WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 30) – The setting at Saturday's 2017 homecoming game was close to perfect. The playing conditions were sunny, but pleasantly cool and the always joyous atmosphere that accompanies the beloved annual event was in full swing.
 
Unfortunately for Waynesburg, Grove City wasn't interested in letting the home crowd go home happy, as the Wolverines (2-3, 2-1) snapped their eight-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets (0-5, 0-3) by coming out on top in a 21-14 affair.
 
The loss also ended Waynesburg's seven-game winning streak in homecoming games.
 
After Waynesburg won the toss and deferred possession to Grove City to start the game, the Jacket defense forced a punt on the opening drive of the afternoon. The offense followed its defense's strong start by driving the football down to the visiting 16-yard-line.
 
The Orange and Black appeared to take an early 6-0 lead when sophomore quarterback Tyler Perone found freshman wide receiver JaWuan Jones for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately, a holding penalty wiped out the play. Waynesburg was hoping to settle for a field goal three plays later, but junior Garret Guthrie's 35-yard attempt went wide of the goal post.
 
GCC made the costly penalty hurt even more by scoring the day's first six points on the ensuing five-play, 80-yard possession. After a successful extra point attempt, the visiting team held a 7-0 advantage with 5:15 left to play in the opening period.
 
The Jackets wasted little time in answering the Grove City challenge. Waynesburg put together an 80-yard drive of its own following the GCC touchdown. Facing a third-and-four from the opposing seven-yard-line, Perone hooked up with junior running back Austin Wilson on a catch-and-run that made the score 7-6. Guthrie knocked in the first of two PAT attempts to tie the game just seconds into the second quarter.
 
The back-and-forth pace of the game continued in the next possession, as the Wolverines went 75 yards in 11 plays for a go-ahead score. When the Jackets got the ball back with 9:33 remaining in the half, they found themselves in a 14-7 hole.
 
Three drives later, Waynesburg's offense hit the field at the GCC 41 with 6:42 showing on the second-quarter clock. The Jackets manufactured their final points of the day thanks to a 13-play, 41-yard grind to pay dirt. The points didn't come easy and without drama.
 
Facing a fourth-and-three situation, interim head coach Chris Smithley sent his offense onto the field, rather than attempting a short field goal. Perone made the gamble pay off by firing a three-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Chad Walker with just 20 seconds left to play in the half. Guthrie re-tied the game at 14-14 with the extra point.
 
After the final few seconds of the second quarter ticked away and the game was sent to halftime, Waynesburg President Douglas G. Lee and Senior Vice-President Mary Cummings were given the honor of crowning the 2017 homecoming king and queen. Seniors Marla Holland, a member of the PAC champion track & field team, and Zach Yonko named this year's honorees.
 
After a very evenly played first half, quarters three and four belonged to the visiting team, despite Grove City only scoring one touchdown. The game-winner came with 2:26 left to play in the third quarter and capped a 19-play marathon that spanned 86 yards and chewed up 9:24 of game time.
 
The Jacket attack was hampered over the final 30 minutes of play by three interceptions and a 160-97 advantage in total yards for the Wolverines. Penalty yardage was also noticeably in favor of the victors (61-20).
 
Freshman Jeremiah Doswell-Hardrick led Waynesburg with 52 yards rushing on 10 carries, the vast majority of which came in the first half. Perone wound up completing 16-of-34 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target on the day was freshman Cole Booth, who posted team highs in catches (four) and receiving yards (63).
 
The Waynesburg defense was paced the by the linebacking duo of junior John-Glen Davis and senior Tristan Sandrosky. Davis piled up 10 tackles in the first half en route to a game-high 12 for the game. He also broke up two passes. Sandrosky matched Davis with 12 total stops. Senior linebacker Brent Blacharczyk added nine tackles on the afternoon.
 
Waynesburg plays the first of back-to-back road games on Saturday, Oct. 7, when it travels to Beaver Falls to face Geneva. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.