After a rough September and most of October, the Waynesburg University football team is enjoying its first winning streak of the season following a 31-21 victory over Saint Vincent College this past Saturday. The senior day victory gave the Yellow Jackets their second win of the season as they head into the season finale against Washington & Jefferson College.

It was another offensive explosion for the Waynesburg offense with junior quarterback Jake Dougherty at the helm.

The rushing attack thrived again against one of the worst run defenses in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference as Waynesburg combined to run for 170 yards on 43 carries as a team, with junior running back Austin Wilson leading the charge with 102 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts.

The Bearcats and Yellow Jackets played back and forth football as each team exchanged blows in the first quarter. Waynesburg put together consecutive drives in the first to tie the game each time as Dougherty scored from a yard out then Wilson took one in with just seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage in the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Garret Guthrie, followed by a pick-six from junior defensive back Justin Willkow to make it 24-14. The defensive touchdown was the first for the Yellow Jackets since the 2014 season.

The teams would play even football in the second half, with the third quarter going scoreless. The fourth frame would provide a touchdown for each team as freshman Hayden Belcher added Waynesburg’s final score with a 2-yard run to push the lead back to 10.

The seniors got the win on their day as the Yellow Jackets finished off Saint Vincent by a score of 31-21 to move to 2-7 overall and 2-5 in PAC play.

W&J managed to continue its run for a perfect season by defeating Geneva 31-17 this past Saturday to move to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in conference action. With backup quarterback Jacob Adams at the helm in place of the injured Alex Rowse, the Presidents opted for a run-heavy attack as sophomore running back Jordan West headed a run game that gathered 236 yards on 54 attempts and four scores. West accounted for 154 yards on 36 attempts and three of those touchdowns himself. Adams finished the afternoon 21-29 for 214 yards and an interception and found the team’s top wide receiver, senior Jesse Zubik, eight times for 115 yards.

With one game left on the 2017 docket, head coach Chris Smithley looks at the things to take advantage of against the rival-Presidents this upcoming Saturday.

Play spoiler

With Waynesburg sitting at 2-5 in PAC play, they are not in contention to win the conference in 2017. The Yellow Jackets opponent on Saturday however, is. The Presidents have a chance to win the PAC title yet again if they beat the Yellow Jackets Saturday afternoon.

With it being rivalry week and the Yellow Jackets having nothing to lose, Smithley wants his team to play spoiler.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to take away a PAC championship [from W&J],” Smithley said. “This is a big game and it’s a big opportunity for us to take something away from our rival.”

Model from last year

In the 2016 season finale, a heavily-favored W&J team walked into the game facing a 2-7 Waynesburg team expecting to roll them over. However, the Presidents escaped John F. Wiley with a 14-10 victory.

In 2017, the Yellow Jackets are looking to do the same thing against the Presidents.

“The game plan that we’re watching is a lot of what we did last year,” Smithley said. “We are going to use that game a lot because we see a lot of our offense in that game.”

Keep the momentum going

Waynesburg is on a mini two-game win streak, but the last two weeks have been the best football the Yellow Jackets have played all season. Putting up over 30 points and rushing for well over 100 yards the last two games has Waynesburg in a bit of a groove, and Smithley wants to keep that going.

“I think we have momentum from the way we have practiced and played football over the last two weeks,” Smithley said. “I think we’re playing our best football right now, and I don’t know if [W&J] is.”