Sara Clegg - The Yellow Jacket On Saturday afternoon, Waynesburg University lost to Geneva College, 62-20, dropping to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference games.
“We didn’t play what I consider to be Jacket football,” head coach Cornelius Coleman said.
The Waynesburg defense struggled, allowing 62 points, which is the most points given up under Coleman. The last time Waynesburg allowed more was in a 66-14 loss to Westminster in 2021.
Similar to the loss at Grove City a week prior, turnovers and penalties hindered the Yellow Jackets from defeating the Golden Tornadoes.
“We can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to play a competitive ball game,” Coleman said. “Momentum carries a lot of weight in college football and turning over the ball can put us in bad situations.”
In a game that saw 82 combined points, the first quarter did not mirror the rest of the game. Drew Pinkerton sent two field goals through the uprights on consecutive drives to start the game, giving Waynesburg a 6-0 lead.
Following Pinkerton’s second make, Geneva took a page out of Waynesburg’s book, finishing two consecutive drives with field goals from Ryan Reitler, tying the game, 6-6.
The first turnover of the game came early in the second quarter when a snap from Waynesburg center Kory Ansell, went skidding across the turf. Geneva recovered, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Romano to Keaton Baker, making it 13-6 Geneva.
Waynesburg struck right back, tying the game at 13 on a 22-yard touchdown connection between sophomores Luke Hudson and Elija Jackson. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, this was the last time they would score for 23 minutes and 56 seconds of game time.
During the Waynesburg scoring drought, Geneva scored 35 unanswered points, starting with a seven-play touchdown drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from running back David Reid. Waynesburg accrued four penalties for 46 yards on that drive alone, aiding the score.
“Last year as a younger team we struggled with the penalty bug, but this year we have been doing a good job on it,” Coleman said. “Yesterday wasn’t indicative of who we are.”
Hudson was sacked by Geneva’s Wyman Shaheen on Waynesburg’s next drive, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by Geneva at the Waynesburg 29-yard line. Romano took advantage again, rushing for an 18-yard touchdown that put Geneva up 27-13 nearing the end of the first half.
The second half continued the domination by Geneva’s offense. Their first drive of the second half saw catches from Baker as well as Dayne Johnke and Seth Tyson, ending with the second 1-yard rushing touchdown from Reid, making it 34-13.
A Luke Hudson interception led to a 60-yard Geneva touchdown drive. Freshman receiver Damien Lacks caught a 25-yard touchdown to make it 41-13. Romano then found Luke Crumbacher for a 64-yard touchdown.
Luke Crumbacher catches a 64-yard score for another Geneva TD.
Waynesburg started their scoring back up with a 75-yard touchdown run from sophomore Kaden Ebron, making it 48-20 with 2:46 left in the third quarter.
“I would like to thank the lord, because without him I would have never got to this point,” Ebron said. “Making sure I do what’s right when I have the ball in my hands gives the coaches more trust in me.”
Ebron, a running back from McKinney, Texas, got his first three career carries against Grove City last week. Yesterday, Ebron carried the ball 10 times for 116 yards and a touchdown.
A Seth Tyson touchdown catch made it 55-20, and a Michael Egetoe touchdown catch made it 62-20.
Romano finished with 373 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, finding top targets Baker nine times and Tyson eight times.
“When he [Romano] transferred in last year, we saw his talent firsthand,” Coleman said. “He was in a different system last year, but you can see a lot of his different attributes in this new one.”
The loss marks the Yellow Jackets third straight, but Coleman has seen some positives in his group.
“When I first got here three and a half years ago, I was taking over a program that wasn’t where it needed to be, and my goal was to make sure it was growing,” Coleman said. “I see the growth in our young men every single day on and off the field.”
The Yellow Jackets look ahead to next Saturday when they will drive 30 minutes on I-79 North to take on the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.