WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 1) – Second place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and a shot at wrestling the conference title away from Washington & Jefferson were on the line when Thomas More traveled to Waynesburg on Saturday. The two teams battled through 60 grueling, physical minutes under cold, rainy skies at John F. Wiley Stadium and with less than a minute remaining in the contest, the Yellow Jackets had the football and the momentum after an electrifying special teams play.
 
Leading by a touchdown, the Saints elected to try a game-clinching 25-yard field goal with around 60 seconds showing on the clock. Junior linebacker Aaron Palmer made perhaps his biggest play of the year, when he blocked the kick, which was recovered by senior teammate Kyle Richey.
 
The Jackets set up shop at the Waynesburg 23-yard-line and moved the ball into Thomas More territory at the 38-yard-line. Senior quarterback Carter Hill had one shot at a pass into the end zone that could have extended the contest, or set up a potential game-winning play. Unfortunately, Hill's pass was batted down in the back corner of the end zone and the Saints responded by celebrating a 21-14 win.
 
The victory moved Thomas More to 6-1 in the PAC and 7-2 overall. Waynesburg dropped to 5-2 in conference action (7-2 overall).
 
Waynesburg won the opening toss and elected to kick off to the powerful Saint offense. The Yellow Jacket defense got its day off to a solid start by forcing the visiting team into a three-and-out punting situation. Unfortunately, the Jackets were unable to get their own offense going and were also forced to punt.
 
The second Saint possession resulted in the game's first touchdown. Thomas More maintained its 7-0 advantage until the second quarter, when the Saints found the end zone again, this time with around 11:40 left to play in the second quarter. However, the Waynesburg defense was able to re-establish itself and keep the opposing offense from adding to its advantage for the remainder of the quarter.
 
Waynesburg pulled itself back into contention as the game wore on towards halftime. With 2:28 showing on the scoreboard, the Jackets took possession at the Thomas More 21-yard-line following a long punt return combined with a personal foul penalty. Waynesburg reached into its bag of tricks to pick up 20 yards on a halfback pass by senior Willie Leavell that was pulled in by senior tight end Zac Capan at the one-yard-line.
 
Despite getting backed up by a fumble and a penalty, Waynesburg was still able to break up the shutout when Hill connected with Capan on a 14-yard touchdown pass with around 30 seconds left to play until intermission. Junior Scott Lewis' extra point cut the Jacket deficit in half at 14-7, which was also the score at halftime.
 
The Saints re-established a 14-point lead halfway through the third quarter and carried a 21-7 advantage into the final 15 minutes of action .However, the Jackets refused to give up the fight and the defense forced a turnover on downs deep in Orange and Black territory.
 
The Waynesburg offense found its rhythm during an 11-play, 71-yard drive that concluded with Hill hooking up with senior wide receiver Andrew English on a four-yard scoring toss. Another Lewis PAT pulled the home team back to within seven of the Saints at 21-14.
 
Valuable minutes ebbed away and the Jackets were unable to complete the comeback as the game wore down to its end. However, the Jacket defense did its job one last time to stonewall the Thomas More attack and set up the Waynesburg special teams for its dramatics.
 
Though Waynesburg came up short of victory, its defense did a fine job against a Saint offense that came into the game averaging 45.4 points per game. The 21 points allowed by Waynesburg is the smallest amount scored by the Saints against any PAC opponent this season, and the second-fewest all season (20 against Wesley). Palmer and junior safety Mike Lopuchovsky posted a game-high eight tackles each to pace the Jacket defenders.
 
Senior quarterback Carter Hill led the Jacket offense by completing 22-of-40 passes for 201 yards and two scores. English hauled in a game-high seven passes for 49 yards and a score.
 
After playing nine-straight games in 2014, Waynesburg finally get to enjoy its bye week. The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, Nov. 15, for their regular season finale against Washington & Jefferson. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.