Box Score
BETHANY, W.Va. (Oct. 2) – During their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown at Bethany, the Waynesburg football team relearned a valuable football lesson. Whoever controls the clock, will likely control a game's outcome.
The Bison held the ball for nearly 40 minutes on Saturday, keeping Waynesburg's high powered offense on the sidelines, and held off a Yellow Jacket rally to pick up a 24-17 victory. It was the first conference loss for the Jackets (2-2, 2-1), and the first conference victory for Bethany (2-3, 1-1), which was also celebrating Homecoming.
Bethany got the ball first and returned the opening kickoff all the way to the Waynesburg 20-yard line. Three plays later, junior running back Eric Walker scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns on the day to put his team up 7-0. After the Jackets went three-and-out on their first drive of the day, the Bison regained possession and set off on an 18-play, 85-yard marathon of a drive that took 10:05 off the clock. Walker's second touchdown made it 14-0 in favor of the home team.
However, the Jackets clawed their way back into the contest on their third possession of the day. Freshman running back Bertrand Ngampa capped a three-play, 48-yard possession with his third touchdown run of the year, this one from two yards out, to make it 14-6 Bethany with 12:15 to go in the first half. Sophomore kicker Jon Storck added the extra point to trim the deficit down to seven points, where it remained into halftime.
Still down a score, Waynesburg pulled to within four points on their opening possession of the third quarter on a 35-yard Storck field goal with 11:42 remaining in the period. With 5:04 to go in the third, the Bison got back on the scoreboard with a 20-yard Robert Headden field goal. Heading into the fourth quarter, Waynesburg was down 17-10, but not ready to give up the fight.
After junior Sean Hunt intercepted his PAC-leading fourth pass of the season early in the period, Waynesburg took over at its own 33-yard line. Senior quarterback Brad Dawson took over from there and went five-for-five on a nine-play, 67-yard trek down the field to pay dirt. The senior signal-caller hooked up with sophomore tight end Adam Moses on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 10:49 remaining in the game to cap the drive. After Storck drilled another PAT, the game was all tied up at 17-17.
Unfortunately, on the very next possession, the Bison were able to put the game away by going 60 yards on seven plays with quarterback Matt Grimard running in a five-yard game-clinching touchdown with 7:45 left to play. The Jackets looked primed to tie the game back up with just under five minutes remaining in the game and the ball resting at the Bethany 16-yard line. However, Waynesburg couldn't convert a fourth-and-short situation, Bethany picked up two key first downs, including a fourth-and-one conversion with just second remaining, and that was how the game ended.
Along with doing a superb job of controlling the clock, the Bison also out-gained Waynesburg 353 to 273, which included a 180 to 99 advantage in rushing yardage.
Dawson, who missed last week's win over Grove City with a toe injury, led Waynesburg with 174 yards and a touchdown through the air on 14-of-29 passing. Sophomore Christian Jackson put together a solid afternoon with a game-high six catches for a contest-best 68 yards. Ngampa led the team in rushing with 60 yards and a score on 11 carries.
Walker led all players with 96 yards rushing on 26 carries. Grimard piled up 256 total offensive yards (173 passing, 83 rushing) and a passing touchdown.
Four Jacket defenders reached double digits in tackles. Junior safety Ryan Williams, sophomore defensive back Bryan Gary and sophomore defensive lineman Matt Krause all tied for the game lead with 11 total tackles each. Junior linebacker Nathan Harr chipped in 10 stops on the day. Hunt, junior defensive lineman #Darryl Moore, Jr. and junior defensive lineman Josh Malenke# had one sack each on the day. Waynesburg piled up seven total tackles for loss, two of which came from Moore.
The Jackets will try to get over the sting of their first conference loss next week, when they travel to Beaver Falls to face Geneva. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
