NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.--Senior Jalen Washington (Orlando, Fla., Dr. Phillips) caught a pair of second quarter touchdowns in Saturday afternoon's 56-0 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) shutout victory of Saint Vincent College at Memorial Field inside Harold Burry Stadium. The Homecoming and Reunion Weekend win pushed the Titans' record to 5-1. It was the program's fourth-straight Homecoming triumph and the 11th in their last 13. Saturday was Westminster's first home shutout since its 40-0 win over Hiram College on Sept. 3, 2016.
Washington finished with three catches for 85 yards. He scored on a 29-yard pass from junior quarterback Ty McGowan (Moon Township, Pa., Moon) with 1:50 to go in the second to extend Westminster's lead to 23-0 before snagging a 36-yard McGowan pass with under 20 seconds left in the half that pushed the lead to 30-0. Washington's first score capped a nine-play, 69-yard drive while his second ended a six-play, 80-yard drive.
Saturday was Washington's first two touchdown game since catching five passes for 77 yards and a pair of scores in a 49-0 road shutout of Geneva College on Nov. 12, 2022.
McGowan completed 12-of-19 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman two-way standout Brite Cannon (Parkland, Fla., Monarch) ripped off a 30-yard catch-and-run score on the first play from scrimmage after sophomore running back Elijah Grayer (Monee, Ill., Crete-Monee) blocked and recovered a Daishaun Alexander punt to stretch the lead to 17-0. Cannon finished with five catches for 63 yards. It was his fifth touchdown this season (2-receiving, 3-punt return).
With under two minutes to play in the third, Grayer capped a Titans' 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown grab. It was the first touchdown reception of his career.
Scoreless late in the first quarter, graduate student running back Ryan Gomes (Tampa, Fla., Walter L. Sickles) capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring run to put the Titans on the board. Gomes rushed 12 times for 64 yards. Freshman Andrew Caranna (Copley, Ohio, Revere) connected on a 22-yard field goal three-and-a-half minutes into the second to stretch Westminster's lead to 9-0. It was his third made field goal this season.
Midway through the third, sophomore wide receiver Clayton Cannon Jr. (Parkland, Fla., Marjory Stoneman Douglas) scored on an eight-yard plunge that stretched Westminster's lead to 37-0. He had four rushes for 34 yards Saturday. Westminster added a pair of late third quarter touchdowns. Freshman defensive back Deshawn Vaughn (Youngstown, Ohio, Austintown Finch) had a 12-yard scoop and score after senior linebacker Evan Lewis (Elizabeth, Pa., Elizabeth Forward) forced a fumble by Austin Wells on the kickoff following Grayer's touchdown. Sophomore defensive lineman Alex Garcia (Miami, Fla., Christopher Columbus) returned a punt blocked by Cannon Jr. on the ensuing drive 14 yards for a score.
Junior linebacker Dylan Sleva (Moon Township, Pa., Moon) led the Westminster defense with seven tackles (5 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a sac. Senior defensive back Corte Williams (Sharon, Pa., Sharon) had four tackles (3 solo) and a tackle for loss while senior defensive lineman Jean Garry Joseph (North Miami, Fla., Ebenezer Christian) finished with three tackles (3 solo), 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. Freshman linebacker Ricky Cooper (Port St. Lucie, Fla., Port St. Lucie) totaled four tackles (1 solo) and a tackle for loss and sophomore linebacker Christian Snyder (West Middlesex, Pa., West Middlesex) had four tackles (1 solo).
Westminster rolled up 479 yards of total offense while totaling 27 first downs. Saint Vincent was limited to just 58 total offensive yards and eight first downs.
Up Next
Westminster will host Case Western Reserve University next Saturday. The College's annual night game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.