Box Score
GREENVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 18) – Last week, a slew of turnovers hindered the Waynesburg University football team as they dropped a 38-35 road game at Wilkes University.
In week two, during their first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game of the year at Thiel, the Yellow Jackets were the ones taking the ball away from their opponents during a 34-6 win over the Tomcats. The victory was Waynesburg's first in a PAC opener since 2007. The Jackets are now 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play, while Thiel dropped to 0-3 on the year and 0-1 in PAC action.
Waynesburg forced six turnovers, while only giving the ball up one time. Leading the way for the greedy Jacket defense were defensive backs Matt Czulewicz, a sophomore, and Sean Hunt, a junior, who intercepted two passes each. Czulewicz also had a team-high six tackles, including five solo stops. The Jacket defense also spent a large portion of their afternoon in the Thiel offensive backfield, which was evident by nine tackles for loss, including two by freshman defensive lineman Brandon Fedorka. Fedorka also picked up his first collegiate sack.
In the first half, defense reigned on both sides of the field as the Jackets managed to take just a 10-0 lead at the conclusion of the second quarter. After the first 12 minutes of play, Waynesburg finally broke up a 0-0 tie when freshman running back Dominic Moore pounded in a five-yard touchdown run, which was his third score of the season. Sophomore kicker Jon Storck tacked on the extra point to make it 7-0 Yellow Jackets.
With the two defenses trading possessions, scoring was difficult on both sides. However, Waynesburg upped their advantage to 10 points on a 33-yard Storck field goal with 9:37 to go before halftime.
After struggling to put points on the board through the first two quarters, the Yellow Jackets exploded on the Tomcats with a 24-point third quarter, which started with a 28-yard Storck field goal that made it 13-0 Waynesburg three-and-a-half minutes into the period.
Less than two minutes later, the Jackets made it 20-0 thanks to a six-yard touchdown run by freshman tail back Bertrand Ngampa and another Storck extra point. With 5:13 to go in the third, Waynesburg's lead swelled to 27-0 on a 12-yard touchdown hookup between senior quarterback Brad Dawson and sophomore wide receiver Christian Jackson. Storck proceeded to tack on his third PAT of the game.
With just 42 seconds remaining in the third, Hunt put the icing on the cake for the Jackets by intercepting a Thiel pass and taking it back 18 yards for a touchdown. Storck's final extra point of the day made it 34-0 in favor of the Jackets. The Tomcats managed to break up the shutout with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jared Soell to Zane Garza with 4:07 left in the game.
Along with forcing six total turnovers, the Waynesburg defense did a stellar job of not allowing Thiel to move the ball down the field. The Tomcats managed just 173 yards of offense, while the Jackets piled up 293.
Ngampa led all rushers with 72 yards on just nine carries. Dawson had a conservative day by his standards, completing 13-of-26 passes for 152 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Jackson led all receivers on the day with 41 yards and a score on four grabs.
Both teams struggled with penalties as Waynesburg was flagged 12 times for 152 yards and Thiel committed nine penalties for 127 yards. Saturday's win was Waynesburg's fifth-straight over the Tomcats, which is their longest such winning streak over a PAC opponent.
The Jackets will play their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 25, when they host another PAC rival, Grove City. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at John F. Wiley Stadium.
