Waynesburg needed a lot to go right in order to take down the No. 18 team in Division III football, Case Western Reserve University. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the multi-dimensional offense of the Spartans was too much to handle on Saturday night under the lights as Waynesburg fell 56-21.
“We just had to want it more. I didn’t like the way we took the field, and I didn’t like the way we started the game,” said head coach Chris Smithley. “That’s on me as the head coach. We have to play with more heart, we have to play with more fire when we come into an environment like this and seize the opportunity that we have in front of us.”
The first quarter was all Case Western (3-0, 2-0). Senior fullback Jacob Burke opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run early in the quarter, and then senior quarterback Rob Cuda connected with senior running back Aaron Aguilar for another 6-yard score to give the Spartans the early 14-0 lead.
Things began to swing in Waynesburg’s (0-4, 0-2) favor late in the second quarter as sophomore quarterback Tyler Perone found freshman wide receiver JaWuan Jones for a 35-yard touchdown with just over four minutes left in the half following senior linebacker Brent Blaharczyk’s first career interception.
Leading 14-7, the Spartans tallied two quick scores before the end of the second quarter to widen the lead to 28-7 entering halftime.
Waynesburg came out strong in the second half, scoring on its first drive as Perone found sophomore running back Chad Walker for a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the game back within two scores.
Case Western responded with 21 straight points to put the game out of reach. Perone found Jones for another touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the Spartans sealed the deal with a 45-yard touchdown run in the closing minute of the game to bring it to its final of 56-21.
The Spartans collected nearly 600 yards of total offense in the game, which includes 281 total rushing yards and five scores on the ground. Cuda finished the evening going 17-26 for 314 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Perone finished the night going 18-32 for 181 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His three touchdown passes are the most he has thrown for in a single game in his collegiate career.
As he continues to improve, Perone knows that he and the team still have a lot to work on in the coming weeks.
“We just really wanted to stick to our game plan, focus better and play as a team. It just didn’t end up happening the way we planned it to,” said Perone. “We didn’t come out and start the game the way we wanted to—we started with four three-and-outs. We just didn’t want to start that way and we did. I felt we rebounded well, but it still just wasn’t enough. We still didn’t come together as a team tonight.”
However, Perone is hopeful for the teams future.
“I’m definitely starting to develop a rapport with some of the wide receivers. Just starting to understand where they’re going to be on things based on defensive alignments and where I need to be reading,” he said. “I felt comfortable up there tonight, just unfortunately didn’t get it done. It’s frustrating. We just have to keep grinding, playing as a team and just working to get better.”
Junior running back Austin Wilson led the Yellow Jacket rushing and receiving attack, notching 69 yards on 15 carries and reeling in six passes for 47 yards.
From a defensive standpoint, sophomore defensive back VaShon Graham paced the Jacket defense with 10 total tackles, including six solo. Sophomore defensive back Dan Verhovsek added nine total tackles and senior defensive lineman James Roundtree III managed 1.5 sacks in the contest.
“We just have to get back to wanting to get it done and get better in every facet of the game,” said Smithley. “We have to block better, we have to throw better, we have to make better decisions and we have to tackle better. It’s back to basics this week.”
The Yellow Jackets are back in action Saturday, Sept. 30 as they host Grove City, who just notched their first win since 2013 this past Saturday against Saint Vincent, for their Homecoming game. The Presidents Athletic Conference matchup is slated for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.