Nov 14, 2014 4 min read

The playoff picture is decided in PAC football.

Just about everything is settled, except for one important aspect: the bragging rights for players at Waynesburg and Washington & Jefferson.

That happens today when the two teams play at Wiley Stadium (1:30 p.m. kickoff) in the regular-season finale.

The conference likes to call it Rivalry Week, but W&J head coach Mike Sirianni doesn’t see this as much of a rivalry.

“It’s a rivalry when the other team wins once in a while,” he said. “They haven’t won since 2003. Our rivalry is with Thomas More now.”

Others disagree.

“We always look forward to this game,” said center John Wanner, one of four seniors for W&J. “It’s a rivalry and always a good football atmosphere. I couldn’t think of a better way to end it (in my last regular-season game).”

W&J (7-0, 9-0) clinched the automatic bid from the conference to the NCAA Division III playoffs and a possible first-round home game is on the line. The Presidents will learn their fate Sunday night during the NCAA selection show.

Waynesburg (5-2, 7-2) can finish as high as third place in the conference and could receive an invitation to an ECAC Bowl. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a bye week following a 21-14 loss to Thomas More in Week 9.

“We’ve got a large group of people who will be playing for the last time in the regular season for us,” said Waynesburg head coach Rick Shepas. “We have 25 seniors and quite a few are starters. They want to win this game.”

The game showcases two of the best quarterbacks in the PAC. W&J’s Pete Coughlin leads the PAC with an average of 292 yards per game and Waynesburg’s Carter Hill is second at 232. The two are first and fourth in passing efficiency.

W&J and Waynesburg also are first and third in scoring offense and total offense, respectively.

So, the game plan for each school is obvious.

“Waynesburg is explosive on offense,” said Sirianni. “Carter Hill can make throws under pressure. He’s really accurate. He knows the offense like the back of his hand. He’s brought them back to win in the fourth quarter numerous times.”

Hill has completed 56 percent of his passes for 2,151 yards and 25 touchdowns. Coughlin has hit on 70 percent of his passes for 2,630 yards and 27 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just four times.

Shepas believes the X-factor could be Waynesburg tailback Jake Forsythe, who is one of three players to surpass 1,000 yards in the PAC this season, with 1,080. The other two are Domonique Hayden of Thomas More at 1,426 and Ryan Ruffing of W&J at 1,354.

“To win this game, we have to be able to run the ball,” said Shepas. “We have to have that balance in our attack. Our defense knows how good their offense is. We know they are going to score. We just can’t let it (get out of hand).”

The Yellow Jackets have been slow starters this season, trailing Saint Vincent by seven points and Geneva by one at halftime in wins and by 19 to Bethany and seven to Thomas More at the halves in losses. This has been a second-half team, outscoring opponents by a 2-1 margin.

There have been no such problems for W&J, which averages 48 points and nearly six touchdowns per game.

“We’re focused on one game each week, and this week it’s Waynesburg,” said Sirianni. “I don’t care who we play or where we play, we’re thinking about one win. If we have enough at the end of the season, we get to hold up a championship trophy.”

Ruffing had a career-best 196 yards rushing last week at Thiel and moved to fifth in the nation. He needs 146 yards to become the third rusher in W&J’s program to gain 1,500 in a season.

“We can’t look past the running game,” said defensive tackle J.T. Thompson, who is third on Waynesburg’s team with 6 1/2 tackles for losses. “They have a lot of talent back there.”

Thompson said one of the keys is keeping the game in perspective.

“I think for the past couple of years, we’ve put too much pressure on ourselves getting ready for this game,” he said. “So we’re trying to act like this is just another game.”