• Box Score

HANOVER, Ind. (Sept. 13) – With All-American running back Robert Heller out indefinitely with an ankle injury, some wondered just where Waynesburg University head coach Rick Shepas would look to replace a player who in one year became the face of the Yellow Jacket offense.

 

The fourth-year head coach didn't have to look far to find his answer. In fact, he didn't even have to look outside the limits of Greene County, of which Waynesburg is the county seat.

 

Home-grown running backs Billy Becker, a sophomore Waynesburg Central graduate, and Justin Falcon, a freshman from nearby Jefferson-Morgan High School, combined for 218 yards on 40 carries to power the Yellow Jacket offense to a 34-32 victory over Hanover (Ind.) College.

 

Becker, who got the start in place of Heller, rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Falcon tallied 12 totes of the ball for 77 yards as the number-two back.

 

After winning the coin toss and deferring to Hanover (0-2), the Jacket defense got off to a solid start by forcing the Panthers to punt after three plays. Another graduate of Waynesburg Central, junior defensive back/punt and kick returner Scott Cree, gave his team stellar starting field position with a 21-yard punt return to the Hanover 37.

 

The Jackets (1-1) turned the good field position into their first touchdown of the year when Becker pounded in a score from three yards out on fourth-and-goal to put his team up 6-0. Earlier in the drive, Becker tied his season-long with a 16-yard carry.

 

Freshman kicker Bryan Arbes put his team up 7-0 with his first collegiate extra point.

 

After the defense again put the clamps on the Hanover offense, the Panthers were forced to punt a second time, and again, Waynesburg got good field position, setting up shop at the Hanover 46.

 

Four plays later, sophomore quarterback Kyle Kyper hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Ray Hightower II on a spectacular 19-yard touchdown catch. Another Arbes extra point put Waynesburg up 14-0 and it looked like the Jackets may have been on their way to an easy win.

 

However, Hanover settled down on defense and got back into the contest two drives later thanks to a rather fortuitous bounce. On a first-and-10 at the Waynesburg 28, Hanover quarterback C.J. Croft completed a pass to Adam Miller to the 10. Miller fumbled, but the ball rolled into the Jacket end zone, where it was pounced on by Panther tight end Bobby Smart, cutting Waynesburg's lead to 14-6.

 

Smart, who doubles as the team's kicker, nailed down the extra point to trim the deficit to 14-7.

 

The score remained 14-7 until the very end of the half when Croft hit Smart for a 14-yard touchdown toss on a fourth-and-two play with just under 30 seconds left in the period.

Smart missed the extra point, keeping Waynesburg ahead 14-13.

 

After the half came to an end, Shepas decided to bench Kyper, who threw three interceptions, in favor of an old face, senior quarterback Andy Lauterbach. The twist to the move was that Lauterbach had been converted to a safety for 2008.

 

After the two teams emerged from their respective locker rooms for the second half, both offenses struggled to find their rhythm. This didn't stop the Yellow Jackets from putting points on the board, however.

 

After another stop by the Waynesburg defense, Cree fielded Cory Stewart's punt at the Hanover 46, danced his way through the first wave of defenders and took off on a sprint to pay dirt for his first touchdown return of the year, and his second in two seasons with Waynesburg.

 

Arbes tacked on the extra point and the Jackets got out to a 21-13 lead.

 

Once again, though, Hanover wasn't ready to roll over. On the third drive following Cree's score, Croft ripped off a 29-yard scoring run with 1:37 left in the third. Hanover went for two to try and tie the game, but Croft's pass fell incomplete, leaving the score at 21-19.

 

With the game tight once again, Lauterbach took things over during the first possession of the fourth quarter. The Pittsburgh native completed three-of-four pass attempts for 29 yards and a touchdown toss to junior receiver Josh Fisher to once again put Waynesburg up by eight, 27-19. Arbes' fourth extra point of the game gave the Jackets a two-score advantage at 28-19.

 

Hanover responded immediately to Waynesburg's challenge as C.J. Croft hit his favorite target, senior wide receiver Tyler Thiems, for a six-yard scoring pass. Smart added the extra point and the Panthers pulled back to within a field goal, 28-26, with 9:30 left in the game.

 

The Jackets knew they needed to respond quickly and emphatically to the Panthers' fourth touchdown of the afternoon.

 

They did just that as Falcon and Becker were the featured duo in a 12-play march to the Hanover end zone. Falcon carried the ball four times for 32 yards, including an 18-yard rush, while Becker added three totes for 20 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run on a drive that lasted five minutes and covered 74 yards to put Waynesburg ahead for good.

 

The only negative of the possession was Arbes missing his first collegiate kick, PAT or field goal, as the Jackets went ahead 34-26.

 

Lauterbach continued to make a strong case to regain his starting QB job as he hit on all three of his pass attempts on the drive to keep the defense on their toes between running plays.

 

Hanover took one last final shot at grabbing victory as they put together an impressive 16-play, 80-yard drive that ended in Thiems catching his second touchdown from Croft, this time from seven yards out with no time left on the clock, to cut Waynesburg's lead to 34-32.

 

Needing the two-point conversion to force overtime, Croft's pass into the end zone was off target and the Jackets finally let out a sigh of relief following their first win of the year.

 

As good as the Becker-Falcon duo was for Waynesburg, Thiems was just as potent, if not more so, for the pass-happy Panthers. The 5-10, 164-pound senior played bigger than his size as he hauled in a whopping 18 catches for 139 yards and two scores. Croft completed 30-of-50 attempts on the day for 292 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He also led the team in carries with 18, but for a total of zero net yards and a fifth touchdown.

 

Lauterbach's numbers were far less impressive, but of the three Waynesburg quarterbacks who have been under center this year, sophomore transfer Brad Dawson started the opener, he is the only one without an interception after two games. The veteran signal-caller efficiently completed eight-of-10 tosses for 67 yards and a score.

 

For the second-straight week, Fisher led the team in catches, this time hauling in three balls for 23 yards and a score. A total of eight different Jackets caught passes on the day, including tight end Zach Fatigante, who led the team with 43 yards on two grabs.

 

Defensively, Waynesburg lived in the Hanover backfield as they recorded 13 tackles-for-loss, including three by #Pat Mayer, Jr.# For the second-straight game, red shirt junior linebacker Ryan Krull led the team in tackles, rolling up seven solo stops and helping out on three more for 10 total on the day. He also recorded his first sack of the season.

 

As a team, the Jackets drug Croft down seven times in the backfield.

 

Sticking with the theme of local talent producing big results for Waynesburg, another Jefferson-Morgan grad, sophomore linebacker Cody Ketchem, was second on the team with eight total tackles, five of which were solo hits.

 

As a team, Waynesburg dominated Hanover on the ground, out-rushing the home team by a final count of 230 yards to negative-25.

 

Turnovers continued to plague the Jackets as they gave the ball to the Panthers a total of six times with three fumbles lost and three picks.

 

With their first win secure, Waynesburg must prepare for the start of Presidents' Athletic Conference play as they come home to host Thomas More College at John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 p.m.