Apr 22, 2021 3 min read

It’s an interesting question.

Did last week’s second bye week work in favor of or against the Washington & Jefferson football team?

The Presidents were supposed to play Bethany with a spot in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship game on the line.

But the Bison were forced to cancel the game because of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting some players, leaving W&J with only one home game this season.

There are two ways to look at it. The week off was either a good thing because it allowed W&J to rest some players and bring some players to top health or the week off will allow the Presidents to get complacent, especially since there is no NCAA Division III championship playoffs.

“It’s bad. We’re supposed to get four games. Instead we get three games and only one home game,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “We wanted another home game. Even though we have most of our team back, there are a few who aren’t coming back. And we could have recognized them. They deserved to be recognized.”

The PAC had its football season erased last fall because of the pandemic. It was resurrected this spring with each team playing a five-game schedule. The conference was split in two – North and South divisions – and the team with the best record in each division play for the title.

“I think it will help us,” said linebacker Sean Doran of the week off. “Rest is always good. We didn’t take the week off necessarily. It was an extra week to rest our bodies and that should help us in the end.”

In Westminster, which is 4-0 with a harder schedule, there is a bit of a rivalry developing. The Titans earned their spot in the championship game with a 32-22 victory over Carnegie Mellon.

“I think it’s a respectful rivalry,” said Sirianni. “It doesn’t have to be friendly. They have really good players, good coaches and a good football team. They present problems other schools don’t. They are really good up front with a good defensive line. They probably have the best interior lines in the conference.”

Westminster lives of dies on the arm of quarterback Greg Konieczky, who has thrown for 857 yards, eight touchdowns and only two interceptions. Tylon Eilam is the leading receiver with 21 catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Gomes is the leading rusher with 311 yards and two touchdowns.

He has rushed the ball 58 times and has only three yards in losses.

W&J is led by quarterback Justin Heacock, who has passed for 621 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Andrew Wolf leads the team with 26 receptions for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Trinity graduate Joey Koroly leads a running attack that has W&J is led by quarterback Justin Heacock, produced 536 yards with 290 yards and four touchdowns,

“There is no secret that we were in the lesser of the two divisions,” said Sirianni. “That’s obvious with the scores of the games. (Heacock) will be under more pressure than ever before. So yes, this will be an indication of what he can do. We think we have something special in him but we’ll get a better indicatiion with the speed they have.”