BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Sept. 28) – The Waynesburg University football team traveled to Geneva on Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup with the Golden Tornadoes. The Yellow Jackets made several changes to shake up the starting lineup, but were unable to come away with a victory. Waynesburg fell behind 10-0 at halftime and never recovered in a 27-7 loss.
 
Junior quarterback Mason Schrenker (Robinson, Pa. / Montour) made his first collegiate start and got off to an efficient start, completing six of his first eight pass attempts. Schrenker looked like he was going to provide his team with the big play it has been looking for during the young season when he hooked up with senior wide receiver Nick Moretti (Washington, Pa. / Trinity) on a 47-yard pass play that put the ball at the Geneva 12. Unfortunately, the play was negated by an ineligible man downfield penalty.
 
Two plays later, Waynesburg was forced to punt the ball. The penalty proved to be even more damaging, as the home team turned it into a touchdown drive that made the score 10-0 with 5:16 remaining in the first half. The Jackets carried that same deficit into the locker room at halftime.
 
Geneva grew its advantage to 13-0 on its first drive of the second half, a 16-play marathon that covered just 48 yards, but used up 8:42 of the period. The GT's lead stretched to 20-0 on its final full possession of the third. The home team closed out its scoring on its final full possession of the game with a touchdown.
 
Waynesburg broke up the shutout with four seconds showing on the clock. Schrenker found Moretti from 15 yards out to make the score 27-6. Senior kicker Mike Ryhal (Fredonia, Pa. / Reynolds) closed the scoring with the ensuing extra point.
 
Along with Schrenker making his first start, freshman running back Justin Flack (Derry, Pa. / Derry) made his first start in the backfield and handled a heavy workload. He piled up 28 carries for 94 yards on the ground. His workload featured the most totes for a single Jacket running back since Jerry Lawman rushed 33 times for 137 yards against Thomas More in 2015.
 
Moretti set game highs in catches (six) and yards (70).
 
Senior linebacker Tyler Smith (Poland, Ohio / Poland) posted his fourth-straight double-digit tackle day of the season with a dozen stops, nine of which were of the solo variety. He also recovered a fumble and logged a tackle for loss.
 
Senior defensive backs Dan Verhovsek (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland) and Vashon Graham (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Catholic) chipped in 10 tackles each on the day.
 
There was yet another newcomer who made an impact on the defensive side of the ball. Freshman Brandon Ntankeu (Hyattsville, Md. / Montgomery Blair), who was recruited as a running back, made his first appearance of the year at linebacker and made five total tackles.
 
Waynesburg returns to John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday for homecoming. The Jackets will take another shot at win number one on the year against Thiel. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.