Sep 25, 2019 4 min read

If Grove City’s football team is going to snap a seven-game losing streak against Washington & Jefferson College, this might be the most opportune time.

The Presidents, coming off a surprising 20-13 loss at Carnegie Mellon in last week’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference game, will travel to Grove City Saturday minus two key players on offense.

All-everything wide receiver Andrew Wolf is probably lost for the season with a lower leg injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage against Mount Union and exacerbated over the first three games of the regular season.

Tailback Jordan West, a Wash High graduate, suffered a severely sprained ankle and will not play against Grove City. His status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.

“He’s going to miss this week and maybe multiple weeks,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni of West. “We’re going to have to go to the drawing board and see what we can do.”

Wolf caught 79 passes for 1,339 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore last year. He was nearly unstoppable for opposing teams’ secondaries, but this year he and senior quarterback Jake Adams have had a hard time making a connection. Wolf had two of his worst receiving games to start the season.

Wolf caught three passes for a net of zero yards in a 16-8 victory over Wittenberg in the season opener and had three receptions for 21 yards in the 20-13 loss to CMU.

“We’re pretty sure that Andrew is going to be out the rest of the season,” said Sirianni. “We probably shouldn’t have played him this past week. We’re getting tests done but we’re pretty sure he’s going to miss the remainder of the season. He’s a junior and still has a life ahead of him.”

West rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last season and scored 14 touchdowns. The senior was off to a ragged start, rushing for 135 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns.

Sirianni said he does not want to move Trinity High School graduate Joey Koroly back to the tailback position. Koroly was moved to the secondary at the start of camp and has played well there. He also has been productive on the return teams.

EJ Thompson, who gained more than 700 yards rushing last season as West’s backup, moves into the starting spot. He has rushed for 134 yards and has not gotten into the end zone in the first three games.

What’s made matters worse is the shaky play on the offensive line. Last week, Adams was sacked six times and the running game produced just 69 yards on 33 carries.

Adams’ production has been affected as he has thrown for just 548 yards and his completion percentage is a pedestrian 51%.

Grove City, meanwhile, is coming off a 52-14 loss against Case Western Reserve that snapped a nine-game winning streak going back to last season.

The last time Grove City beat W&J (1-1, 2-1) was 2011, a fact Wolverine head coach Andrew DiDonato does not shy away from talking about at practice.

“We always tell our kids to own our story,” he said. “That’s part of our story. It reminds us of how far we’ve come and it shows how we have progressed, brick by brick.”

Grove City (1-1, 2-1) has been led by a strong, senior-dominated offensive line and the running of senior tailback Wesley Schools.

Grove City’s defense is led by linebackers Luke Salerno and Parker Kilgore, who have combine for 67 tackles and recovered two fumbles. The Wolverine are allowing an average of 3.6 yards per rush.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Waynesburg at Geneva

Waynesburg University is looking to snap a three-game losing streak this week when the Yellow Jackets travel to Geneva for a 3 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

Waynesburg, which is 0-2 in the PAC, could not hold on to an early 10-0 lead against Bethany and suffered a 41-17 loss at Wiley Stadium last week.

Geneva (1-1, 1-2) got its first win of the season last week, defeating Thiel, 45-10, in Beaver Falls.

California at Edinboro

California University rebounded from a loss to Kutztown two weeks ago by routing Shippensburg, 58-7, in a PSAC crossover game at Adamson Stadium. Edinboro is up next with a noon kickoff Saturday.

Quarterback Noah Mitchell rebounded from a four-turnover game against Kutztown by passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns without an interception against Shippensburg.

Edinboro is coming off three consecutive losses to start the season, the latest a 34-14 decision to East Stroudsburg.

This is the PSAC West opener for both teams.