Nov 7, 2012 3 min read

If Waynesburg University manages to complete an undefeated regular season with a win over Washington & Jefferson Saturday at Wiley Stadium, at least four of those victories can be credited to the play of special teams.

The Yellow Jackets (7-0, 9-0) want to complete their first undefeated regular season since 1966, win the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title and receive a home game in the NCAA Division III playoffs. It would surprise no one if their special teams provided the key plays.

This might be the best season of special teams under assistant coach Jason Falvo because of the proficiency in all phases.

“Coach Falvo does a great job game-planning for special teams,” said Matt Krause, a senior defensive lineman. “You should see them getting at it in practice.”

Consider:

n In the season-opener, Travis Kuhn blocked a punt that set up a short touchdown and ignited a 20-point fourth quarter that gave Waynesburg a 34-23 victory over Muskingum.

n In Week 4, Willie Leavell blocked and returned a punt for a touchdown with 6:44 to play to give the Yellow Jackets a 14-10 victory against Thomas More.

n The following week, pressure up the middle caused Thiel’s Cody McClelland to miss an extra-point attempt in the second quarter. Waynesburg went on to a 20-19 victory.

n In Week 7, Waynesburg blocked two Justin Evans extra-point attempts on the way to a 23-21 victory over Bethany. Alex Henry made a 26-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining to win it.

n In Week 8, Waynesburg blocked an extra-point attempt by Bryan Visingardi in the first quarter and that made the difference in a 21-20 victory over Geneva.

“Obviously, everyone knew in the preseason that there would be an emphasis on special teams,” said Yellow Jackets head coach Rick Shepas. “It’s not like it’s a secret. Special teams have held us back at times. That motivated us to improve. We’ve had some great return games (in the past) so I don’t know if you can sit back and say this is the best special teams we’ve had.”

One of the best return men in Waynesburg’s history was Scott Cree, who graduated in 2010. Over his final two seasons, Cree returned four kickoffs and two punts for touchdowns. Cree was so feared a return man that teams would routinely kick the ball out of bounds rather than allow Cree to return it.

This season, Christian Jackson is having a strong season in the return game. He leads the PAC in kickoff returns with a 32-yard average, six yards better than second-place Darius Brown of Saint Vincent. Jackson is second in the conference in punt returns, trailing Adam Rauch’s 9.7-yard average by one yard, but hasn’t returned one for a touchdown yet. Henry is perfect on all 26 extra-point attempts and Zack Rogers leads the PAC in punting with a 38.8-yard average.

“They may be the best (special teams) we played against this year,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “That’s the reason we won last week against Geneva. There are going to be two very special teams out there (Saturday). As much as we worry about their special teams, they should worry about ours.”