During the 2017 football campaign, head football coach Chris Smithley started then-sophomore quarterback Tyler Perone for the first seven games of the season. The team went 0-7.

In the final game of that stretch, a 59-7 loss to Thomas More, Smithley switched to then-junior quarterback Jake Dougherty late in the game and he led the Yellow Jackets on a touchdown-scoring drive. Dougherty then started each of the final three games, leading Waynesburg to a 2-1 record.

Despite the tales of two quarterbacks last season, Smithley made a point to say that it would be an open competition throughout the spring and summer to determine who would be the starting quarterback in 2018. In the week leading up to game one against Muskingum, Smithley listed sophomore Tyler Srbinovich as the starting quarterback, with Perone as his backup on the two-deeps. Dougherty was not listed on the sheet.

Even as early as about an hour before the game, Smithley told reporters that Srbinovich was going to start, but that all three quarterbacks could see time depending on the flow of the game. By the end of the first quarter, each of the three quarterbacks had seen action for at least one play, and all of them had multiple series by the end of the first half against Muskingum. Despite the constant change at quarterback, the Yellow Jackets entered halftime with a 17-7 lead over the Muskies and were receiving the second half kickoff.

Things turned south quickly in the third quarter for the Yellow Jackets, as Muskingum rattled off 17 straight points while the Waynesburg offense struggled with Perone at the helm to take a 24-17 lead. Ten of those points came late in the third quarter across seven seconds after the Muskies kicked a field goal and then recovered a fumble in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff by sophomore JuWuan Jones.

“It was critical, it was the critical error that changed the momentum and changed so many things,” said Smithley of the fumbled kick return.

Dougherty took over again at quarterback after Muskingum grabbed the lead back, and managed to tie the game back at 24-24 with 9:20 left to go in the game with a three-yard run. However, Muskie quarterback Brody Hahn connected with senior tight end Granger Long for a 20-yard score with just under two minutes to go in the game to swing the game back into Muskingum’s favor, 31-24.

Waynesburg got one more shot to tie the game back up, but with Dougherty still at the helm, the Yellow Jackets were unable to put together a game-saving drive, making it to the Muskingum 32-yard line before turning it over on downs and allowing the Muskies to kneel down and take game one of the 2018 season.

Dougherty ended up seeing the most time of the three quarterbacks in the game, finishing his afternoon 6-11 for 70 yards in the air and adding 11 carries for 20 yards and two touchdowns. Perone put in a 7-15 effort for 151 yards and a touchdown in the air, while Srbinovich completed his day 1-3 for six yards in the air, and added two carries for nine yards on the ground.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to get into the game or not, but when my number was called…I just left it all out there on the field and that’s all I really ask of myself and that’s what I tried to do,” said Dougherty. “I tried to man us up and run the ball a little bit and try to make some plays, but we have to come through in the end.”

Going forward, Smithley is going to continue to ride the hot hand at quarterback and the one who is performing is going to get the most snaps each week.

“We’re going to do this by committee. [Perone] came in and…he’s a really good thrower, he reads defenses really well,” Smithley said. “But [Dougherty] is a great leader. [Dougherty] is a guy who is going to put his shoulder down and he’s going to earn that extra couple of yards. That was something that we felt like today in this game we needed, so that’s where we went with [Dougherty]…These guys—whoever is [producing] is going to be the guy that we’re going to go with—and that could be a week-to-week basis.”

Quarterback situation aside, sophomore wide receiver Cole Booth had arguably the best game of his young career as a Yellow Jacket, catching four passes for 139 yards and touchdown. His 72-yard touchdown catch from Perone in the second quarter gave Waynesburg a 14-7 lead at that time.

“Last year we didn’t have a whole lot of spark plays…when a kid steps up, especially a sophomore like Cole Booth, he’s not even supposed to be the one stepping up—the seniors and juniors are supposed to,” said Dougherty. “So when he steps up and makes a guy miss and takes it 60 yards, we need more of that—just guys stepping up.”

Junior running back Chad Walker had a productive day as well, carrying the ball 17 times for 72 yards. Freshman Jordan Taylor added 30 yards on 11 carries.

One thing that Smithley noted was the injuries to the defense that impacted the game, including the absence of senior cornerback Justin Willkow, a second-team all-PAC selection last season, who missed the Muskingum game with an injury.

“I feel like we’re really strong when we’re all healthy,” said Smithley. “We have some guys on that defense that are bruised and banged up…that depth there on defense is definitely something we have to work to improve. Coach Venick—he’s the best defensive coordinator I’ve ever been around in my life. I’m fully confident in him getting that job done with those guys and bringing them along.”

Next week, the Yellow Jackets will play host to the Westminster Titans in a non-conference affair Saturday, Sept. 8 at Wiley Stadium. Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m.

“We just have to continue to believe in what we’re doing and we are better,” Smithley said. “We are a better football team right now than we were one year ago. We’re going to keep working and we’re going to come out next week and give Westminster everything they can handle.”