With playoff spot all but gone, W&J looks for winning ending
Turnovers and mistakes proved a fatal combination to Washington & Jefferson College’s football team last week.
A 16-10 loss to Westminster ended any chance of the Presidents earning a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Titans scored all but three points off two interceptions and a third-down pass interference penalty on W&J that kept a drive alive.
“I knew this was a possibility that we would struggle this year,” said head coach Mike Sirianni. “They (the Titans) are a good team. I’m not surprised. We’ll try to win these next games and use it as building blocks and get our program back to a (playoff program). It was a winnable game … and they made some plays. They took advantage and we didn’t.”
W&J, in fifth place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with a 3-2 mark, has home games with Saint Vincent Saturday (2 p.m. kickoff) and Geneva before traveling to rival Waynesburg for the regular-season finale. The possibility exists for the Presidents to play in an ECAC Bowl Game.
Sirianni said he expects a strong finish to the season.
“I told them I would never sacrifice wins to play younger kids,” Sirianni said. “We’re going to try to get some players who didn’t play a lot some playing time in however many games are left. … It’s an opportunity to get seniors to go out on a winning note and make it an extension for the 2017 season.”
Quarterback Pete Coughlin had his worst game of the season, completing 17 of 31 attempts for 191 yards and three interceptions, matching his season total. He did not throw a touchdown, which had not happened since Week 2 of last season.
That also happened against Westminster.
Saint Vincent quarterback Derek Stewart is 98 yards away from reaching 2,000 passing yards. He has 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 237 attempts for the Bearcats (2-3, 4-3).
Kickoff: Noon, Saturday
California University is two victories away from winning the PSAC West Division conference title.
The Vilcans’ games against this week’s opponent, Mercyhurst (1-4, 2-6), have always been close. Cal (5-0, 7-0) won 17-6 last year but the series is tied 4-4 in the last eight meetings. The Lakers have won four of the last six meetings against the Vulcans. The two programs never met until Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008.
Cal was second in the first Super Region One rankings released Monday. The top seven teams earn playoff berths. The Vulcans jumped two places to No. 6 in the AFCA Top 25 poll
Senior wide receiver Garry Brown broke the career reception record (165 by Perry Kemp) last week. Brown holds the all-time school records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Mercyhurst quarterback Doug Altavilla is the cousin of former Mercyhurst All-America pitcher Dan Altavilla, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Seattle Mariners this season. He’s coming off a 404-yard, 4-TD performance in a loss to Seton Hill last week.
Kickoff: 7 p.m., Saturday
A season-long problem wiped away any chance of extending Waynesburg University’s winning streak to three games. The Yellow Jackets rushed 23 times for 29 yards in a 40-7 loss to PAC leader Thomas More two weeks ago.
Coming off a bye week, Waynesburg (2-3, 2-5) has a chance to get back on the winning track with a night game at Thiel (1-4, 2-5). A win here and another at Saint Vincent (2-3, 4-3) the following week would make four wins in five games heading into the regular-season finale against rival Washington & Jefferson.
Waynesburg is last in the PAC in rushing with 70.4 yards per game and last in scoring at 12.0 points. But the quarterback position, which has had three starters this season, has been effective. Tyler Perone, a 6-3 freshman from Venetia who attended Seton-La Salle, has thrown for 595 yards in three starts. Freshman Aaron Jenkins had 200 yards passing in his only start and has 291 total.
Thiel’s offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Ryan Radke, who has rushed for 96 yards per game and passed for an average of 220.