WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Oct. 14) – The Waynesburg University football team returned from its bye week to host Saint Vincent this past Saturday at John F. Wiley Stadium. While the weather was at its ugliest, the Yellow Jackets looked their absolute best as they controlled both sides of the ball and earned a 24-0 victory.
 
The win featured Waynesburg's (1-5, 1-5) most yards of total offense in 2023 (411), their fewest yards of offense given up (138) and their most time possession (36:50). The shutout was the Yellow Jackets' first since 2014.
 
The Waynesburg defense set the tone from the get-go by forcing Saint Vincent (2-4, 2-4) into a three-and-out. After punts on the first three combined drives, the Jacket offense found its rhythm on its second possession. Junior quarterback Samuel Barber (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown), who had arguably his best game as a Yellow Jacket, completed all five of his pass attempts on the drive, the last of which went 13 yards to sophomore Isaac Trout (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Southmoreland) for a 13-yard touchdown.
 
Sophomore Ricco Sastoque (Concord, N.C. / Northwest Cabbarus) tacked on his first extra point of the day to make the score 7-0 with 6:28 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
The Jackets maintained their 7-0 lead until late in the first half, when a 10-play, 45-yard drive came up short of the endzone. However, Sastoque made sure his team went into the break with a multi-score lead thanks to a personal-best 45-yard field goal with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second. That kick also tied for the longest made field goal by anyone in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) this season.
 
After returning to the rain-soaked turf at Wiley Stadium, the Jackets forced a turnover thanks to freshman Landon Cool (Morgantown, W.Va. / University), who forced and recovered a fumble following a Jacket punt. Waynesburg took over at the opposing 20-yard line. An eight-yard run by senior Justin Flack (Derry, Pa. / Derry) followed by a 12-yard completion to the veteran running back resulted in the Jackets' second touchdown of the day. Another Sastoque PAT made the score 17-0 with 5:49 remaining in the third.
 
With a steady rain pouring throughout the second half, Waynesburg leaned heavily on its running game that featured Flack and sophomore Zayne Cawley (Huntingtown, Md. / Huntingtown). The Jackets couldn't have scripted a better drive to put the game away when they took over possession with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
The home team ran 12 plays, all on the ground, and covered 68 yards over 7:20 of game time. The final carry went to Flack, who pounded in his second overall touchdown on the day from five yards out. Flack and Cawley split the dozen carries evenly and Saint Vincent had just 2:15 left to play when they got the ball back.
 
The Jackets closed out the shutout by forcing a turnover on downs with 49 seconds showing on the clock.
 
Barber completed 17-of-26 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His favorite target on the day was junior Dakota Romantino (Charleroi, Pa. / Charleroi), who set season highs in catches (eight) and yards (132). Both of those numbers were also tops in the game.
 
Flack and Cawley combined for 211 yards on 37 carries, with Flack pacing all ball carriers with 125 yards on 26 totes. Cawley went for 86 on just 11 touches.
 
A balanced Waynesburg defense featured a three-sack, one forced fumble performance from senior Chase Nicomatti (Port Vue, Pa. / South Allegheny).
 
The Jackets are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 21, when they travel to Case Western Reserve for another PAC matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.