Thiel has no answer for Jackets’ offense
WAYNESBURG – It took four drives for the Waynesburg offense to start clicking on all cylinders, but when it did the Thiel defense had no answers in a 38-17 Yellow Jacket victory Saturday at John F. Wiley Stadium. Quarterback Brad Dawson led the way, completing 23-of-37 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s like anything else for us this season, just up and down,” said Waynesburg coach Rick Shepas. “But Dawson got going and distributed the ball nicely to get the offense going. Give credit to our defense, too. A lot of great senior defenders on this team we’ll miss.”
Among those seniors who played their final game at the stadium was free safety and special teams performer Scott Cree. The Waynesburg Central graduate had both a kickoff and an interception for a touchdown this season.
“He had a good season like an All-American should have,” said Shepas. “He’s going to be playing in some postseason games and he has earned that with his play.”
The Yellow Jackets racked up 143 yards on the ground, including 83 yards for halfback Justin Falcon.
“I think he did a great job for us,” said Shepas. “I think (Troy) Grove had a pretty productive day too.”
Tomcats coach Kurt Reisner said the difference in the game came as result of their pass rush that was effective in the first few series of the game, but simply vanished after Waynesburg’s first touchdown.
“I thought we had a pretty good pass rush, which helped us contain Dawson in the first few possessions,” said Reisner. “However, we seemed to have lost it later on and Dawson is the type of quarterback who can pick you apart if you let up.”
Ahead 3-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter, the Jackets embarked on a six-play, 36-yard drive that resulted in Dawson’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Josh Fisher for a 10-3 Yellow Jackets lead.
After the Tomcats cut the lead on John Madeline’s 35-yard field goal, the Yellow Jackets went on a 12-play, 79-yard drive that finished with Falcon’s 2-yard run with 6:20 left in the first half.
Dawson found the end zone again on the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, connecting with Bobby Francis with 48 seconds left in the half.
Francis caught his second touchdown pass on an 11-yard pass over the middle from Dawson on the Yellow Jackets’ opening drive of the second half with 8:58 left in the third quarter.
Dawson tacked on an 8-yard touchdown run at 2:03 of the third quarter to increase the lead to 38-10.
The Tomcats responded two series later with a 70-yard touchdown reception by Brendan Taylor from quarterback Willie Bova with 6:03 left in the third quarter, and further reduced the deficit with a Ross Gargano 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
The Yellow Jackets marched down the field on their first drive, but a Dawson sack on third-and-four at the 6-yard line pushed the pull back to the Tomcats’ 20-yard line.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to Washington and Jefferson to face the Presidents Saturday.
“We look at this game as a rivalry game,” said Shepas. “But clearly they don’t. We need to finally get that win and make this game important to them.”