WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 26) – After three weeks on the road, the Waynesburg University football team finally got to open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday against Bethany. The Yellow Jackets enjoyed a fast start to the contest and took the early lead, but the Bison battled back throughout the remainder of the first half on their way to a 27-14 win.
 
As it has done in three of the season's first four contests, Waynesburg (1-3, 0-2) established the game's first lead over Bethany. The Jacket defense forced the visiting team (2-2, 1-1) to punt on its opening possession, giving the football to the Orange and Black offense with great field position at midfield.
 
Waynesburg slowly marched its way through Bison territory on nine plays, the last of which featured freshman quarterback Jake Dougherty hitting junior tight end Daniel Davis with a 12-yard touchdown pass. Senior kicker Scott Lewis made the score 7-0 with 8:13 left to play in the first quarter.
 
Unfortunately for the Jackets, the lead lasted roughly 10 seconds, as Bethany responded with a long touchdown pass on its second drive of the afternoon. The score remained knotted up at 7-7 for the remainder of the first quarter, but a Bison field goal that ended a 17-play, 89-yard marathon gave the visitors their first lead of the day (10-7) roughly three minutes into quarter number two.
 
That advantage grew to 17-7 thanks to a touchdown on the Green and White's next possession. The Jackets pulled themselves back into the contest thanks to Dougherty finding Davis for a second time on the day for six points. The 21-yard hookup capped a brief two-play possession that also featured a 28-yard pass to junior wide out Tim Cooper. Waynesburg was given the short field when freshman running back Austin Wilson weaved his way through the Bison kickoff coverage unit for 42 yards. Lewis' second successful kick of the day made the score 17-14 Bethany with 7:14 showing on the second-quarter clock.
 
It looked as though the Jacket deficit would remain at three heading into halftime, but the Bison managed to piece together a six-play, 61-yard scoring march. The final touchdown of the game was recorded with just three seconds showing on the second-quarter scoreboard and it grew the Bethany advantage to 24-14.
 
While offense dominated the first 30 minutes of action, their defensive counterparts took center stage during the second half. The majority of the third quarter featured Bethany maintaining its 10-point edge, but the road team managed to tack on the day's final three points following a successful field goal attempt with around 1:20 left to play in the period.
 
Trailing 27-14, Dougherty and his offensive mates put together their last big drive of the game, as Waynesburg marched to the Bethany six-yard-line. Unfortunately, the Bison defense turned in what may have been the play of the day, as Waynesburg's first-year signal-caller was picked off in the end zone. After getting the ball back, Waynesburg was able to drive the ball deep into Bison territory once again. But, a pair of costly penalties turned a first-and-10 at the Bethany 12-yard-line into a fourth-and-24 at the 26. The visitors eventually forced a turnover on downs with just under eight minutes left to play.
 
Though the Jackets never gave up on the comeback try, they ultimately had to settle for their third-straight defeat on the year.
 
The Waynesburg offense was led by Doughtery, who completed 29-of-41 passes for 216 yards, two scores and one interception. Junior wide receiver Kevin Barnes, Jr. turned in another productive effort by leading his team in catches (7) and receiving yards (80).
 
The Jacket ground game was paced by senior running back Jerry Lawman, who racked up a team-high 87 yards on a squad-best 19 carries.
 
Senior linebacker Aaron Palmer seemed to be everywhere at once on the field, as he turned in a team-high 14 tackles, including a game-high 10 solo stops and 2.0 tackles for loss. Junior Zach Machuga chipped in 10 tackles from the defensive line, while freshman linebacker Michael Heasley recorded his first collegiate sack.
 
The Jackets will try to notch a Homecoming win on Saturday, Oct. 3, when they host Grove City. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.