WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Oct. 24) – The Waynesburg University football team welcomed Thiel College to John F. Wiley Stadium for Saturday's senior day matchup. After a tightly played first half, the Yellow Jackets played maybe their best quarter of the 2015 season half en route to a 28-15 victory.
 
As they have done in most of their games this year, the Jackets (3-5, 2-4) got Saturday's game off to a fast start. After Thiel (1-6, 0-5) won the toss and elected to kick off, Waynesburg opened its first possession at its own 34-yard-line. Freshman quarterback Jake Dougherty got things going with a bang by hitting junior wide receiver Kevin Barnes, Jr. with a 38-yard completion that moved the line of scrimmage to the opposing 28.
 
Three plays later, the Jackets faced a fourth-and-six at the Tomcat 24. Junior wide receiver Tim Cooper kept the drive alive with a diving catch on a 23-yard completion. Three plays later, senior Willie Leavell pounded in a two-yard scoring run that capped the seven-play, 66-yard possession. Senior kicker Scott Lewis made the first of his four extra point attempts to put his team up 7-0 after just 3:23 of action.
 
Unfortunately, a pair of Waynesburg turnovers stunted the offense over the remainder of the first half and kept the Orange and Black from adding to its lead. Thiel, on the other hand, was able to score its first three points on a field goal with under 10 seconds left to play in the second quarter.
 
The Jackets wound up going into the locker room with a slim 7-3 edge. However, Waynesburg's fortunes were about to take a turn towards the positive.
 
The defense got things going by forcing a punt after four plays on Thiel's opening possession that set up the offense at the Jacket 45-yard-line. Waynesburg then turned to its ground game as Leavell and senior Jerry Lawman combined to carry the ball on each of the next six plays and put the host squad on the Thiel 25. Three plays later, Dougherty converted another fourth down play by hooking up with Leavell on a 19-yard touchdown pass. Lewis' PAT gave the Jackets some much needed breathing room at 14-3 with 9:26 remaining in the third.
 
After the Waynesburg defense forced another Thiel punt, the Jackets traversed 97 yards on just eight plays on its next possession. A 29-yard run by Lawman and a 34-yard touchdown pass to Cooper accounted for the majority of the yardage on the drive. Another Lewis extra point further expanded the Jackets' lead to 21-3.
 
The Yellow Jackets posted a third-straight scoring possession as the third quarter turned into the fourth at John F. Wiley Stadium. Waynesburg was backed up once again by another long Thiel punt. However, Dougherty was able to maneuver his offensive troops over the entire span of 88 yards on 11 plays to strike pay dirt for a fourth-and-final time in front of the home crowd during the 2015 campaign. The freshman signal-caller capped the drive by hitting Barnes with a 13-yard touchdown toss. Lewis improved to 25-for-25 on PAT tries for the season by make the score 28-3.
 
To Thiel's credit, it did not give up on its quest for a first conference win of the fall and scored a pair of touchdowns over the game's final 6:36 of action. Ultimately, the rally fizzled out and the Jackets were able to celebrate the victory.
 
Dougherty gave the Waynesburg faithful a tantalizing sample of what the first-year passer is capable of by completing 20-of-27 attempts for a personal collegiate-high 296 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Fairmount, Pennsylvania, native really shined in the second half, where he hit on 12-of-13 attempts for 150 yards, all three scores and no picks.
 
Barnes had perhaps his best game as a collegian by reeling in a game-high seven catches for a season and contest-best 138 yards and a score.
 
The Jacket ground game recorded 150 yards on 43 attempts. Combined with Dougherty's 296 through the air, Waynesburg posted a season-high 446 yards of total offense against the Tomcats. Lawman led the ground attack with a team-high 79 yards on 17 carries.
 
The Jacket defense was led by junior defensive lineman Zach Machuga, who was at his disruptive best. He not only led Waynesburg with a team-high nine total tackles, but he also piled up a season and game-high 4.0 tackles for loss, one of which was a sack. Junior Aniellio DeStefano twice took down the quarterback in the backfield.
 
Waynesburg will play its final two games of the schedule on the road, starting with next week's trip to nationally ranked Thomas More. The Jackets are scheduled to kick off with the 11^th-ranked Saints at 12 p.m.