CLEVELAND, Ohio (Nov. 3) – The Waynesburg University football team traveled to the Buckeye State on Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown with 19^th-ranked Case Western Reserve. The Yellow Jackets were within a touchdown of upsetting the Spartans at halftime, but were defeated 41-17.
 
After winning the opening coin toss, the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 4-4) opened the contest with the football and marched 46 yards on 12 plays. Though the drive stalled short of the end zone, Waynesburg picked up the game's opening points on a 33-yard field goal from senior kicker Garret Guthrie (Marianna, Pa. / Trinity).
 
Case (8-1, 7-1) answered with a field goal of its own on the ensuing possession and the score remained knotted at 3-3 as the first quarter came to a close. The Spartans recorded the game's first touchdown 39 seconds into the second period to take their first lead at 10-3.
 
The Jacket defense played a major role in the visiting team's first trip to the end zone, which came with 9:02 remaining in the first half. After Waynesburg was forced to punt the ball away from the Case 44-yard-line, freshman punter Nik Gibson (Smock, Pa. / Uniontown) pinned the Spartans back at their own one-yard-line. During the second play of the drive, senior Garrett Hepner (Dalmatia, Pa. / Line Mountatin) managed to jar the ball free, allowing junior linebacker Tyler Smith to pounce on the fumble and give the Jackets the ball at the two-yard-line.
 
It took three tries, but the Jackets were finally able to power the ball into end zone. Freshman Zach Baughman (Franklin, Pa. / Franklin) did the honors with a one-yard scoring plunge. Guthrie converted the first of two successful extra point tries to tie the game at 10-10 with nine minutes showing on the second-quarter clock.
 
Unfortunately, the home team retook the advantage two drives later and looked poised to add to its 17-10 edge following a Waynesburg turnover. However, senior Jacket safety Andrew Brncic (Export, Pa. / Franklin Regional) came up with a timely interception in the Yellow Jackets' end zone to deny Case and keep the deficit at a single score as time expired on the first half.
 
Though the defense did all it could to keep Waynesburg in the thick of things, the high powered Case Western Reserve offense finally took control of the game in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes. The Spartans wound up scoring the next 24 points to build a 41-10 lead before Waynesburg junior quarterback Tyler Perone (Venetia, Pa. / Seton La Salle) hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Dorian Hardy (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Taylor Allderdice) on an 18-yard scoring play midway through the fourth quarter.
 
The three-play possession also included a 17-yard completion to freshman Dozhay Crumb (Ambridge, Pa. / Ambridge) and a 36-yard hookup with junior wide out Nick Moretti (Washington, Pa. / Trinity).
 
Perone completed 16-of-30 passes on the afternoon for 205 yards and a score. He did not throw an interception and was not sacked on the day. Perone has only been intercepted five times this season, the second-fewest amongst everyday starters behind only Geneva's Luke Lloyd, who pilots the Golden Tornadoes' almost run-exclusive triple-option offense.
 
Moretti continued a solid junior season by pulling in a team-best six catches for a game-high 108 yards.
 
Speaking of juniors enjoying a breakout year, running back Chad Walker (Waldorf, Md. / Thomas Stone) posted a game-high 66 yards on a contest-best 21 carries.
 
Smith put together one of his best games as a collegiate player by racking up a game-high 15 tackles, including a contest-best 10 solo stops. Hepner also had a day to remember. He piled up 11 total tackles, eight of which were solo hits, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
 
The Jackets conclude the 2018 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 10, when they return to John F. Wiley Stadium for senior day against Washington & Jefferson. The "PAC Backyard Brawl" is part of the league's annual rivalry week and will be Waynesburg's first home game since Saturday, Oct. 6.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.