Waynesburg (3-5, 3-5 PAC) vs. Thiel (2-6, 2-6 PAC)

When: Saturday, Nov. 9 1:00 p.m.

Where: Waynesburg, Pa. (John F. Wiley Stadium)

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

ON WAYNESBURG
Waynesburg had its two-game winning streak halted with a 51-0 defeat to No. 13 Grove City last week. A pair of Yellow Jacket turnovers inside the Grove City 25 yard-line kept Waynesburg off the scoreboard against the highly-ranked Wolverines. Grove City scored an 82-yard pick six in the opening minutes and had a 92-yard scoring drive after a Waynesburg fumble in the red zone to go ahead 21-0 late in the first half. A successful two-minute drill put the Wolverines up four touchdowns at halftime. Zayne Cawley led the Jackets with 107 rushing yards against the nation's No. 2 rushing defense.

ON THIEL
Thiel scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes of regulation to secure a 20-10 comeback win over Saint Vincent. Trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter, the Tomcats capped a 14-play, 99-yard touchdown drive with a four-yard pass from Daniel Rennie to Joseph Blake. The Thiel defense got the ball back with a fourth down sack and the Tomcats put the game away with an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 33 seconds remaining. The Tomcats last won on consecutive weeks in 2013.

THE SERIES (WAYNESBURG LEADS 33-11-1)
A late touchdown in last year's meeting delivered the Tomcats to a 15-14 victory, their first win in the series since 2016. Thiel's last win at John F. Wiley Stadium came in 2005 when the Tomcats captured their most recent PAC title.Thiel capped a 19-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with a six-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left in regulation to deliver the Tomcats to a one-point victory last fall. The Jackets drove to Thiel's 38 yard-line in the final two minutes of regulation before a fumble handed possession back to the Tomcats for good. Brandon Tyson returned an interception 41 yards for a score in the second quarter and Zayne Cawley gave the Jackets a 14-9 edge with a 63-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Jackets finished plus-one (3-2) in the turnover margin for the first time in the 2023 season. The two teams combined for 16 penalties for 269 yards and eight first downs via penalty.

CAWLEY FOR 1,000
In Waynesburg's previous matchup against Grove City, junior running back Zayne Cawley rushed for 107 yards to eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark, the first for a Jacket back since Jake Forsythe in 2014. With 1,031 yards rushing Cawley ranks sixth nationally and first in the conference while his 128.9 rushing yards per game is fifth nationally. He has rushed for over 100 yards in six games this season, including the last five-straight. 

ON THE RISE
With a Jackets win on Saturday Waynesburg will have matched their season high in victories with four under the command of Dr. Cornelius Coleman. Last time Waynesburg had totaled four victories was the 2022 season with wins over Gallaudet, Geneva, Bethany and Thiel. If the Jackets win both of their remaining games Waynesburg can record its winningest season in a decade. Waynesburg's last season with a record of .500 or better came in 2014 when the Jackets went 8-3 and hosted an ECAC bowl.