Week four football preview: Bethany
The Waynesburg University football team has another day to prepare for its week four match up against a Bethany squad that defeated the Yellow Jackets on their home field a year ago 27-20. Both teams are coming off overtime victories against Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents, and both are 1-0 in PAC play. It is the Jackets’ first road game of the season, and it is their first night contest since Waynesburg defeated Geneva 34-28 on Oct. 18, 2008. Here are a few storylines to follow when the team kicks off in Bethany, West Virginia at 7 p.m. Saturday:
Stop the mobile quarterback
With the graduation of four-year starting quarterback Matt Grimard, Bethany has turned over the reigns to sophomore Brian Vales. Through three games, the former Avonworth High School signal caller has completed 59-of-80 attempts for 489 yards passing and four touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions last week against Westminster. In Bethany’s spread offensive attack, Vales leads the team in rushing with 148 yards and three touchdowns on 48 attempts. Bethany head coach Bill Garvey said that each game Vales is learning something new and he has gained confidence after doing a good job of holding onto the ball and making good decisions.
“He’s definitely the guy we have to stop,” said Waynesburg head coach Rick Shepas. “They have some athletes. They’ve got some dudes.”
Through three games, Bethany has managed to average 145 yards rushing per game, with most of those yards coming from Vales, while the passing game has averaged 169 yards per game. That type of balance is a point of emphasis to Garvey.
“Obviously, we want to always try and be as balanced as possible and do the things that you need to do to win a football game,” said Garvey. “We have different personnel, most notably a different quarterback. As we get going throughout our football games, we’ll find out what works and what does not.”
Limit pressure up front
Last week, the Yellow Jacket faithful witnessed senior quarterback Carter Hill swamped by pressure from the Geneva 3-5-3 blitzing defensive scheme and critical plays negated by penalties against the offensive line. This week, Waynesburg goes up against two of the elite defensive ends in the PAC in Bethany’s Naddim Raddar and Khallid Pierce. Raddar already has 29 total tackles, including nine for loss and six and a half sacks on the season, while Pierce has recorded 14 total tackles, five and a half tackles for loss and one and a half sacks on the season.
“We have some schemes that coach [Matt Stansfield] and I are working on to neutralize their defensive front and their two defensive ends [Pierce] and [Raddar],” said Shepas. “We’re going to scheme for them, and we’re getting ready for their coverages right now.”
Included in Bethany’s stout defensive front is junior linebacker Larry Kapadehyea, who currently sits second in the PAC with 30 total tackles, including four and a half tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles. Last week, junior defensive back Donavan Hayden earned his first start in a green and white uniform, and recorded 14 tackles (three and a half for loss), with one forced fumble and an interception.
“We expect consistency,” said Garvey. “The guys play with great energy and ran around really well. We expect that same effort and the exact same focus week in and week out from those guys. If we’re going to put them in good situations, they have to make plays for us.”
Pound the rock
The Yellow Jackets’ offense once again found success in senior running back Jake Forsythe last week against Geneva, as the former California University (Pennsylvania) Vulcan recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing game and scored three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving). With junior running back Jerry Lawman continuing to battle through an ankle injury, Shepas believes Forsythe is developing into a complete back.
“He’s running very well right now,” said Shepas. “He’s blocking very well right now. He’s committed to that and he caught the ball out of the backfield.”
In addition to Forsythe, Waynesburg fans witnessed the resurgence of senior running back Willie Leavell carrying the football. The Ohio native recorded 91 yards on 14 carries against Geneva, and his ability to pick up big chunks of yardage against Geneva’s defense late in the game gave the offense a spark that it needed.
Be motivated
Bethany was able to win last year’s game at John F. Wiley Stadium thanks to a 68-yard touchdown pass from Grimard to wide receiver Eric Blinn, who returns for his junior campaign and already holds the conference lead for receptions (24) for 246 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Both teams are 2-2 against each other in the last four years, with three of those games coming down to one score. Garvey expects Waynesburg to be ready for the contest, since the Jackets have had an entire year to dissect the critical plays that led to Bethany’s victory.
“It’s been a really good rivalry,” said Garvey. “It’s become more developed since we’ve become more competitive. Early on when I first got here, it wasn’t. We weren’t competing with anybody. But we’ve become a much better football team. This game versus Waynesburg has been a pretty good battle for the last four years or so.”
Rather than looking for revenge against the Bison, Shepas believes that the team is solely focused on improving across the board, which includes offense, defense, the kicking game, personnel and the game plan.
“We won’t be overemotional,” said Shepas. “We have things that we want to improve on, and that’s what we’re going into the week with. The team is faceless for me – the opponent – so we just want to continue to get better. We shot ourselves in the foot last year.”