Forsythe helps Waynesburg down SVC
WAYNESBURG – A strong second-half rushing attack erased a three-point halftime deficit, as the Waynesburg University football squad tallied a 35-24 victory over Saint Vincent College Saturday afternoon at John F. Wiley Stadium.
Despite both teams being in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, the contest counted as a non-conference game due to the addition of teams to the conference in the off-season. Each PAC school can only have eight conference games.
Waynesburg will officially begin its PAC schedule next Saturday at home versus Geneva College.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets started the season 2-0 for the third straight time and have won seven of the last eight meetings against Saint Vincent.
“We had some successful drives in the first half, but we just didn’t finish them,” Waynesburg coach Rick Shepas said. “We cleaned things up at halftime and we bought into the running game in the second half. Establishing the run was the key factor for us. We made a commitment to the run game and we just got after it.”
The catalyst for Waynesburg’s rushing attack in the victory was Uniontown High School graduate Jake Forsythe.
The 5-10, 240-pound senior tailback had career highs in carries (33) and yards (134) with a pair of third quarter touchdowns.
“I give all the credit to the offensive line,” Forsythe. “As an offense, we wanted to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. I didn’t even realize I was close to 100 yards today. I think as a bigger back I get better in games with more carries. Saint Vincent is a good team and we knew that we had to pound them in the mouth with our running game.”
After the Bearcats (0-2) began the day with a three-and-out, the Yellow Jackets marched down field and on a fourth-and-two, quarterback Carter Hill found wideout Bernie Thompson for a 31-yard scoring connection at the 10:20 mark of the opening quarter.
Saint Vincent compiled 10 straight points, but Waynesburg countered with a two-yard plunge into the end zone by running back Willie Leavell for a 14-10 edge at 2:30 of the second stanza.
The lead quickly evaporated 15 seconds later after a 99-yard kickoff return by Darius Brown that shifted the momentum to the Saint Vincent side at halftime.
After both teams traded scoreless possessions to start the third period, Forsythe ended a nine play, 43-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Yellow Jackets a 21-17 lead.
“This was Jake’s best game in our program,” Shepas said. “We are lucky to have him and he was our workhorse today. (Tailback) Jerry Lawman went down with an injury early on and we looked to Jake to shoulder most of the running game today.”
Forsythe saw pay-dirt again on Waynesburg’s next drive with a one-yard tumble past the goal line for a 28-17 advantage.
“Yards after contact were huge for me,” Forsythe said. “They ran a couple of run-blitzes at us, but we were still able to run through them and get some productive yards on the ground. We thought we could run the ball today. Last year I didn’t have a good year and I took it upon myself to be more prepared and be in better shape this season.”
After the Bearcats trimmed the deficit to 28-24 late in the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets put the game away with a nine-yard pass from Hill to wide receiver Andrew English and two fourth-quarter interceptions by defensive back Mike Lopuchovsky.