W&J-Bethany Game Notes
Washington & Jefferson (0-1, 0-0 PAC) vs. Bethany (1-1, 0-0
PAC)
Washington, Pa. -- Cameron Stadium (3,500)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Surface: Field Turf
Radio: WJPA (1450-AM)
Internet: http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm
Series: W&J leads 66-20
Series Streak: +27 W&J
Last Meeting: W&J 49, BC 0 -- 11/7/2009
First Meeting: W&J 36, BC 0 -- 9/26/1896
Last W&J Win: W&J 49, BC 0 -- 11/7/2009
Last BC Win: BC 28, W&J 9 -- 9/25/82
Last W&J Win at W&J: W&J 54, BC 7 -- 11/8/2008
Last BC Win at W&J: BC 28, W&J 9 -- 9/25/82
THE SERIES: Washington & Jefferson and Bethany meet for the
87th time in history on Saturday. The series is the longest in both
schools' histories. W&J holds a 66-20 advantage in the all-time
series and has won 27 consecutive times. The Bison last defeated
the Presidents on Sept. 25, 1982, by a 28-9 margin in
Washington.
THE HEAD COACHES: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union '94) is in his
eighth season as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson with
a 70-13 (.854) overall record. The three-time PAC Coach of the Year
and 2004 South Region Coach of the Year is second among all active
NCAA head coaches in winning percentage (minimum five years of
experience). Head Coach Tim Weaver (Davidson '90) is in his fifth
year at Bethany. He also serves as the BC Director of Athletics.
The Bison have posted a 15-27 record since his arrival on
campus.
W&J vs. THE PAC: W&J sports a 243-80-4 (.749) all-time
record against current members of the Presidents' Athletic
Conference. The Presidents have won 57 of their last 61 conference
contests. Below is a breakdown of the all-time records versus
current PAC teams:
Bethany (66-20)
Geneva (36-19-2)
Grove City (33-12)
Saint Vincent (3-0)
Thiel (39-22-2)
Thomas More (3-2)
Waynesburg (34-3)
Westminster (29-2)
THE LAST MEETING {W&J 49, BC 0, 11/7/09, Bethany, W.Va.}:
Brian Baldrige rushed for a career-high 131 yards and two
touchdowns as W&J built a 28-point halftime lead and cruised to
a 49-0 PAC football victory over Bethany at Bison Stadium. W&J
also held the Bison scoreless for the fourth time in the
teams' last six meetings. W&J scored on its first
possession as Steven Shumaker snuck in from a yard out to cap a
seven-play, 55-yard drive. Shumaker extended the lead to 14-0 at
the 5:05 mark of the first quarter after lofting an 18-yard scoring
pass to Craig Besong. Baldrige capped the first-quarter scoring on
a 17-yard touchdown run as time expired in the period. Craig
Sedunov put the Presidents in front 28-0 at halftime after
intercepting a Dan Pegg pass and returning it 37 yards for a
touchdown, his second defensive score in the past three weeks.
Baldrige posted his second touchdown run in the third quarter, a
19-yard rush four minutes into the third quarter. Besong and Gino
Rometo hooked up for a 46-yard touchdown pass at the 2:07 mark of
the third quarter for a 42-0 advantage. Sedunov set up the
Presidents' sixth touchdown with his second interception.
W&J closed the scoring with 5:25 remaining as a pair of
freshmen teamed up for their first career touchdowns. Andrew
Cappucci connected with Ben Hoffer for a 21-yard scoring pass. The
W&J defense held Bethany to 299 total yards, including only 58
rushing. Neil Sorice had a team-high eight tackles, while Nate
Bucklew added seven stops. The Presidents' offense racked up
410 yards and 20 first downs. Rometo completed 11-of-16 passes for
139 yards, while Shumaker connected on all five pass attempts for
64 yards. Besong had seven receptions for 112 yards and two
touchdowns.
LAST TIME OUT {DVC 27, W&J 0; 9/11/10}: Tenth-ranked Delaware
Valley held No. 20 W&J without a first down until late the
third quarter as the host Aggies rolled to a 27-0 victory at James
Work Stadium. The game was a part of the inaugural PAC-MAC Football
Challenge Series. The Aggies (2-0) forced eight W&J punts,
recorded six sacks and held a 466-67 total yardage advantage. DVC
also owned sizeable advantages in time of possession (39:53-20:07)
and first downs (27-5). DVC opened the scoring 3:14 into the game
as Mark Hatty fired a short pass to Joe Gionfriddo who broke a
tackle and raced 23 yards for a touchdown. Delaware Valley forced a
quick W&J punt and nearly added on to its lead; however, junior
safety Matthew Gal intercepted Hatty's pass at the goal line
and returned it 16 yards. The DVC defense continued to cause havoc
for the Presidents' offense and following senior Joe
Kelly's third punt, Matt Cook capped a 14-play, 53-yard drive
with a 5-yard touchdown run at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter.
Hatty took advantage of another W&J punt and ran 30 yards for a
score with 2:16 left in the half. The Aggies limited the Presidents
to 18 yards on 18 plays and gained 272 yards on 45 plays in the
opening 30 minutes. Cook rushed 16 times for 89 yards in the first
half, while Hatty threw for 150 yards on 15-of-21 accuracy.
