Juuuust Wide
Sophomore kicker Garret Guthrie hit the left crossbar on an attempted 32-yard game-winning field goal with 1:18 remaining in the game in the Yellow Jackets' 17-16 loss.
Saturday’s loss for the Waynesburg football team was, in recent history, all but familiar. The Jackets hadn’t lost a season opener, prior to Saturday’s 17-16 loss to Muskingum, since 2011, when they lost to Christopher Newport 12-7.
Since 2012, Waynesburg garnered four straight wins against the Muskies, including a 35-10 win in last season’s opener in New Concord, Ohio.
Throughout Saturday’s contest, multiple facets of Waynesburg’s game were underwhelming, according to sophomore quarterback Jake Dougherty and head coach Rick Shepas, but there also were bright spots and things to build upon.
Dougherty’s Ups and Downs
Jake Dougherty, in his second season as the starting quarterback for Waynesburg, was upset after the game with his performance in the 17-16 loss.
His final line: 21-39 through the air for 203 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The interception was costly, coming in the red zone, deep in Muskingum territory, in the middle stages of the fourth quarter.
“I missed a ton of throws today,” said Dougherty after the game. “I need to be better, and when I start playing better, the rest of the team will start playing better.”
His coach didn’t think he was all that bad, but said he started slow and that cost him.
“Him having 10 starts under his belt, I thought he came out to a slow start in a lot of areas,” said Shepas. “On all of the fundamentals, there’s things he needs to do on every snap. He needs to be a great communicator; he needs to make reads on every snap. If we’re making a check at the line, there’s a lot on his plate and he knows where he is at.”
Shepas said the coaching staff has given Dougherty more freedom this season as opposed to last, since this is his second season as the starter.
Running Backs Show Youth
Following the 2015 season, the Jackets lost each of their top four rushers: Jerry Lawman, Willie Leavell, Austin Wilson and Zach Helsel. They accounted for 1,234 yards rushing of 1,258 yards last season for the Jackets.
Entering into the fold are freshman Chad Walker and Whitney White as well as sophomore Ben Ciero.
The backs had a rough time getting things going Saturday, according to Shepas, accounting for 83 yards combined, 73 of which came from Ciero. Forty-three of his yards came on one play and he fumbled once, which resulted in a Muskingum touchdown on its ensuing drive.
“We have to get a better work ethic in practice and a better understanding of the tempo and play design,” said Shepas. “There’s one way to dig yourself out of every hole and that is to work harder.”
Veteran Wide Receivers Shut Down
This position was one the Jackets were not expected to struggle with. Waynesburg returned its top two receivers from last season in seniors Tim Cooper and Kevin Barnes Jr., as well as plugged in returners such as seniors James Steele and Joe Malta.
It found a weapon in Mitch Kendra, a junior from Washington, Pennsylvania, who led the team in the loss with four receptions for 112 yards, highlighted by a 52-yard score that temporarily gave the Jackets a 14-10 lead in the early stages of the third quarter.
“Mitch has been playing his tail off,” said Shepas. “It was a great breakout game for him.”
As for Barnes and Cooper, the duo was limited to a combined four catches for 36 yards.
According to Shepas, Cooper was playing a bit banged up and Barnes was double teamed for the majority of the game.
“[Cooper] was nursing a bit of an injury, [but] he wanted to go,” said Shepas. “The way Kevin finished the year last year, we prepared for other teams to double him and try to take him away. We could have spread the ball around a lot more too but we have to find a way to get them more involved.”
Offensive Line Shows Youth
An All-PAC first team center in Nik Sappie: gone.
A multiple year contributor in Tyler Powell: gone.
Enter two freshmen starting on the offensive line and – really – a new look offensive line in general to begin the season.
The struggles of the offensive line showed in the loss through a tough time running the football for significant yardage on first down, leading to a bunch of third-and-long situations.
“The offensive line guys showed they belong there I thought,” said Shepas. “They certainly didn’t play mistake-free, but they showed some bright spots. I think a lot of the problem was, as a coaching staff, we should have played more guys up front. There’s no excuse in not doing that other than we just didn’t sustain drives like we wanted to, so it’s hard to get more people in when you’re three-and-out, three-and-out.”
Front Seven Dominates
One big loss is glaring to those who saw Waynesburg play last season. That would be linebacker and 2015’s leading tackler, Aaron Palmer. However, the amount of physicality and toughness, according to Shepas, the team returns this season is paramount to that loss.
For Shepas, the defense was great in the loss, surrendering 17 points, but doing so at least, partly, once because of a short-field situation.
Junior defensive lineman Brad Grinnen had five tackles, four of which were sacks, which was the highest single-game total in that category for a Waynesburg defender since 2007, and also the most individually in all of Division III for Week One.
Grinnen also recorded two forced fumbles in the loss, and had the big safety that pulled the Jackets within one point in the fourth. Grinnen’s fellow lineman, senior Zach Machuga, recorded eight tackles, 3.5 for loss.
Junior linebacker Tristan Sandrosky tallied seven tackles, among the other bright spots in the front seven such as senior defensive lineman Aniellio DeStefano, who had 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
The seven sacks for the defense were the most in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the first week of action.
“Both Grinnen and Machuga are business-like and determined,” said Shepas. “Machuga played the best game of his career. We expect to be that physical every game. That’s what we’re used to doing here, we just didn’t do it last year.”
Defensive Backs Welcome Back Mundell
One of the biggest returns for the Jackets was from injury on the defensive side of the ball. Now-senior cornerback Josh Mundell missed almost all of last season with an injury to his hand and wrist. That forced then-sophomore Justin Willkow into a tough situation, according to Shepas.
The secondary also boasts returning senior defensive back Eli Hargis, junior safety Christian Breisinger and senior cornerback Zach Sniadach.
Speaking to their play on Saturday against Muskingum, Shepas said he was pleased.
“They did a great job in the secondary,” said Shepas. “I was really happy with the way they played with swagger. We pressured the football well. I can’t look at too many situations if any, you know, we played with an attitude.”
Room to Improve for Special Teams
According to Shepas, the coaching staff was happy with the kicking game in the execution sense for week one.
“We were happy with punt snaps, punt and most everything else,” said Shepas. “But we do think we could’ve done some more in the kick and punt return game, so we’ll make adjustments there.”
Chad Walker, according to Shepas, is a name they’ll look for to contribute from that end moving forward.
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In general, Shepas said the team would simply work harder, break down film and go over things they need to change entering week two’s road contest at Westminster.
“We had a new football team, and it’s clear we haven’t jelled yet on the offensive side of the ball,” said Shepas. “We’ll work on some things and we are expecting a very physical game Saturday, and we’ll be ready for it.”
Kickoff Saturday, Sept. 10, is scheduled for 1 p.m. in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.