Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
LATROBE, Pa. -- Justin Huss (Derry, Pa./Derry) and Raymond Holmes (Verona, Pa./Serra Catholic) each surpassed 100 yards rushing and the W&J offense amassed 539 yards of total offense in a 52-21 rout of Saint Vincent College Saturday afternoon at Chuck Noll Field.
W&J showed great balance offensively, as they rushed for 287 yards and passed for 252. The Presidents jumped all over Saint Vincent, scoring the game's first four touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead en route to its ninth straight win in the head-to-head series.
Colton Jones (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) connected with Huss for a 14-yard touchdown pass to give W&J a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. W&J would add two more touchdowns over the final three-plus minutes of the opening frame. Jacob Pugh (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) rushed in from one-yard out at the 3:01 mark and Jones connected on a deep ball to John Peduzzi (Hilton Head, S.C./Hilton Head Christian Academy) for a touchdown strike at the 1:22 mark of the first.
Jones connected with T.J. Troxell (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) early in the second quarter to extend the W&J lead to 28-0. The Bearcats used a pair of second quarter touchdown passes by quarterback Brady Walker to trim their deficit to 28-14 by halftime.
The second half belonged to the Presidents, as they received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field in the beginning of the third quarter. W&J capped a seven-play, 66-yard drive with a touchdown when Huss rushed in from seven yards out. Huss' second touchdown of the day made it 35-14 W&J. Late in the third quarter, kicker Deven Wyandt (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) tacked on a 28-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 38-14. The field goal, which capped a 13-play, 64-yard drive, was the first of Wyandt's collegiate career.
Three plays into the ensuing drive, W&J's got its second defensive touchdown in as many games. A sack and forced fumble by Dawson Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) was picked up by Adam Rudzinski (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and returned 10 yards for a touchdown. THe PAT by Wyandt swelled the W&J lead to 45-14 late in the third.
Both teams found the end zone in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. A one-yard touchdown run by Donavin Chambers (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) put the finishing touches on a 52-21 win for the Presidents.
Jones completed 19-of-30 passes for 249 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Huss finished with 113 yards rushing and 40 receiving and the two touchdowns. Peduzzi led all receivers with 116 yards on five catches. Defensively, Justin Johns (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) paced W&J's efforts with a team-high eight tackles. Drew Ehrlich (Annapolis, Md./The Gilman School) finished with four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Dietz had four tackles (1.5 for loss) and a forced fumble.
Six different Presidents registered a sack in the victory. The Bearcats committed 13 penalties for 118 yards in the loss.
W&J opens Presidents' Athletic Conference play at Case Western Reserve on Saturday, Spet. 17. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.