Box Score

WASHINGTON, Pa. (Nov. 16) – The Waynesburg University football team entered Saturday's rivalry contest with Washington and Jefferson with a chance to spoil the Presidents' hopes of a share of a Presidents' Athletic Conference title and a berth in the Division III playoffs. Unfortunately, the Presidents broke open a close halftime contest and earned a 38-13 victory at Cameron Stadium in Washington.
 
Things started well for the Jacket (7-3, 5-3) defense, when senior defensive lineman Mike Rittelmann sacked W&J (8-2, 7-1) quarterback Matt Bliss on first down. Then, on the very next play, Waynesburg's J.T. Thompson pounced on a W&J fumble on an errant lateral at the President 24-yard line.
 
After a penalty, the opportunistic Jackets used a seven-play, 29-yard drive to get on the board first. A big catch and run on 4^th-and-14 from Waynesburg junior receiver Bernie Thompson set his team up with a first-and-goal. Junior quarterback Carter Hill proceeded to toss a three-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Timothy Cooper on third down to put the visitors on the board first. Senior kicker Alex Henry added the point after and Waynesburg had a 7-0 lead with 12:24 to play in the first quarter.
 
W&J fired back on the ensuing possession with a touchdown of its own, but fortunately for the Jackets, W&J missed the PAT and still trailed 7-6.
 
The two teams exchanged punts for the remainder of the first quarter. Waynesburg appeared it might get a break defensively after knocking Bliss out of the game but the loss of their quarterback sparked life into the Presidents. W&J drove 84 yards on just six plays on its first drive of the second quarter to take its first lead at 12-7. A two-point conversion gave the home team a 14-7 advantage.
 
Waynesburg was able to cut into W&J's lead with a Henry field goal that capped a 16-play scoring drive for the Jackets as the Presidents took a 14-10 lead into the break.
 
Waynesburg's offense got off to a slow start in the third quarter and was forced to punt after just three plays.  W&J strengthened its lead when Alex Baroffio returned the ensuing punt 59 yards for a touchdown. The point after made it 21-10 Presidents.
 
W&J pushed its lead to 24-10 after a 26-yard field goal from Eberle at the 10:19 mark of the third quarter. Waynesburg then used an 11-play drive 7:49 to answer with a field goal of its own. Henry converted his second three-point kick of the game and 11^th of the season, this one from 29 yards out, to make the score 24-13 Presidents in the third quarter.
 
Turnovers greatly slowed any Jacket attempt to complete a comeback as they turned it over on three-straight possessions in the second half. W&J put the finishing touches on the victory with back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdowns that preceded a raucous celebration at Cameron Field.
 
Hill finished 36-of-64 through the air for 277 yards. The junior signal caller tossed one touchdown and three interceptions. Despite the loss, Hill set his fifth school record this season after breaking Brad Dawson's single-season passing yard mark that was set in 2009. The Crestview, Ohio native now sits with 2,883 passing yards in 2013. Hill's 64 pass attempts were the most by a Waynesburg quarterback over the past 11 years. Thompson was Hill's favorite target on the day, as he racked up 14 receptions for 90 receiving yards.
 
Defensively, seniors Bryan Gary (13), Brandon Fedorka (12) and Ronnie Skinner (10) all totaled double-digit tackles. Fedorka finished a monster regular season with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in the contest.
 
While W&J secures a spot in the Division III playoffs for the second-straight season, Waynesburg awaits a possible third-straight ECAC Bowl bid. The Jackets will learn their postseason fate on Sunday night.