W&J flies past Waynesburg in opener
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
W&J’s Payton Skalos (14) celebrates his touchdown Friday night with Angelo Fratini in the first quarter against Waynesburg. The Presidents rolled to a 66-0 victory in the PAC opener for both teams at John F. Wiley Stadium.
Holly Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson quarterback Justin Heacock will start against John Carroll Saturday afternoon.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg quarterback Mason Schrenker drops the football on a play against W&J in the second quarter Friday night.
Holly Tonini/For the Observer-Reporter
W&J’s Andrew Wolf makes one of his eight pass receptions against Waynesburg Friday night.
Washington & Jefferson's Jack Ryan (22) tries to get past a tackle attempt by Wayesburg's Jerod Witwicki during the second quarter Friday night.
Waynesburg's Nick Hall (24) squeezes through a hole with the help of Dave Headlee (52) and Nick Beaton (67) against W&J.
W&J's Andrew Wolf scores a touchdown as he is brought down by Waynesburg's Vinny Sammartino Friday night in the PAC opener. W&J rolled to a 66-0 win.
W&J's Joey Koroly missed last season's game against Westminster and is eager to play against the Titans Saturday.
WAYNESBURG – It’s been 16 months since Washington & Jefferson played a meaningful football game.
Just imagine how good the Presidents are going to be once the rust wears off.
Running and passing the football like only a week had passed since the Presidents came away with a 20-17 victory over Ithaca in the ECAC Bushnell Bowl Nov. 23, 2019, W&J crushed rival Waynesburg 66-0 at John F. Wiley Stadium on a cool Friday evening.
Quarterback Justin Heacock looked a lot like Jacob Adams, throwing the football for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a little under a half.
“I knew Justin was going to be just fine,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “He even pulled it down and ran with it. He made good decisions. We run the (run-pass-option) and he does it so well. He knows when to give it up the middle and when to get it outside.”
Trinity graduate Joey Koroly looked a lot like Jordan West, rushing five times for 25 yards and a touchdown in a little more than a quarter.
“We were sharp in some things and not in others,” said Sirianni. “We need to run the ball a little better.”
Andrew Wolf, who also played just a half, had eight receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Payton Skalos had four receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns. And TJ Troxell caught the attention of the coaches with three receptions for 82 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown.
“It’s a good start to a mini-season,” said Sirianni.
Colten Jones finished hitting 5 of 9 attempts for 99 yards and a touchdown.
W&J scored early and often in building a 42-0 halftime lead. Seven possessions produced seven touchdowns, as proficient as a team can be.
Heacock threw two touchdown passes each to Andrew Wolf and Payton Skalos and ran one in from 10 yards.
Koroly scored the only touchdown that came on the ground, busting over from 21 yards with 2:37 left in the first quarter.
Before he was replaced by freshman Colton Jones, Heacock completed 17 of 22 passes for 201 yards and the four touchdowns. He was not sacked and did not throw an interceptions.
W&J defense bottled up the Waynesburg offense in the first half, allowing only two first downs. Mason Schrenker and transfer Tyler Raines passed for a combined 15 yards. Both were sacked twice. The running game produced nine yards on 20 tries.
The Yellow Jackets couldn’t get across the goal line in the third quarter, when W&J added 17 more points, including 22-yard field goal by Sean Disbrow, who finished with 11 points.
Notes
In a classy move by Waynesburg, a pregame moment of silence was held to honor the death and life of W&J coach Todd Young, who died last year of cancer. … W&J showed off new uniforms, bright red pants, white shirts, black numbers.