormy conditions that descended on the field as the game went on, the Presidents blew through their opponents with devastating results. On the day, W&J out-gained Waynesburg on offense 445 yards to 231, including a whopping 195 to 61 advantage in rushing.
The Presidents got on the board first in the opening quarter when wide receiver Luke Espe caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bobby Swallow, capping a 13-play, 71-yard drive that chewed up 5:46 of game clock. Chuck Grabner's extra point made it 7-0 in favor of W&J.
However, Waynesburg responded as quickly as a team could thanks to one of its most exciting players, junior defensive back Scott Cree.
Following Espe's touchdown grab, Cree fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 12. The Waynesburg native made a handful of W&J coverage men whiff on tackle attempts, and took off on an 88-yard return for a score with just under two minutes left in the quarter.
It was the junior's third kickoff return for a score this year.
The extra-point was missed, leaving the score at 7-6.
With the deficit still at just one point, W&J recorded the first score of the second quarter on a 16-yard scoring hookup between Swallow and receiver Craig Besong at the 9:49 mark of the period. Joe Kelly nailed down the extra point to put the visitors ahead 14-6.
Waynesburg was able to respond with a score of their own with 2:27 left until halftime, when freshman kicker Bryan Arbes knocked through his 13th field goal of the year from 26 yards away to trim the deficit to 14-9. That chip shot kick ended a marathon 18-play, 71-yard drive that took 7:10 to complete.
But, right before breaking for the locker rooms, the Presidents put another touchdown on the board. This time, Besong hauled in another 16-yard scoring pass from Swallow to cap a short four-play, 42-yard march to pay dirt. Another Kelly PAT put the visitors up 21-9.
After the teams emerged from their respective locker rooms, W&J proceeded to put the contest out of reach.
In the third quarter, Presidents running back Curt Jones scored on runs of one and 43 yards to move Washington & Jefferson ahead 35-9. The men in Black and Red put the final nail in the coffin at the 12:38 mark of the fourth quarter when Swallow found Espe in the end zone for the second time. Kelly's extra point brought about the final score of 42-9.
The loss was made even more poignant by the fact that it came on senior day as eight Yellow Jacket seniors played their final collegiate game.
As he has done all year, Swallow worked efficiently against an opposing defense, completing 18-of-27 passes for 250 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. While Espe and Besong did the scoring, wide out David Ravida was Swallow's favorite target, pulling in seven catches for 62 yards.
Jones was effective in leading the ground game with a game-high 120 yards and two scores on just 13 carries.
Waynesburg's biggest offensive star was sophomore wide receiver Ray Hightower II, who finished with nine catches for 82 yards, both game-highs.
After throwing for more than 450 yards last week, sophomore quarterback Brad Dawson struggled with blustery conditions and a relentless W&J pass rush as he completed 19-of-41 attempts for 170 yards and an interception.
Sophomore running back Billy Becker who was returning from an injury, led the team in rushing with 12 totes for 50 yards.
Safety Craig Sedunov and middle linebacker David Gitlitz both recorded double-digit tackles with 11 and 10, respectively to lead the W&J defense. Gitlitz added 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack on the day.
The Jackets were without their leading tackler on the season, junior linebacker Ryan Krull, who was out with an injury. He was replaced by freshman Scott Bogdan, who made his first start of his young collegiate career and led the team with eight total tackles, including seven solo stops.
Senior defensive lineman DJ DeWitt put on a good show in his collegiate finale, rolling up six tackles, including four solo hits, and two sacks, giving him 10.5 for the year and 17.5 tackles for loss.
While Waynesburg's season has been brought to a close, W&J will learn their post-season fate tomorrow, when the NCAA reveals their Division III brackets.
