MEADVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 24) – The Waynesburg University football team traveled to Allegheny on Saturday for its first meeting with the Gators since 1929. During the Roaring 20s, Allegheny won all four meetings with Waynesburg. After waiting almost a century to pick up that first win against the Gators, the Yellow Jackets are going to have to wait at least one more year to do so following a 31-15 loss.
 
Saturday marked the first time this fall that Waynesburg (2-2, 1-1) failed to score at least 31 points. The game ultimately came down to ball control, which overwhelmingly favored Allegheny (2-2, 1-1). The Gators outrushed Waynesburg 304-69, recorded 36 first downs to Waynesburg's 12 and outgained the Jackets 559-298. Time of possession also tilted towards the home team (36:39-23:21).
 
After a scoreless opening quarter, Allegheny got on the board first with a field goal that capped a 14-play, 92-yard possession with 12:53 remaining in the second quarter. The Gators punched in the day's first touchdown on its next possession to move ahead 10-0.
 
Waynesburg responded to the challenge with its first six points of the day on the ensuing drive.
 
After missing his team's 37-30 win over Geneva in week three, senior quarterback Tyler Raines (Columbia, Md. / Long Reach) woke up the offense with a 37-yard pass play to sophomore wide receiver Dakota Romantino (Charleroi, Pa. / Charleroi) that moved the ball to the Allegheny 38-yard-line. After moving the ball deeper into Allegheny territory over the next three plays, senior running back Justin Flack (Derry, Pa. / Derry) broke up the shutout with an 18-yard touchdown run that made the score 10-6 with 6:09 left to play in the half. Junior Keegan Raabe (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) added the extra point to make the score 10-7.
 
Unfortunately for the road team, Allegheny answered its challenge with the final nine points of the second quarter on a touchdown followed by a blocked extra point and a field goal. By the time the two teams broke for their respective locker rooms at halftime, the Gators held a 19-7 lead.
 
Allegheny's lead grew to 25-7 just 1:52 into the third quarter. Flack picked up his second touchdown run of the day and his PAC-leading eighth of the season to cap a seven-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Flack played a major role in setting up the scoring play by taking a short pass and turning it into a 47-yard chunk play.
 
Raines hit sophomore wide receiver Ke'AnDre Hollis (Boynton Beach, Fla. / Lake Worth) for the two-point conversion that cut his team's deficit down to 25-15 with 10:04 remaining in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Waynesburg was unable to put any more points on the board, while Allegheny found the end zone with 24 seconds left before the start of the fourth quarter to bring about the eventual final score.
 
Though his numbers weren't flashy, Raines was solid following his brief injury. He completed 16-of-22 passes for 201 yards and no interceptions. The veteran signal caller is the only regular starting quarterback in the PAC without an interception and his 72.0 percent completion percentage is best in the league. His 225.3 passing yards are third-best in the conference.
 
Romantino pulled in five catches for a game-high 80 yards, while Flack also grabbed a handful of receptions, which he turned into 72 yards. When added to his 86 yards on 17 carries, Flack ended the day with 158 yards of total offense.
 
A trio of Yellow Jackets reached double digits in tackles to pace Waynesburg's defensive efforts. Sophomores James Davis (Kersey, Pa. / Saint Mary's) and Brennan Boron (St. Mary's, W.Va. / St. Mary's) piled up 15 total stops each, including a contest-best 10 solo stops by Boron. Freshman Austin Derr (Mifflintown, Pa. / Juniata) chipped in 12 tackles, including nine solo hits.
 
Senior Joel Zellem (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) combined four tackles, three of which were solo stops, with a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and not one, but two blocked extra point attempts.
 
Waynesburg heads into its bye week, before returning to John F. Wiley for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Yellow Jackets' opponent for the day will be 17^th-ranked Carnegie Mellon. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.