Apr 15, 2021 3 min read

Joey Koroly just keeps on surprising his teammates on Washington & Jefferson College’s football team.

The Trinity High School graduate slipped seemlessly into the lead tailback position this spring, replacing Wash High graduate Jordan West, who graduated, and made people forget power running back EJ Thompson, who did not return to school in January.

After a 42-14 victory over Saint Vincent last week, Koroly unleashed a different side to his game. He caught a career-high seven passes for 45 yards and a touchdown from quarterback Justin Heacock to go with 127 yards rushing on 22 carries.

“That’s the most receptions I’ve had in a game,” said Koroly. “When the receivers weren’t open, I would slip out of the backfield and Justin would find me. He has confidence in me and I have confidence in him to find me.”

“We’ve been working on it in practice, finding him,” said Heacock. “I’ve been trying to get the ball to him when things break down. And he’s done a good job getting open. The line is giving me time so I give them credit too.”

The win over Saint Vincent was W&J’s third in a row. A victory over feisty Bethany tonight (7 p.m.) at Cameron Stadium, and the Presidents will reach the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title game. Westminster, which eked out a victory over Grove City last week, needs to defeat Carnegie-Mellon tonight to earn the other spot in the PAC title game, which will be held next Friday.

If Westminster makes the title game, the Titans will host W&J.

“We’re just worried about one game at a time,” said Heacock, who like Koroly is having a strong season. “Getting better each day at practice, that’s important.”

Koroly has been a bright spot in the offense. His statistics over a 10-game season work out to 999 yards rushing, 27 receptions and 189 receiving yards. That’s taking into account a 5-rush, 25-yard effort in the opener against Waynesburg, a 66-0 rout where Koroly played less than one half.

Koroly started his freshman season at W&J as a man without a position. As a freshman, he was third in line behind West and Thompson at tailback. As a sophomore, he was switched to defensive back to get his talent on the field.

This spring, after losing an entire fall to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koroly seems to have a stranglehold on the tailback position, and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to relinquish it.

Against Bethany, W&J has won the last six meetings and nine of the last 10 games. W&J owns the series, 90-21, with a 69-21 win the last time these two teams met.

“It’s been an adjustment coming back after not playing for so long, but we’re taking it week by week,” Koroly said. “We’re looking forward to Bethany.”

Bethany comes into the game with a 1-2 record with a lone win against Waynesburg. The Bison defense has allowed 42 points to Westminster and 35 to Saint Vincent.

The Presidents have permitted just 20 points in three games and none in the first quarter. Linebacker Alex Bellinotti leads the team with 20 tackles. Linebackers Sean Doran and Justin Johns are tied for second with 17.