W&J win away from playoff berth
After a loss to Westminster, a bye week and a sloppy performance in a win over Saint Vincent, Washington & Jefferson College’s football team could use a strong showing.
But this week’s opponent, rival Waynesburg, has no intention of making Saturday’s game at John F. Wiley Stadium an easy pass for the Presidents.
A win by W&J (7-1, 8-1) assures it a share of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title with Case Western Reserve and the automatic bid into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Waynesburg (4-4, 4-5) would like nothing better than to ruin those aspirations. The Yellow Jackets hung with Case Western Reserve early, trailing 17-10 at halftime. That caught the attention of W&J head coach Mike Sirianni.
“They have some players,” said Sirianni. “They might have the two best corners (in Brennan Sefcik and Justin Willkow) in the league. Their quarterback (Tyler Perone) is playing well right now, they have a good running back (Chad Walker) and they have one of the best offensive lines. They are 4-5 but they definitely could have won some other games.”
The Presidents had their undefeated streak end Oct. 20 after a 27-20 loss to Westminster. A bye week provided needed rest and rehabilitation of mind and spirit.
But W&J trailed Saint Vincent (1-7, 1-8) midway through the second quarter, 9-6. The Presidents would go on to score the final 27 points of the game.
Some old problems popped up in that game. Jacob Sarver replaced Adam Nopotnik as the placekicker but had one attempt blocked and another miss the mark. W&J turned the ball over twice and had nine penalties for 60 yards.
“We haven’t played that well in a while,” said Sirianni. “So we have to come ready to play.”
Perone lost the starting quarterback job earlier in the season to Jake Dougherty but won it back. He has passed for 1,350 yards with more than half coming in the last four games. Walker averages four yards per carry and former Pitt recruit Alex Paulina of Canon-McMillan is a road grader at left tackle.
W&J’s junior quarterback Jacob Adams is sixth in Division III with 30 touchdown passes. His 2,485 yards place him 19th. With 15 passing yards on Saturday, Adams would give W&J a 2,500-yard passer in five straight seasons. Last year against Waynesburg, Adams completed 23 of 30 attempts for what was then a career-high 392 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-0 win that capped a 10-0 regular season.
“We have to play our best game of the season,” said Waynesburg head coach Chris Smithley, who has done a good job turning the Yellow Jackets around. “We’re excited for the opportunity to play them. We have a ton of respect for Mike and his staff. It will be a great time.”
Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.
Bloomsburg
at California
Kickoff: 1 p.m., Saturday
The success of California University’s football team will depend on the hand of Noah Mitchell. If healthy, the freshman quarterback will pose a threat to Bloomsburg. If not, then Brian Alsobrooks will play.
Mitchell injured the hand in last week’s victory over Seton Hill.
Cal could depend on the running of Nelson Brown. The junior leads the PSAC with 18 rushing touchdowns and is fifth with 987 rushing yards. He looks to become only the second player in the last six seasons to reach the 1,000-yard mark for Cal.
Bloomsburg junior running back Qmac Quiteh is the younger brother of former Husky standout Franklyn Quiteh. Qmac Quiteh was an All-PSAC East Second-Team selection in 2017 after rushing for 979 yards and eight touchdowns. Qmac Quiteh has 438 total yards.
Franklyn Quiteh became the school’s second recipient of the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2013 after finishing his career as the all-time leader in the PSAC with 7,523 rushing yards and 87 rushing touchdowns.