WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 12) – Thanks in large part to a 28-point third quarter and another spectacular performance by junior quarterback Brad Dawson, the Waynesburg University football team blew open a tight game and beat Hanover (Ind.) 49-21 at John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday.

With the win, Waynesburg moves to 2-0 on the season, while scoring at least 42 points and piling up at least 500 yards of total offense in each of the two victories. The loss dropped Hanover to 0-2 on the year.

Despite all of the offense both teams produced (Hanover tallied 423 total yards), the first points came off of a huge defensive play from a Yellow Jacket who has become known for producing some spectacular moments.

With Hanover driving for the game's first points, senior cornerback Scott Cree intercepted a ball in his own end zone and raced 100 yards for the other way for the game's first score. It was the longest return, fumble or interception, in school history. Freshman kicked Jon Storck made it 7-0 with the extra point.

Cree's big play gives the Jackets a long turnover return for the second week in a row. In week one, linebacker Gino Scampone took a fumble back 80 yards in Waynesburg's win over Wooster.

After giving up the big play, Hanover went right back to the air and two drives later, freshman Panther quarterback C.J. Croft struck for a nine-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Passafiume with 6:39 to go in the first quarter. A Pavel Polochankin extra point tied the game at 7-7.

For the next 20-plus minutes, neither team was able find the end zone until there was less than one minute to go in the half. With just 59 seconds to go in the quarter, senior wide receiver Josh Fisher continued his hot play from last week as he laid out to snare an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dawson. Another Storck extra point gave the Jackets a seven-point advantage (14-7).

Unfortunately for Waynesburg, Hanover was able to tie the contest back up with just 17 seconds to go in the half. Croft hooked up with Jeremy Cook from 10 yards away as the quarter ticked down and knotted the game at 14-14 after Polochankin's extra point.

After halftime, Waynesburg came out focused and immediately went to work on putting the game away.

Junior wide receiver Brent Heckel got the scoring going with an 18-yard touchdown grab from Dawson just 3:31 into the half. Another Storck PAT made it 21-14 with 11:29 to go in the quarter.

After Hanover tied the game up again (21-21) with another Croft touchdown pass with 9:33 to go in the period, Waynesburg rolled off 21 unanswered points in the period and touchdown in the fourth quarter that also went unanswered. Dawson had his hand in all four of the game's final scores.

The strong-armed signal-caller put the Jackets in the lead for good with a 38-yard touchdown pass to junior Bobby Francis with 6:21 left in the game.

The next scoring strike came at the 4:24 mark of the third, and it went to junior wide receiver Ray Hightower II. Another good kick from Storck put the Jackets ahead 35-21.

Dawson added a one-yard rushing touchdown with no time left on the clock to end the third quarter and push the Jackets ahead 42-21. He capped another tremendous effort with a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Tom Hudson early in the fourth. It was the Canfield, Ohio, native's first collegiate touchdown grab.

At the end of the day, Dawson racked up a total of 362 yards passing with a personal-best five touchdown passes, which all went to different receivers. The Pittsburgh native also did a tremendous job of spreading the wealth as the completed passes to nine different receivers.

He also moved into ninth place on Waynesburg's all-time career passing yardage list, passing Ryan Mytrysak (1995-1998). Dawson now stands with 2,386 yards as a Jacket and could pass Tres Cobb (2002-2006) for eighth place (2,458 yards) next week.

Speaking of the guys catching passes, Hightower snared a team-high five balls for 127 yards and his score. The third-year standout is now ranked ninth on the team's all-time receptions list with 80, passing Art Green (1974-77). Fisher added four grabs for 74 yards.

Sophomore running back Jamelle Bowers led a balanced Waynesburg rushing attack with 66 yards on six carries. Eight different Yellow Jacket rushers combined for 163 yards.

Croft led the Hanover effort by completing 23-of-41 attempts for 286 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions, with 11 of those completions going to Passafiume for 98 yards. The Panthers rushing attack totaled 106 yards on the ground.

After having some struggles with the wide-open Hanover offense in the first half, the Waynesburg defense settled in and made some big plays in the secondary and in the Panthers' offensive backfield.

The Jackets totaled an impressive 14 tackles for loss and had four different players record interceptions. Along with Cree's pick that resulted in a touchdown, sophomore linebacker Scott Bogdan, senior defensive back Abdul Yusuff and Scampone all picked off passes.

For the second-straight week, senior safety Dylan August led the team in tackles, this time totaling 10 stops, including eight solo hits. Scampone added seven solo stops as part of an eight-tackle performance, and first-year junior linebacker Troy Cree had six solo stops (seven total) and a sack.

Defensive lineman Darryl Moore, Jr. and defensive back Sam Byrne also recorded sacks.

Waynesburg also enjoyed a 5-2 advantage in turnover margin and overcame a four-minute disadvantage in time of possession (31:56 to 27:57). For the second-straight week, the Jackets also did a tremendous job on third down by converting nine-of-15 opportunities, while stopping Hanover nine-of-14 times.

After winning their two-non conference contests, the Jackets face a stiff test in week three when they travel to Crestview Hills, Ky., to face the defending Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champions from Thomas More.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.