It had been 322 days since the Yellow Jackets won a football game.

Waynesburg broke that streak last week against Geneva College, a school that holds the best rushing offense in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and ranked eighth in all of Division III.

The Waynesburg defense held Geneva to just seven points and 208 yards rushing— well below their average of 328 yards per game going into the contest.

While the defense kept the Golden Tornadoes at bay, the Yellow Jacket offense couldn’t score until the fourth quarter. Then, with 13:22 remaining, junior quarterback Tyler Perone connected with sophomore receiver Cole Booth for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game. The contest ultimately came down to a 20-yard game winning field goal by freshman Garrett Horne with only 14 seconds left on the clock to clinch the Yellow Jackets first victory.

While the Yellow Jackets have picked up their first win of the season, the Thiel Tomcats are still searching. Last week, Thiel matched up against an undefeated Case Western Reserve squad. Even though the Tomcats put up 20 points in the game, Case Western more than tripled it, winning the game 63-20. It was an offensive mismatch with the Spartans putting up 532 yards of total offense compared to Thiel’s 162.

With an opportunity to pick up back-to-back wins, head coach Chris Smithley said there are multiple areas the team is focusing on against the Tomcats.

Don’t Underestimate

While Thiel has begun the season 0-4, it’s opponents through the first four weeks have been just the opposite. Half the teams the Tomcats faced have been undefeated so far this season, which are 2017 PAC co-champions Washington & Jefferson and Case Western Reserve.

“Things are kind of skewed [with Thiel],” said Smithley. “You look at the scores of the games that they have played but you also have to look at the opponents.”

With a tendency to play at the level of their competition, Smithley said the team is focusing on staying composed against Thiel.

Remain Balanced

Against the Tomcats, Smithley said he aims for the team to remain collected both offensively and defensively. While running the ball is one of this week’s focuses, Smithley said he also wants to have a passing option against Thiel.

“We definitely have some things that we like [offensively],” Smithley said. “We need to have a really good game running the football again, but we also need to make sure that we’re balancing this thing up and we’re able to throw the ball in the air – just to keep them honest as a defense.”

Red Zone Composure

So far this season, the Yellow Jackets only have a 25 percent touchdown conversion rate when in the red zone. Additionally, the team only scores 50 percent of the time in total when within the opponent’s 20-yard line, whether it’s a touchdown or a field goal.

“Obviously scoring points and capitalizing on some red zone things [is a goal] that we need to continue to get better at,” Smithley said.

Kickoff for Waynesburg’s game against Thiel is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.