Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Oct. 26) – The Waynesburg University football team hosted Geneva College on Saturday for a matchup of squads looking to stay in the hunt for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) title. The Yellow Jacket defense did a fantastic job of keeping the explosive Golden Tornado offense in check, while junior quarterback Carter Hill tossed four touchdown passes in a 31-14 victory.
 
With the win, Waynesburg (6-2, 4-2) remained a game back of first-place Thomas More and Washington & Jefferson. The loss dropped Geneva to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in PAC play.
 
The Jackets hit the ground running on senior day after receiving the opening kickoff and setting up shop at midfield for its first possession of the day. A 27-yard run by sophomore running back Jerry Lawman moved the football to the Geneva 13-yard line and two plays later, Lawman ran it down to the Golden Tornado one. Two plays later, Hill dropped off a short pass to freshman fullback Jake DiGuilio, who turned it into a three-yard scoring play. Senior kicker Alex Henry connected on his first of four successful extra points to put the home team ahead 7-0 just three minutes into the game.
 
After the two teams traded possessions for around seven minutes, the GT's tied the game up with 4:55 showing on the first-quarter clock. Waynesburg didn't wait long to regain the lead, as the ensuing possession put the Jackets back up by seven points. Hill effortlessly moved his team 75 yards down field against Geneva with completions of 18,11, 13 and 15 yards. The last of those four hookups went to junior wide receiver Andrew English, who fought through a pass interference play to snag his team-leading fifth touchdown grab of the season. After Henry knocked in the extra point, the host team moved ahead 14-7 with around 2:30 left to play in the period.
 
The two defenses took center stage once again as the first half moved to its conclusion. However, Henry was able to give the Jackets a 10-point advantage (17-7) by drilling a 38-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining the quarter. Waynesburg took that lead into the locker room.
 
The Orange and Black defense continued to do its job in the second half, and Hill recorded touchdown number three during his team's first drive of the second half. The Jackets traversed 72 yards in 15 plays and it was Hill-to-English for a second score on the afternoon, this time from 17 yards out, to make the score 24-7 as the third quarter came to an end. Geneva scored its final touchdown of the game during the first few seconds of the fourth period to make the score 24-14, but the Yellow Jacket defense put the finishing touches on a fantastic day by keeping the Tornadoes, who averaged 33.6 points per game coming into the afternoon, in check for the remainder of the contest.
 
Hill and his offensive mates put the finishing touches on the victory with a 13-play, 64-yard drive that was capped by the junior signal caller drilling in a nine-yard scoring strike to senior tight end Mike Ferraro with 8:06 remaining in the clash. The touchdown pass was the fourth-straight reception on the drive by Ferraro.
 
Hill rebounded from a rather quiet game against Bethany on Oct. 19, by completing 33-of-52 passes for 300 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the junior's fifth game with at least 300 yards passing and his sixth game with at least three touchdown passes. He has now thrown for 2,341 yards, 23 touchdowns and just one interception in 2013.
 
Despite having to leave the game with an injury, Lawman racked up a game-high 67 yards on just nine carries. Senior running back Thomas Paulone added 66 yards on 21 carries, to help out a Jacket rushing attack that went for 143 yards on the ground. Geneva, on the other hand, managed just 29 yards on 23 carries.
 
Hill completed passes to nine different receivers on the day, but English, Ferraro and junior wide receiver Bernie Thompson were clearly his favorite targets. Thompson hauled in a game-high 11 passes for 135 yards, while English and Ferraro recorded eight catches each. English racked up 83 yards and two scores on the day, while Ferraro contributed 49 yards and a touchdown to the victory.
 
Cornerback Stephen Holt had a senior day to remember, as he intercepted a pair of Geneva passes. Waynesburg got great penetration at the line of scrimmage, which was evident by its seven tackles for loss, three of which were sacks. Junior linebacker Kyle Richey posted a team-high nine tackles, while senior safety Bryan Gary added eight hard hits, seven of which were solo stops, a sack and two pass breakups.
 
Not surprisingly, Waynesburg dominated the team statistics for the afternoon. The Jackets recorded 26 first downs to Geneva's 18, and out-gained the Golden Tornadoes 443-to-246 in total offensive yardage. The Orange and Black also boasted huge advantages in time of possession (38:13-to-21:47) and total plays (90-to-70).
 
With the home portion of its regular season schedule completed, Waynesburg can now prepare for back-to-back road games to close up the 2013 regular season. First up is a trip to New Wilmington to face Westminster on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.