Box Score

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 13) – While it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as week one's 33-0 win over Muskingum, the Waynesburg University football team did enough to move to 2-0 on the season after defeating Saint Vincent College 35-24 on Saturday at John F. Wiley Stadium.
 
After pitching a shutout in game one, the Waynesburg defense picked up right where it left off by forcing the Bearcats (0-2) into a three-and-out in the game's first offensive possession. After taking the ball on a punt, the Jacket offense drove to the SVC 31-yard-line. Facing a fourth-and-two situation, the Yellow Jackets kept the offense on the field and senior quarterback Carter Hill made the gamble pay off by finding senior wide receiver Bernie Thompson for a 31-yard touchdown catch-and-run to cap the 11-play, 68-yard drive. Junior kicker Scott Lewis knocked in the first of five extra-point attempts on the day to put the home team up 7-0.
 
After the two teams traded punts on multiple possessions, Saint Vincent ended Waynesburg's scoreless minutes streak at 70:57 when it turned a Hill interception into a brief two-play touchdown drive that tied the score at 7-7. The Bearcats took their first lead of 2014 midway through the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal that put the Jackets in a 10-7 hole.
 
Two drives later, the Jackets regained the lead following an eight-play, 69-yard drive that lasted 3:25. The big play of the possession came on a 44-yard hookup between Hill and senior wide receiver Andrew English that put the ball at the Saint Vincent 12. Two plays later, senior Willie Leavell took a handoff from the two-yard-line, jumped over the line of scrimmage at the Bearcat two-yard-line, survived a pair of midair hits and managed to cross the goal line for his first touchdown of 2014. After Lewis' extra point found the mark, Waynesburg jumped back ahead at 14-10.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Bearcats took the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 99 yards for a go-ahead score. Trailing 17-14, things nearly went from bad to worse on the St. Vincent kickoff, as Waynesburg fumbled the ball back to the visiting team, which grabbed possession at the Jacket 43. SVC drove down to the Waynesburg 11-yard-line. Luckily, the Cats simply ran out of time while marching to the end zone and had to settle for a 30-yard field goal try, which sailed wide of the mark just before halftime.
 
The third quarter began with both teams punting the ball away. Waynesburg rediscovered its offensive rhythm on its second possession of the half thanks in large part to senior running back Jake Forsythe. The bruising tailback carried the ball seven times on the nine-play drive, with the last of those totes going for two yards and a Jacket touchdown. With 9:30 showing on the third-quarter clock, Lewis drilled PAT number three to put Waynesburg back into the lead at 21-17.
 
The home team looked like it was on the verge of putting the game out of reach following its next possession, which covered 43 yards on six plays. After a 39-yard completion to Thompson put the ball at the SVC two-yard-line, Forsythe pounded in touchdown number two on the day, which, when combined with a Lewis kick, gave the Orange and Black a 28-17 advantage with just under seven minutes to play in the third quarter.
 
However, Saint Vincent wasn't ready to simply hand the game over to the home team, as the feisty Bearcats pulled to within four points (28-24) following their final possession of the third quarter. That touchdown was the last scoring play given up the Waynesburg defense, which shut the Bearcats out over the final 18-plus minutes of play.
 
The Jacket offense took advantage of the efforts put up by its defensive teammates by scoring the game's final touchdown with just under nine minutes left to play. A 20-yard punt return by Thompson set Waynesburg up at the opposing 33-yard-line. Forsythe picked up more than half the yardage needed for a score on an 18-yard carry to start the possession. Two more carries by the senior moved the ball to the SVC nine-yard-line, where Hill found English for his second touchdown pass of the day. Lewis drilled his final kick of the afternoon to close out the scoring.
 
The next three possessions of the game belonged to the two defenses as Waynesburg junior safety Mike Lopuchovsky intercepted a pair of Saint Vincent passes and the Bearcats recovered a fumble. The second pick by Lopuchovsky gave his team the ball at the opposing 21-yard-line with 3:38 left to play. The Jackets drove down to the Bearcat two-yard-line, but Waynesburg decided to simply kneel on the football to run out the clock.
 
Forsythe had arguably the best game of his collegiate career, as he carried the ball a game-high 33 times for a contest-best 134 yards and two touchdowns. His efforts on the ground were a nice complement to a Jacket passing attack that went for 225 yards through the air. Thompson accounted for the majority of the receiving yards, as he pulled down a game-high nine catches for 111 yards and a score. English added 75 yards and a touchdown on five grabs.
 
The Jacket defense was led by senior linebacker John Sikora, who piled up a game-high 10 tackles, nine of which were solo stops, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive lineman Zach Machuga added 4.0 tackles for loss as part of a seven-tackle day.
 
Waynesburg will play a third-straight home game on Saturday, Sept. 20, when it hosts Geneva College. The game will serve as the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener for both teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.