WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 24) – The Waynesburg University football team returned to John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday after playing the last two weeks on the road. The Yellow Jackets battled one of the top teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) to a 7-7 tie until the final minutes of the first half. Unfortunately, the Spartans were able to take advantage of four Waynesburg turnovers en route to a 35-7 win.
 
After the Jackets (0-4, 0-2) won the toss and elected to kick off, the home defense forced Case (3-0, 2-0) into a three-and-out situation. After Waynesburg played out its first possession, the Spartans scored the game's first touchdown on its second drive of the game, which lasted 12 plays and spanned 80 yards.
 
The Orange and Black defense answered the Case challenge and didn't allow another score until late in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jacket offense, which was led by quarterback Tyler Perone, out-dueled the opposing defense on its final drive of the opening period for its first-and-only touchdown of the day.
 
The game-tying drive saw Perone, who was making his first collegiate start, complete five-of-eight attempts for all 58 of the yards traveled by the home team en route to the score. The final completion went to senior Kevin Barnes, Jr., from 12 yards out for the touchdown. Freshman Mike Ryhal converted his first collegiate PAT attempts to tie the game at 7-7 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
The score remained the same until 11:34 into the second quarter, when Case scored the eventual game-winning touchdown. The Spartans broke the opposing goal line one more time before halftime and took a 21-7 lead into the locker room. The Waynesburg defense rebounded with a scoreless third quarter, before Case Western Reserve put the game out of reach with a pair of fourth-quarter tallies.
 
Perone completed 18-of-38 attempts for 200 yards, a score and four interceptions, two of which came off deflections. His favorite target on the day was senior Tim Cooper, who pulled in a game-high eight passes for 91 yards.
 
Defensively, Waynesburg was paced by linebacker Brent Blacharczyk, who piled up a game-high 10 tackles, seven of which were solo stops. Defensive lineman Zach Machuga continued an excellent senior season by recording seven tackles, 2.0 of which were tackles for loss.
 
The Jackets are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1, when they travel to Grove City. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.