Oct 26, 2019 4 min read

They won the statistics battle but lost the game.

And you can blame the usual suspects.

The Washington & Jefferson College football team made enough mistakes to negate a massive offensive showing and derail a second-half rally to fall to Westminster, 28-21, in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

W&J fell to 5-3, 4-3 in the conference, while Westminster moved to 6-2, including 5-2 in the PAC.

“We made too many mistakes,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “They made the plays when they had to make a play and we didn’t. We played a good first half. We just couldn’t get the ball in the end zone and that’s our fault.”

W&J’s home winning streak ended at 36 regular-season games. The last regular-season loss at Cameron Stadium was in the 2012 opener, 28-24, against St. John Fisher. The last three-loss season came in 2013: St. John Fisher, Bethany and Mount Union.

W&J senior quarterback Jake Adams threw for a school single-game record of 499 yards and three touchdowns but he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown that made it 21-0. Adams’ favorite target was Payton Skalos, who had career highs of 16 catches and 220 yards.

“At halftime, our coaches made good adjustments,” said Adams. “We looked in the mirror and said we could either fight or fold. We put up a good fight but it just didn’t come out our way.”

The Presidents’ defense allowed Westminster to possess the ball for just 26 of the 60 minutes, but they gave up three long touchdown runs to tailback Keano Grice, the final one a 42-yard game-winner with 5:52 to play. It came two plays after W&J climbed all the way back from a 21-0 deficit and tied the game on Adams’ third touchdown pass, an 18-yarder to Jordan West.

“That run was as good as you’re going to see and it was all him,” said Westminster coach Scott Benzel. “We needed it because we were struggling. At halftime, I told our guys be ready for a surge. This is not going to be easy. … We were just one play better than them.”

Grice finished with 189 yards on 17 carries.

After Grice gave Westminster a 28-21 lead with just under six minutes remaining, W&J had three tries to either tie or win the game. The first series ended with a punt. The second with Adams being intercepted by defensive back Ian Barr and the third with a fourth-down pass falling harmlessly in the end zone. Adams completed 34 of 57 passes.

The one pass Adams would most like to have back came on second down at the Titans 14-yard line. He found Cameron O’Brien wide open in the flat and threw behind him.

And some of the same goblins returned to haunt the Presidents. They missed an extra-point attempt, came away with zero points on four trips inside the Westminster 30 and missed a 30-yard field goal.

The first half was a tale of missed opportunities for W&J and it resulted in a 21-0 deficit.

Three times the Presidents reach the red zone and came away with no points. One drive ended in a missed 30-yard field goal and another on a fourth-down incompletion.

The third time was a killer. Adams lofted a pass to the front, left pylon for wide receiver Cameron O’Brien. The pass hit a leaping O’Brien in the hands and bounced off and into the hands of free safety Aaron Pierce, who returned it 100 yards for a back-breaking and a 21-0 lead for the Titans.

“There was a miscommunication on that play,” said Adams. “It was my fault.”

The Presidents could not get the running game going, gaining just 25 yards on 18 carries, and finishing with 70 on 34 tries.

Grice scored on runs of 25 and 71 yards to make it 14-0.