• Box Score

LATROBE, Pa. (Sept. 27) – Through their first three games of the season, the Waynesburg University football team relied on their running game for the bulk of their offensive yardage and suffered through turnover problems.

On Saturday, in a non-conference contest against Saint Vincent, a provisional member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, the Yellow Jackets changed up their formula with very positive results.

Starting quarterback Brad Dawson had his first healthy, mistake-free game in leading Waynesburg to a 21-12 victory over a much improved Saint Vincent team at Chuck Noll Field on Saturday afternoon.

For the first time this year, Waynesburg (2-2, 0-1) won the turnover battle of a contest, picking off four Bearcat (1-3, 0-1) passes, while not coughing the ball up once on their end.

Saint Vincent opened up the scoring in the first quarter when freshman running back Jarius Marlow took off on a 93-yard sprint to the end zone with 7:44 left in the opening quarter. Aaron Jones' extra point extended the lead to 7-0.

Marlow's race to pay dirt with the Waynesburg defense was the only scoring allowed by the Jackets in the first half and the last touchdown of the game for the Bearcats.

After failing to respond in the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets tied the contest just 26 seconds into the second when sophomore running back Billy Becker capped a four-play, 53-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Bryan Arbes drilled the extra point home to tie the game at 7-7.

The two defenses went back-and-forth for most of the second quarter, but with just under two minutes to go until halftime, Waynesburg took the lead for good.

After putting together a clock-chewing 12-play, 59-yard drive, freshman fullback David Younkins pounded in a one-yard scoring run of his own. It was the first collegiate touchdown for the Hyattsville, Md. native. Another Arbes extra point put the visiting team ahead 14-7 as halftime came.

In the third quarter, Waynesburg took the opening kickoff and padded their lead thanks to some outstanding work by Dawson.

The California University of Pa. transfer went two-for-two on the drive, first hitting Josh Fisher for seven yards to the Saint Vincent 38-yard line, and then connecting with Ray Hightower II on a 38-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown at the 12:22 mark of the period.

Another Arbes PAT ran Waynesburg's lead to 21-7.

After that, the Waynesburg defense smothered the Bearcat offense, allowing just a field goal in the third quarter. In the fourth, Waynesburg took an intentional safety on a punt when punter Nate Feniello ran into the end zone with just 1:10 left in a play for field position.

On the day, Dawson connected on 14-of-28 pass attempts for 217 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. It is the first time in three starts that the Pittsburgh native has not been picked. The Thomas Jefferson graduate also picked up 12 yards rushing on six carries.

Speaking of rushing, Becker led the team's ground attack for the third-straight game, but had his smallest workload of the season. The Waynesburg native carried the ball just 16 times for 64 yards and a score.

Another Greene County native, freshman back Justin Falcon, toted the ball 12 times for 36 yards.

While Dawson was having a breakout day throwing the ball, Hightower had his biggest day of year by far with a game-high six grabs for 101 yards and a score. Bobby Francis added two catches for 59 yards.

Saint Vincent was led offensively by Marlow who recorded five carries for 89 yards and a score.

On defense, several stalwarts from last year had monster games for the Jackets.

Preseason All-American DJ DeWitt recorded nine tackles, four of them solo hits, four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. All of those totals are season highs.

Senior end/linebacker Dave Piecuch added two sacks to a swarming Jacket pass rush that totaled a season-high 10 quarterback tackles.

For the fourth-straight week, junior outside linebacker Ryan Krull led the team in tackles with two solo hits and nine assists for 11 total tackles. The former safety also picked off his first pass of the year and added a sack to a very productive day.

Speaking of interceptions, junior cornerback Scott Cree picked off his second and third passes of the season. The return specialist also averaged 10.5 yards per punt return on six tries.

Safety Dylan August also picked up his first interception of the year.

After having their problems with inconsistency through the first three games of the season, the Jacket defense, as a whole, put together their best performance of the year, holding Saint Vincent to just 199 total yards of offense.

The Yellow Jackets now get to enjoy a week off before returning to the friendly confines of John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, for a Homecoming showdown with one of their oldest rivals, the Westminster Titans.