NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Sept. 14) – The Waynesburg University football team opened PAC play on Saturday with a road contest against Westminster. The Yellow Jackets fell 45-21 in their league lid-lifter.
 
Things started slowly for Waynesburg (0-2, 0-1) and it was never able to bounce back against the host Titans (2-0, 1-0), who took a 21-0 lead into halftime. The Waynesburg defense was able to slow Westminster and give its offense a chance to cut into the lead midway through the third quarter.
 
The Jackets held the Titans to a three-and-out on the opening possession of the third period and started the ensuing drive at their own 37-yard-line. Waynesburg used a slow, grinding attack to make its way down the field and deep into Westminster territory. Sophomore running back Jordan Taylor (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Quaker Valley) got his team on the board and back into the game by pounding in a one-yard touchdown run that made the score 21-6. Senior Mike Ryhal (Fredonia, Pa. / Reynolds) tacked on his first extra point of the season to make the score 21-7.
 
Unfortunately, that was as close as Waynesburg came to tying the game, as Westminster answered the challenge with 17-straight points to take a 38-7 advantage late in the third quarter.
 
Jacket quarterback Tyler Perone (Venetia, Pa. / Seton LaSalle) hit on two big plays to open the fourth. First, he connected with sophomore wide receiver Dozhay Crumb (Ambridge, Pa. / Ambridge) for 42 yards on second-and-10. Facing a third-and-seven at the Westminster 22 two plays later, the veteran signal caller found senior Bobby Grishaber (Charleston, W.Va. / George Washington) for a touchdown hookup. Ryhal connected on his second extra point to make the score 38-15.
 
After the Titans scored their final seven points of the game, Waynesburg head coach Chris Smithley put some of his younger players on the field to get some valuable varsity snaps. The results were overwhelmingly positive.
 
Freshman running back Justin Flack (Derry, Pa. / Derry) carried the ball five times for 25 yards on the ensuing possession. His efforts complemented the passing of junior quarterback Mason Schrenker (Robinson, Pa. / Montour), who went three-for-three for 44 yards. The last of those completions was pulled in by junior Brendyn Tvaroch (Warren, Ohio / Howland) for a 35-yard touchdown. It was the first collegiate score for both passer and receiver.
 
Flack turned in a solid all-around performance in his second game as a Yellow Jacket. He led all players with 16 carries, which turned into a team-best 59 yards on the ground. He also pulled in two receptions for eight yards.
 
Speaking of receptions, senior Nick Moretti (Washington, Pa. / Trinity) had a team-high five for 38 yards. Crumb chipped in two for a team-best 52 yards.
 
Perone completed 19-of-31 passes for 164 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He added four carries for 14 yards.
 
The Jacket defense was paced by senior linebacker Tyler Smith (Poland, Ohio / Poland), who racked up a game-high 14 tackles, 10 of which were solo stops. He leaves week two was the PAC's leading tackler with 12.5 stops per game. The 2018 first-team All-PAC honoree added 2.0 tackles for loss on the day.
 
Senior defensive backs Vashon Graham (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic) and Dan Verhovsek (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland) chipped in eight and six stops, respectively.