LATROBE, Pa. (Oct. 20) – The Waynesburg University football team's matchup with Saint Vincent was far from a masterpiece for either team. The Waynesburg offense struggled to move the football for most of the contest. However, junior quarterback Tyler Perone (Venetia, Pa. / Seton La Salle) and his teammates were able to find its rhythm just in time for the Yellow Jackets to pull out a 12-10 victory.
 
Waynesburg (4-4, 4-3) got the ball to open the game and were able to move down the field early on in the possession. The Jackets took the ball down to the Saint Vincent 22-yard-line and were working with a first-and-five situation following an off-sides penalty on the Bearcats (1-6, 1-5). Unfortunately, the Orange and Black attack stalled at the 22, but senior kicker Garret Guthrie (Marianna, Pa. / Trinity) connected on a then-season-long 39-yard field goal to give Waynesburg the early lead.
 
Saint Vincent quickly tied the game at 3-3 with a field goal of its own on the ensuing possession. The tie held up until Waynesburg's first possession of the second quarter. Once again, the Jackets were able to push the football into Bearcat territory, but were unable to cross the goal line. Once again, Guthrie was called upon to put some points on the board. The veteran kicker improved to two-for-two on the day by converting a 40-yard try to give Waynesburg the lead back at 6-3.
 
The slight Jacket edge held up until the end of the first half, when Saint Vincent capped a 14-play, 42-yard possession with the day's first touchdown. The Bearcats not only took their 10-6 lead into halftime, but into the fourth quarter.
 
The first three combined drives of the final period ended in punts. However, with time wasting away, the Jacket offense was finally able to put together a touchdown drive that provided the game-deciding points of the day.
 
Waynesburg chewed up 6:36 of game time as it methodically traveled 80 yards on 12 plays. Perone did most of the damage by completing six-of-six attempts for 48 yards. The last of those half-dozen completions traveled nine yards to junior wide receiver Nick Moretti (Washington, Pa. / Trinity) for the game's final score.
 
The Bearcats blocked the extra point, meaning the Waynesburg defense had no room for error when it came to pulling out a victory. The unit did just that, forcing a quick punt from the Green and Gold on the ensuing possession before being pushed to its limit during the home team's last-gasp effort at a win.
 
Saint Vincent managed to push the ball to the Waynesburg 29 and set up for a game-winning field goal. Luckily for the Jackets, the 47-yard try was off the mark, allowing the Jackets to head home with a victory.
 
After throwing three picks last week, Perone protected the football well by completing 15-of-25 attempts for 128 yards and no interceptions. Moretti was one of four Jacket receivers to record at least three catches in the victory. He snagged a team-best four balls for 27 yards. Sophomores Cole Booth (Berlin, Pa. / Berlin Brothersvalley) and JaWuan Jones (Youngstown, Ohio / East) pulled in a trio of receptions, as did junior running back Chad Walker (Waldorf, Md. / Thomas Stone).
 
Walker also served as Waynesburg's leading rusher, gathering a team-high 70 yards on 18 totes.
 
The Jacket defensive effort was paced by senior linebacker John-Glen Davis (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central), who racked up a game-high 10 total tackles, three of which were solo stops. Senior linebacker Tyler Smith (Poland, Ohio / Poland) chipped in nine tackles.
 
The Yellow Jackets now get a chance to rest and heal up over its bye week. They'll need the extra time to prepare for their next game, which comes on Saturday, Nov. 3, at number-22 Case Western Reserve. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.