NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (September 14) – The Waynesburg University football team fell at Westminster 23-10 in the Jackets' road opener on Saturday afternoon.
Waynesburg falls to 0-2 on the season and in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. Westminster, who was playing in its opening game of the season, rises to 1-0.
Westminster scored touchdowns on each of its first two possessions of the 2024 season. The Titans converted a pair of third downs and caped their opening drive with a 37-yard downtown pass to Taite Beachy up the right sideline. After a Waynesburg three-and-out, Westminster marched 85 yards in 16 plays, including a pair of third down pickups, to set up a 13-yard touchdown run to go ahead 14-0 on the first snap of the second quarter.
The Jackets responded with a 95-yard touchdown scoring drive of their own. Zayne Cawley (Huntingtown, Md. / Huntingtown) rushed for 40 yards on the drive, an 11-yard touchdown scamper off the left side. The drive featured four plays of over 10 yards as Cawley had a pair of 11-yard runs, Carson Shriver (Fairview, W. Va. / Clay-Battelle) had a 23-yard rush and Dagyn Williams (Leslie, Ark. / Marshall) had a 22-yard catch-and-run.
Westminster quickly drove into Waynesburg territory and had first-and-goal from the Waynesburg eight yard-line. The Jackets held the Titans out of the end zone after three Westminster rushes and the hosts settled for a 19-yard field goal to lead 17-7 with 6:15 left in the first half.
A personal foul penalty and three consecutive runs of at least 10 yards from Cawley and Shriver put the Jackets deep in the red zone late in the first half. Quarterback Samuel Barber (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) was sacked while rolling out on a third down at Westminster 14 yard-line and was ruled to have fumbled the ball before he was down and the Titans recovered. Westminster carried its 17-7 edge into halftime.
The Jackets began the second half with an 18-play drive that last 10:23 and resulted in three points. Waynesburg converted a pair of third-and-short situations with Cawley and Shriver moving the chains. Barber connected with Tyler Richmond (Carmichaels, Pa. / Carmichaels) for 20 yards to put the Jackets on Westminster's side of the field. The Jackets reached the Westminster two yard-line, but a two-yard loss on third and goal prompted a 21-yard field goal by Drew Pinkerton (Fayetteville, Pa. / Chambersburg) to bring the score to 17-10 Westminster with 4:30 left in the third.
The fourth quarter began with Westminster on Waynesburg's one-yard line. Kevin Willis (Donora, Pa. / Ringgold) and Jack Nagy (Attleboro, Mass. / Attleboro) stuffed the Titans on third and fourth down to keep the Titans off the scoreboard.
The Jacket offense took over with an opportunity to tie the game, but another sack and fumble resulted in the Titans taking over at the Waynesburg 34. Westminster cashed in with an eight-yard touchdown run with 7:02 remaining to go ahead 23-10.
Trailing by two scores, the Jacket offense picked up three third downs under the direction of Thomas Burke III (West Leechburg, Pa. / Leechburg) before a holding penalty and a sack forced a Waynesburg punt on fourth-and-27 with just over two minutes remaining. The Titans salted away the rest of the game to secure the 13-point victory.
The Jackets had a 23-22 edge in first downs for the game and averaged 5.0 yards per rush on 35 attempts. Cawley rushed for 129 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. Shriver added 45 yards on seven rushing attempts.
Barber completed 11-of-14 passes for 75 yards and Burke went five-for-six for 24 yards. Richmond had three catches for 27 yards. Williams had two grabs for 25 yards.
Jemuel Cypress (Seat Pleasant, Md. / Charles Herbert Flowers) led the Jacket defense with 10 total tackles. Willis blocked Westminster's final PAT.
The Jackets host Washington & Jefferson next Saturday at 1 p.m.