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No place like home for Waynesburg

By Adam Brewer for The 3 min read

Home field advantage can sometimes be overlooked, but for the 2014 Waynesburg University football squad, playing in front of their home fans could be the difference maker between a good season and a tremendous season.

In 2014, six of the 10 regular season games for the Yellow Jackets will be played in the friendly confines of John F. Wiley Stadium.

The first three games of the year are at home and they include the season-opener against Muskingum University (Sept. 6), against rival Saint Vincent (Sept. 13) and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener versus Geneva (Sept. 20).

“This is always a strong and balanced conference,” Yellow Jackets coach Rick Shepas said. “Year in and year out, there’s always competition and there’s never a gimme game. Being at home will obviously help us out, but we have to make sure to take care of business at home. We take one game at a time and we know we have to take advantage of home field this season.”

After the three-game home stand, Waynesburg will be on the road four of the next five weeks, excluding a home match-up against conference’s newcomer Case Western Reserve University on Oct. 11.

The four away games this season are against Bethany (Sept. 27), Grove City (Oct. 4), Westminster (Oct. 18) and Thiel (Oct. 25).

The Yellow Jackets will have little use for directions, as they will only put around 385 miles on their buses. Their longest bus ride of the season will be the 127-mile trek to Greenville to play Thiel.

“As a player, you always like to be home and avoid those long bus rides,” senior quarterback Carter Hill said. “We know we have been successful at home the last couple of years, but we can’t just rely on that. We have to be mentally ready for games at home and not take anything for granted. We don’t want to disappoint our home fans and there’s a lot of excitement on the team knowing that we are home a lot more this season.”

Waynesburg will cap off the final three weeks of the regular season by hosting the top two teams in the PAC a year ago, as well as the top two teams picked in the preseason polls.

Thomas More comes into Waynesburg on Nov. 1, and after a bye the following week, the Yellow Jackets will host rival Washington & Jefferson on Nov. 15.

Since 2005, the Yellow Jackets are 31-16 at Wiley Stadium and have had a winning record at home every year except for 2008.

“It’s a luxury this season to have those six games at home and only be on the road for four,” Shepas said. “Like any team, we are a better team at home than on the road and our record kind of indicates that. We avoided some long trips in the conference this year and, due to Muskingum having to balance out their schedule, we get to start the season at home.”

Last year, Waynesburg was 4-1 at home with its only loss coming against Bethany.

Despite having 60 percent of its game at home, Shepas and the Yellow Jackets know that they can’t take anything for granted and must protect home field advantage in 2014.

“Whether it’s home or away, we have to bring the same intensity every week,” Shepas said. “We have an opportunity to be great this season and it starts with those three home games to start the season. We need to come together as a team and be able to reach our potential on the field.”

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