PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Sept. 25) – The Waynesburg University football team traveled to Carnegie Mellon on Saturday night to face the Tartans in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown. The Yellow Jackets scored first, but the home team shut the Orange and Black down for the remainder of the evening, as CMU scored a 39-3 win.
 
After Waynesburg (1-3, 1-2) won the toss, they elected to kick off to Carnegie Mellon (2-2, 2-1). The Jacket defense made its presence felt when freshman cornerback JaVionne Smith (Warren, Ohio / Sharon) came up with a strip-sack and senior linebacker Bret Hicks (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Chartiers Valley) collected with the fumble to give the offense the ball at the Tartan 24.
 
Waynesburg pushed the ball down to the Carnegie Mellon 10-yard-line, but the drive stalled, so sophomore kicker Keegan Raabe (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) came on to attempt a 27-yard field goal. Raabe improved to four-for-four on the season to give his squad a 3-0 edge with just under 10:30 left in the first quarter.
 
Unfortunately, CMU scored on the ensuing possession and never looked back as it rolled to the conference win.
 
Smith and senior defensive back Luke Menges (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) tied for the game lead with eight total tackles each. Smith posted a game-high seven solo stops, logged two tackles for loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass.
 
Waynesburg's defense tallied four sacks, seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
 
Offensively, junior quarterback Tyler Raines (Columbia, Md. / Long Reach) completed 12-of-25 passes for 149 yards. Senior wide receiver Trenton Kerns (Falling Waters, W.Va. / Spring Mills) set game highs in both receptions (seven) and receiving yards (97).
 
Junior running back Justin Flack (Derry, Pa. / Derry) paced the Waynesburg ground game with 13 carries for 35 yards.
 
The Jackets return to John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 2, to celebrate homecoming. Waynesburg will host Grove City for a 1 p.m. PAC showdown.