On paper, most would believe the Waynesburg University football team would come out victorious last week.
Although it did, it did not happen as easy as most people might have expected.
Waynesburg trailed 14-3 after the first quarter, but would go on to score the next 21 points in the 24-21 victory over the Thiel College Tomcats.
The comeback was sparked by a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior wide receiver Nick Moretti to junior Chad Walker. It was the first of two scores for Walker, and the first time head coach Chris Smithley brought out the play in the season.
“The play was designed for the red zone,” said Smithley. “[The play] was off of a fullback dive and instead of pitching it to [Walker] we pitched it to Moretti coming around the back. We struggled in the red zone on our first possession and we needed to score a touchdown. We felt it was a good time, and things fell in place for us.”
Walker had a career day, taking advantage of going up against the worst rushing defense in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Walker rushed for 134 yards on 23 carries, including a career long 54-yard run early in the first quarter which set the tone for the Jacket rushing attack.
“I changed my running style this year to more of a north and south runner,” said Walker. “The line was also blocking really well. We’re all just doing our part in order to help the team.”
Last year, Walker recorded his first 100-yard performance against Thiel College, so Smithley believes it was only fitting that he recorded not only his second 100-yard rushing day against the Tomcats, but also his new career high.
“Chad had a great game to bust out of the cloud that was resting over top of him with not being able to get in the end zone,” said Smithley. “He comes out, he runs hard, and him getting two touchdowns was key.”
After Walker’s 54-yard run, Waynesburg could only manage a field goal. Then, a pair of gaffes committed by the Yellow Jackets’ special teams led to Thiel’s two first-quarter scores. A bad snap on an attempted punt gave Thiel excellent field position to score just three plays later, and then a fumbled kickoff return set up a 43-yard scoring drive.
“It wasn’t anything we were doing offensively or defensively,” said Smithley. “That’s just how quickly things can turn when you make little mistakes in any phase of the game. All we talked about was doing our jobs and not worrying about anything else.”
From that point on, Waynesburg took control of the game by rattling off three touchdowns to grab a 24-14 advantage. Thiel threatened with a late touchdown, but the Yellow Jacket defense was able to force a turnover-on-downs on a four-play drive with 1:32 left to go before running out the clock.
The Yellow Jackets host Carnegie Mellon University this coming Saturday. It will be a part of Homecoming weekend at Waynesburg.
The game will be broadcasted on the Waynesburg University Sports Network with Luke Goodling and Paul Zalakar, and WCYJ-FM also will be providing radio coverage with Sam Hixson and Jack Hillgrove on the call.