A 0-5 start is something Waynesburg University football program is not used to. After a 21-14 Homecoming loss to Grove City on Saturday, that is where the Yellow Jackets now stand.

Waynesburg is now tied for last in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with Bethany College, which is a team the Jackets will not play in 2017.

This weekend, the Yellow Jackets have a chance to pick up their first victory of the season when they play Geneva College and its triple option attack. A year ago, Waynesburg bested Geneva, 10-9, to pick up its second win of the season, but this year, Waynesburg is still looking for that first win.

Grove City and Waynesburg went back and forth last Saturday with Waynesburg eventually tying the game at 14 heading into the half following a 3-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Tyler Perone to sophomore wide receiver Chad Walker.

Grove City controlled the clock in the second half of the game, with a 19-play, 86-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock and ended with a rushing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Randall Labrie. The extra point gave the Wolverines the lead again, 21-14.

In the fourth quarter, Perone had a pair of interceptions that iced the game for the Wolverines, giving them just their second victory since 2013.

Waynesburg now moves on to face the Geneva Golden Tornadoes who are coming off a bye week.

Looking to halt the losing streak, the Yellow Jackets will be turning to a few keys to victory, and with the triple option attack, interim head coach Chris Smithley knows the main focus.

Stopping the run

After rushing for 429 yards against Thiel a few weeks ago, the Golden Tornadoes rushing attack, led by running back Trewon Marshall, looks primed for another big performance. Smithley knows it all falls upon the defense when it comes to shutting down the run game.

“This is probably one of the most physical games that our defense will play all year,” Smithley said. “[Geneva] will be running dive after dive after dive – so defensively, stopping the run is the number one priority.”

To stop the run, any team has to be able to tackle and Smithley concurs that the Yellow Jackets are facing that challenge this week.

“We just have to get back to the basics and be all about tackling,” Smithley said. “We have to play disciplined football and can’t miss our assignments defensively.”

Spread the ball around

The Waynesburg run game has been looking for a spark all season and one of the things that Smithley has gone to is a ‘running back by committee’ mentality. Between juniors Ben Ciero, who is now out with a season ending injury, and Austin Wilson, sophomore Jarves Crews and freshman Jeremiah Doswell-Hardrick, Smithley has looked to each of them to contribute significant ground work at some point this season.

Smithley said that it will be a strategy of his going into Geneva as well.

“We are going to continue to split carries this week because I feel it gets the most out of our runners,” Smithley said. “We have the guys that we can spread it out, and that’s something we will continue to do until someone proves that they deserve all 35-40 carries.”

Get healthy

Though staying healthy is an underlining goal each week during the season, Waynesburg has suffered specific losses due to injuries. Missing players on both offense and defense, Smithley said the team could be getting some players back this weekend.

One of the players close to returning is junior defensive back Andrew Brncic. Smithley said Brncic will bring experience to the Waynesburg defense once he returns.

“He brings experience. He’s a guy that has played quite a bit,” Smithley said. “He makes an impact not only on defense, but in special teams too. He is a guy we would love to have back sooner rather than later.”