Box Score

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Nov. 2) – All three aspects of the Waynesburg University football team made huge impacts on Saturday's road Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Westminster College. The Yellow Jacket offense racked up 406 yards of offense, the defense forced six turnovers and the special teams blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in a 38-19 win over the Titans.
 
The victory kept Waynesburg (7-2, 5-2) in the race for at least a share of the PAC title. The Yellow Jackets are now a game back of first-place Thomas More (6-1) and a half-game behind Washington & Jefferson (5-1) in the conference standings.
 
The Jackets wasted no time in establishing an early lead and scored on their first offensive possession, which was set up when junior defensive back Mitch Vacek forced a fumble that was pounced on by senior cornerback Stephen Holt. It was Holt's third turnover in the past two games.
 
After taking possession of the pig skin, Waynesburg marched 47 yards on five plays, all passes from junior quarterback Carter Hill, to the Westminster (3-5, 2-4) end zone. Hill completed four-of-five attempts to four different receivers on the drive, the last of which was a 15-yard scoring strike to senior tight end Mike Ferraro with 10:07 remaining in the first quarter. Senior kicker Alex Henry connected the first of five successful PAT tries to put his team up 7-0.
 
It was déjà vu all over again on the ensuing Titan possession, as senior safety Ryan Harr jarred the bar out of the hands of Westminster quarterback Dak Britt. Senior safety Bryan Gary fell on the loose ball to put the Jacket offense back on the field at its own 26-yard line.
 
Hill came out firing once again and completed three-straight passes to open the drive. The last of those connections went for 49 yards to junior wide receiver Bernie Thompson. Three plays after Thompson took his team down to the Titan 19-yard line, Hill found sophomore tight end Zac Capan for his second scoring pass of the day, this one coming with 2:55 remaining in the opening period. Another Henry PAT doubled Waynesburg's advantage to 14-0.
 
The Jacket defense kept up the pressure on the Titans by forcing turnovers on each of the home teams' next two possessions. Both of those turnovers came in the form of interceptions by senior cornerback Marvin Sampson. Sampson's second pick allowed Waynesburg to set up shop at its own 17-yard line, and eventually expand its lead to 21-0.
 
The Orange and Black finally got its running game going on the possession as Hill, junior running back Jake Forsythe and senior running back Thomas Paulone combined for six carries that totaled 28 yards to complement Hill throwing for 40 yards on the drive. A 15-yard pass interference penalty on Westminster helped keep the Waynesburg offense on the field, and during the 15^th play of the marathon trip to pay dirt, Forsythe pounded in a three-yard score with 3:59 to go until halftime.
 
Westminster posted its first points of the ball game with just six seconds showing on the second-quarter clock. Trailing 21-6 in the third quarter, the Titans got a punt return for a touchdown to energize their home crowd and pull to within a single score (21-13) early in the second half. However, the Jackets didn't' lose their composure and were poised to not only regain control of the PAC showdown, but seal up the critical victory.
 
Waynesburg re-established a two-score lead on the possession following the home team's second touchdown of the day when Henry converted his ninth field goal of the season, this one coming from 31 yards away. Leading 24-13 early in the third quarter, the Jacket special teams scored once again, this time producing six points. After the defense held the home team to a three-and-out, Westminster lined up to punt. The Blue and White never got a chance to get the ball away as Paulone broke through the middle of the line and blocked the kick. Sophomore Dontae Gibson pounced on the football and ran 15 yards for his team's fourth touchdown of the day. Another successful kick by Henry ran the score to 31-13 Waynesburg halfway through the third quarter.
 
The Jacket defense stuck it to Westminster again on the Titans' next possession and forced the host squad into a turnover on downs. Waynesburg's offense rewarded the fine effort of its defensive counterparts by putting up its fifth-and-final touchdown of the day. The Yellow Jackets drove 69 yards in 13 plays and Hill found Ferraro in the end zone for a second time on the day, this time from 21 yards out, to close out Waynesburg's scoring for the afternoon. Henry's extra point with nine seconds left to play in the third quarter expanded the Jackets' advantage to a game-high 25 points (38-13).
 
Westminster scored the only points of the fourth quarter on a long pass play, but it was too little too late, as the Yellow Jackets picked up their second-straight win over the Titans. Waynesburg has scored over 30 points five times this year, while the defense has allowed 14 points or less on four separate occasions.
 
Hill put together a historic day on the field that saw him break three single-season Waynesburg passing records. After completing 22-of-33 passes for 265 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, the junior standout has hit on 237-of-361 pass attempts for 2,606 yards and 26 touchdowns, while being picked off just twice. Hill now holds the top single-season marks for completions, attempts and touchdown passes.
 
Thompson snared a game-high seven catches for a team-best 93 yards receiving, while English chipped in five receptions for 50 yards. Paulone took advantage of his first collegiate start by piling up a career-high 97 yards on 20 carries. Waynesburg out-performed Westminster in the running game by racking up 141 yards to the Titans' 116.
 
The Jacket defense recorded four sacks and eight total tackles for loss to go along with six turnovers. Senior defensive end Brandon Fedorka piled up six total tackles, two of which were for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups to lead the Waynesburg efforts. Junior linebacker John Sikora notched two of the winning team's tackles for loss, while senior safety Logan McAnany piled up a team-high nine tackles, seven of which were solo stops.
 
After nine grueling weeks of competition, Waynesburg finally gets to enjoy its bye week before wrapping up the 2013 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 16, with its annual rivalry game against Washington & Jefferson. Kickoff in Washington is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.