BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Nov. 7) – Halloween may have been a week ago, but the Waynesburg University football team put on a terrifying performance that the Golden Tornadoes won't be forgetting for a while. The Yellow Jacket defense not only grounded Geneva's high-powered passing game with constant backfield pressure, but junior quarterback
Luke Hudson (Morgantown, W.Va. / University) carved up the GT defense like an old Jack O'Lantern as Waynesburg rolled to a 40-14 victory.
Saturday's victory marked the second-straight week that Waynesburg (3-6, 3-4) reached the 40-point mark on offense and Hudson was the catalyst. After rallying his team to victory last week at Hiram, the third-year signal caller looked even better in his most recent performance by throwing for 280 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions on 23-of-40 passing. Four different receivers hauled in those scoring throws, including junior
Isaiah Fields (Cumberland, Md. / Allegany), who snared two touchdowns to give him a team-leading five on the season.
Geneva (3-6, 2-5) came out strong on its senior day and scored on its second drive of the day to take a 7-0 lead. Waynesburg responded with a nine-play, 83-yard drive to knot the score at 7-7. Hudson found Fields for the Jackets' first points of the afternoon on a nine-yard pass and senior
Drew Pinkerton (Fayetteville, Pa. / Chambersburg) knocked in the extra point.
The score was still tied in the second quarter, when a long touchdown pass put the home team back ahead 14-7 with 2:16 left to play in halftime. Those were the final points allowed by a vicious Jacket defense that piled up nine sacks, 13 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Geneva was also limited to 299 yards of total offense, well below its season average of 342.6 ypg.
Still trailing by seven after receiving the third-quarter kickoff, Waynesburg produced one of its finest halves in recent program history by outscoring the host squad 33-0.
Hudson hit all five of his passes during the first possession of the half, the last of which traveled eight yards to senior wide receiver
Tyler Richmond (Carmichaels, Pa. / Carmichaels) to cut the Geneva lead to 14-13. The home team blocked the PAT try to maintain its one-point advantage.
Back-to-back Jacket sacks brought Geneva's next possession to an abrupt end and forced a punt that went out of bounds at the Golden Tornado 46. Waynesburg took advantage of the short field and needed just five plays to take its first lead of the day. Hudson found sophomore
Chase Whysong (Alum Bank, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) from 18 yards out and Pinkerton tacked on the PAT to make the score 20-14.
A quick three-and-out gave the ball back to the visitors, who proceeded to march 48 yards in seven plays for their fourth touchdown of the day. Hudson connected with Fields from 11 yards away and then completed a pass to freshman tight end
Zach Michael (La Vale, Md. / Allegany) for the two-point conversion to put the Orange and Black up 28-14.
The Jacket advantage remained at 14 throughout the remainder of the third quarter and for the first eight minutes of period number four. Once again, the Waynesburg defense put the clamps on the Black and Gold and senior
John Johnson III's (Glenrock, Pa. / Susquehannock) tackle on a fourth-and-two not only gave his offense the ball, but it set Waynesburg up at the Geneva 17.
Hudson didn't waste the golden opportunity as he stepped up and found junior
Colton Lee (Belle Vernon, Pa. / Belle Vernon) on fourth-and-seven from the 14 for his final touchdown toss of the day that made the tally 34-14 with 6:50 showing on the scoreboard.
Both teams turned the ball over on downs on the next two drives, but the Jackets had one more big play left up their sleeves. Geneva was driving and looking to end its final home game on a high note. Instead, sophomore
Antonio Cipoletti (Amity, Pa. / Trinity) tipped a pass in the endzone up in the air and sophomore
Marcus Crum Jr. (Warren, Ohio / Warren G. Harding) plucked it out of the air and sprinted away from the Geneva offense for a school-record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown with no time left on the clock.
Hudson completed passes to eight different receivers, including Lee, Richmond and Fields, who tied for the team lead with five catches each. Whysong paced the Jackets with 82 yards on three grabs.
Freshman
Jumah Byrd (Washington, D.C. / Coolidge) piled up 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss as part of a six-tackle day. Nearly every tackle from senior
Joanes Polynice (Winter Garden, Fla. / West Orange) resulted in lost yardage for Geneva, as he recorded a pair of sacks and a trio of tackles in the backfield as part of a four-tackle day. He also broke up a pass.
Fresh off being named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week, junior
Isshak Adam (Carnegie, Pa. / Chartiers Valley) logged six total tackles (five solo), two tackles for loss and a sack.
Senior
Ewing Jamison (Jefferson, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) put together a workman-like performance that resulted in a team-high eight tackles, three of which were of the solo variety.
All of those gawdy numbers helped Waynesburg hold Geneva to just 2-of-14 on third down conversion tries and a crucial 0-for-4 showing on fourth down.
Waynesburg will be highly motivated to put Saturday's impressive performance behind it in preparation of week 11, as the Jackets have a chance to post their first three-game winning streak since 2018. The Orange and Black will host Bethany on senior day on Saturday, Nov. 14, at John F. Wiley Stadium. A victory over the Bison would also mark the first occasion of Waynesburg ending the regular season with a trifecta of triumphs since the 2003 Yellow Jackets won the only outright PAC title.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
