RECAP: Jackets fall to Muskingum in season opener

After being tied 14-14 at the half, the Yellow Jacket defense gave up 17 points in the second half to lose the season opener to the Muskingum Muskies in New Concord, Ohio, 31-20.

Head coach Chris Smithley saw it as a back and forth affair that could’ve gone either way.

“We talked at halftime about [how] it was going to be battle,” Smithley said.  “That pendulum was going to swing one way or the other in the third quarter, we wanted it to swing in our direction, but unfortunately it went in a different direction.”

The Muskies struck early in the first quarter, when quarterback Brody Hahn ran it in from 14-yards out to go up 7-0.

Later in the quarter, the young defense of the Jackets forced a turnover, and one of its senior members, Tyler Smith made the play.

Smith forced the fumble which set Waynesburg up with solid field position, leading to its first score of the day. Senior quarterback Tyler Perone cut the deficit to 7-6 on a 1-yard touchdown run. 

“That’s what our defense does,” Smithley said. “We would’ve loved to create a couple more turnovers today.” 

Muskingum’s Hahn answered back with another rushing touchdown, from 3-yards out, to put the Muskies up 14-6 with 7:03 remaining in the first half.

The Jackets answered later in the quarter, scoring with 55 seconds to go in the first half. Perone jammed himself into the end zone from 1-yard out to knot things up at 14 heading into the break. 

“We faced a little adversity and overcame it tying the game up before halftime,” Smithley said. “We had some adjustments for the second half, but we didn’t have many. It was coming down to us doing the basic, fundamental things.”

The teams traded touchdowns again in the third quarter.  Junior receiver Howard Metzger Jr. made a leaping grab in the end zone to pull the Jackets within one point, 21-20.

The fourth quarter began with a drive for the Muskies that resulted in a 30-yard field goal from Gavin Costello. The Jackets had a few opportunities in the final 15 minutes,  before Hahn connected with Kirkland Davis for his first touchdown through the air for the season. With the extra point, the Muskies went up 31-20 and held on to pick up their first win of 2019.

Despite the loss, Smithley found some areas of encouragement to build on for the rest of the season. 

“I thought we did some good things,” he said. “We missed three big [plays] that completely changed that football game where we have guys wide-open and we missed them long or we have one that we should catch and dropped it. Those are the big things that would’ve been a difference maker in that game for us.”

The Jackets will begin Presidents’ Athletic Conference play next Saturday when the head north on I-79 for a tilt with the Westminster Titans at 1 p.m. The Titans opened up their season with a 66-7 pounding of Capital College Thursday night. The Jackets haven’t beat Westminster since the 2014 season. 

“We know it’s going to be a battle, it always is,” Smithley said. “Westminster is one of our more physical games throughout the year and we know that coming in. At the end of the day, it’s not about them it’s about us and we [have] got to take care of our business before we worry about any open. We’re going to try and come out and get a W next week at Westminster.”