The Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets [1-6, 1-5] and the Saint Vincent College Bearcats [1-5, 1-4] have had similar struggles in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season, and will face off with each other at John F. Wiley stadium this Saturday at 1.30 p.m. 

2019 hasn’t been kind to Waynesburg or Saint Vincent. Both sit near the bottom of the PAC, as the Jackets are ninth and Saint Vincent is eighth in the standings.  Both teams lost last week at home, with Waynesburg falling to Grove City and Saint Vincent unable to upset conference leader Case Western Reserve. 

The Jackets stuck with the Wolverines for most of the second half, but fell 42-28. For Waynesburg, Saturday’s issues stemmed from its failure to contain Grove City’s rushing attack, which put up 439 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Predominantly lead through the legs of two individuals in Wesley Schools [324 rushing yards, five touchdowns] and Zach Trusky [91 rushing yards, 1 touchdown]. 

Saint Vincent hung around with the undefeated Spartans, but ultimately lost, 34-26. Spartans sophomore quarterback, Drew Saxton was too much for the Bearcats’ passing defense to handle as he threw for 416 and four touchdowns on the day. The Bearcats stuck around thanks in large part to the arm of junior quarterback Lorenzo Cota who threw three touchdown passes.

Capitalizing

Waynesburg had chances to score in the first half with three drives into Grove City territory, but came away with only three points. 

“When we didn’t finish the drives with points that was big for us,” head coach Chris Smithley said. “That affected us a little bit, but not to the point we weren’t resilient enough to come out and fight in the second half and get it done in the second half and almost come back and have a chance to win that game.” 

For Smithley, one of the focal points of this Saturday’s game against Saint Vincent is putting together a complete game and capitalizing on those opportunities. 

“It’s a matter of us putting those four quarters together,” he said. 

Similarities

Saint Vincent is down to its second string quarterback, just like Waynesburg. The Jackets and Bearcats hold similar records and are disappointed with the results of games so far. Despite the Bearcats subpar record and the loss of promising freshman quarterback Brady Walker, Smithley feels the Bearcats will still provide Waynesburg with a challenge.  

“They’re playing hard, I think they are going through some things that we have gone through,” Smithley said.

Coaches’ Keys

Smithley understands that Saint Vincent’s defense will be tough. 

“They’re playing really good defense right now, they’re getting after people,” Smithley said. 

Smithley also knows his offense has to perform in order for the Jackets to get a positive result. 

“We have to score points on offense,” he said. “Just slowing their defense down a little bit will create success.” 

Smithley understands that despite Saint Vincent’s record, his team is going to need to claw and scratch to come out with a win Saturday. 

“It’ll be a battle,” he said,  “and we’re going to prepare for a battle, and we have to play a good football game to win.”