Washington & Jefferson converted a first down for the first
time all afternoon at the 5:24 mark of the third quarter, but a
fumble on the next play led to the Aggies' fourth touchdown.
Hatty completed 22-of-30 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns,
while Cook piled up 121 yards on 27 rushing attempts. The W&J
defense was paced by Gal's 12 tackles. He also forced a
fumble in addition to his interception. Sophomore safety Ian
Hennessey also produced a game-high 13 tackles, while senior free
safety Craig Sedunov notched 11 stops. Senior quarterback Gino
Rometo was sacked five times and completed 7-of-12 passes for 40
yards. Senior wide receiver Jordan Roycroft caught a game-high six
passes for 30 yards, while freshman wideout Alex Baroffio grabbed
three passes for 32 yards.
SCOUTING BETHANY: The Bison joined Grove City as the only league
winners in last week's PAC-MAC Challenge Series. Bethany used a
career-high 220 rushing yards and three touchdowns from junior Eric
Walker to post a 31-29 victory at King's. King's attempted a
last-second field goal to win, but it sailed wide left and the
Bison escaped with their first victory of the season. For his
efforts, Walker was selected as the PAC and ECAC Offensive Player
of the Week. BC racked up 387 rushing yards, the most by a Bison
squad since 2007. Head Coach Tim Weaver turned over the keys to the
offense to freshman Matt Grimard and the Lowell, Massachusetts,
native has proven to be a dual threat. He became the first Bison
quarterback to rush for over 100 yards in 15 years with a 150-yard
effort versus King's. He also completed 8-of-16 passes. The defense
was paced by sophomore linebacker Kyle Arrington, who notched eight
tackles and a sack. In week one, Allegheny blanked the Bison by a
28-0 margin. Neither team was able to gain more than 300 yards in
the opener, but four Bethany turnovers proved to be the difference.
Walker had 115 all-purpose yards, while Arrington had 11
tackles.
YEAR AFTER YEAR: The Presidents have notched 26 consecutive
winning seasons which ranks as the 10th-best streak in Division III
history and 16th among all NCAA or NAIA divisions. Only Linfield
(54 years), Ithaca (38) and Mount Union (31) own longer active
streaks among NCAA Division III schools.
COVER TWO: Every Washington & Jefferson football game can be
heard live on WJPA (1450-AM) and online at
http://www.wjpa.com/sports. Bob Gregg and Mark Uriah are in their
27th season calling the action every Saturday. Ironically, the
Presidents' streak of 26-straight winning seasons started in 1984,
the first year the WJPA duo began broadcasting Presidents'
football.
SECOND COMING: The Presidents have won 11 of their last 12 games
during the second week of the season, including seven in a row. The
average margin of victory during those 10 wins is 20.8 points.
W&J's last week two loss was at Allegheny (28-25) in 2002.
BY THE NUMBERS: Under Head Coach Mike Sirianni, the Presidents
hold a 58-1 record when leading at halftime. W&J lost a 7-0
halftime lead last year against Thomas More, breaking a string of
56 consecutive games when W&J held on after leading at the
half. Washington & Jefferson has also won 18 consecutive games
when scoring 30 or more points.
HISTORY LESSON: Washington & Jefferson has won 666 games in
its 118-year history (666-371-40) which is third behind Wittenberg
(690) and Mount Union (672) in NCAA Division III history. From
2000-2009, W&J won 99 games, marking the fourth-highest total
in NCAA Division III for the decade. Only Mount Union (139), St.
John's (107) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (102) won more games than
W&J. Defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater also
recorded 99 victories.
JUST FOR KICKS: Senior Joe Kelly continued his strong play on
special teams in week one with a 40.6 yard punting average. Kelly
also handles the Presidents' placekicking duties, but did not on
Saturday due to an injury. Freshman Eric Eberle booted the lone
W&J kickoff. Kelly has a streak of 40 consecutive made extra
points which is five shy of tying the school record held by City of
Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl '03.
MOVIN' ON UP: Senior free safety Craig Sedunov has been the
Presidents' leading tackler in each of the last two seasons. With
239 career stops, he is on pace to become only the fourth player in
school history to reach 300. He is 36 tackles shy Mark Kern '89 for
fifth place on the career tackle list. Sedunov has started and
recorded at least one tackle in all 36 career games.
EYES ON IAN: Sophomore Ian Hennessy opened some eyes with his 2010
defensive debut on Saturday at Delaware Valley with a game-high 13
tackles. Hennessy, who came to W&J as a running back, plays the
linebacker/safety hybrid position in the Presidents' defense.
WELCOME HOME: W&J has posted a 46-5 regular-season record in
games at Cameron Stadium since 2000. The Presidents have won 30 of
their past 35 home openers.
WATCH FROM HOME: Next week's key PAC game between W&J and
Thomas More in Crestview Hills, Ky., will feature a live video
webcast compliments of TMC Sports Information and
livesportsvideo.com. The link for the live video will be available
on the W&J athletics (http://www.washjeff.edu/athletics.aspx)
website next week.
