Box Score
 
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Oct. 15) – The Waynesburg University football team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday in heart-breaking fashion at the hands of the Westminster Titans.
 
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 14-0 lead and appeared to be on their way to a fifth-straight victory. However, the Waynesburg offense sputtered for the rest of the game and the Titans snatched up a 22-20 victory in front of a homecoming crowd at Harold Burry Stadium.
 
With the loss, Waynesburg falls out of a tie for first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) with Thomas More, who downed Saint Vincent on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets are now 4-2 on the season and 4-1 in PAC action. Westminster improved to 4-2 on the year and is now 3-1 in conference action.
 
After each team failed to score on its opening drive, the Jackets took a 7-0 lead by marching 41 yards in 12 plays against a feisty Westminster defense. Sophomore tight end Mike Ferraro pulled in his first touchdown of the season on an eight-yard pass from senior quarterback Josh Graham to make it 6-0 in favor of the visiting team. Senior Chris Marini's extra point made it 7-0 Waynesburg.
 
After the Jacket defense forced another punt out of the Titan offense, Graham again led his team down the field on a slow, but productive drive for six points that traveled 60 yards over seven plays. The senior found Ferraro again, this time from 14 yards away and it looked like an easy win was in order for Waynesburg. Another Marini extra point made it 14-0 Jackets early in the second quarter.
 
However, the Titan defense picked itself up and didn't allow Waynesburg's offense to find the end zone for the remainder of the afternoon and the home team was able to cut into the two-score deficit with a touchdown of its own late in the second quarter. The extra point hold was mishandled and the Jackets' advantage was slashed to 14-6, which was also the score at halftime.
 
While the Waynesburg offense and defense seemed to have a handle on the game over the first two quarters, that control slipped through the team's fingers in the final two periods as the Titans scored in some truly bizarre ways to grab the lead. Westminster nailed down a 20-yard field goal on its second possession of the third quarter to make it 14-9 Waynesburg and on the Jackets' ensuing drive, the visitors were called for a rare illegal kicking penalty on a botched punt attempt that put the Titans on Waynesburg's one-yard line.
 
From there, Westminster pounded in another score, giving them 15 unanswered points after a missed two-point conversion. Now leading 15-14, the Titan defense continued its sudden mastery of the Waynesburg offense and set the Westminster attack up for yet another scoring possession. The home team scored its third unanswered touchdown on its final drive of the third quarter, which was completed in the fourth quarter, to go up 22-14.
 
With Waynesburg's offense losing all semblance of efficiency, the Jacket special teams took the burden on their shoulders and brought the visitors back into the game. After the Jacket defense forced Westminster to punt with just under 4:00 to play in the game, junior Christian Jackson, the reigning PAC and ECAC South Special Teams Player of the Week, fielded a punt at his own seven-yard line and weaved his way through the Titan coverage unit 97 yards for a touchdown.
 
The play was initially called back on a block in the back, but the flag was waived off and Waynesburg was down just 22-20 with 3:34 to play. Unfortunately, the Jackets were unable to pick up a crucial two-point conversion, leaving momentum squarely with Westminster.
 
Waynesburg's defense kept the Jackets in the game until the very end, but Westminster intercepted Graham with 21 seconds showing on the clock and the Titans ran out the clock for the victory.
 
Graham went over 200 yards passing for the second-straight after completing 20-of-41 passes for 205 yardsm with two scores and a pick. Jackson piled up a game-high seven catches for a contest-best 63 yards, while senior wide receiver Jeff Young pulled in four balls for 51 yards.
 
The Jacket defense was led by junior safety Bryan Gary, who racked up a game-high 11 tackles, including seven solo stops and a tackle for loss. Sophomore defensive end Brandon Fedorka recorded his seventh sack of the season as part of a five-tackle performance, including two stops for loss.
 
One of the biggest stories of the game was the Waynesburg running attack, which was ranked third in the PAC coming into the game with 175.6 ypg, being held to minus-one yard on 28 carries. Westminster, on the other hand, cranked out 155 yards on the ground and out-gained the Yellow Jackets 278 to 204 in total offensive yardage.
 
The Yellow Jackets will have two weeks to try and forget the difficult loss in New Wilmington as they serve their bye week on Oct. 22. Waynesburg returns home to close the home portion of its schedule with a senior day showdown against Saint Vincent on Saturday, Oct. 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.