Angelo Volomino has intercepted four passes and has six additional pass breakups for the Presidents from his secondary spot. W&J athletics photo by Stephen Rydzak

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

The leaves hadn’t even changed color yet and Washington & Jefferson was on the brink.

Staring at a giant goose egg, the Presidents were in a precarious position heading into their off week. They opened the year with 49-31 home loss to Utica and followed it with a 38-31 setback at Hampden-Sydney.

Something had to change for Washington & Jefferson as prepared to visit rival Grove City, which tied the Presidents for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title last year and held a No. 18 ranking going into the showdown.

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“After we lost those first two, we knew that we needed to come out and win. I could say those next two weeks of practice were pretty intense,” W&J senior receiver John Peduzzi said. “We needed to do some soul searching, essentially, and find something deep down. We knew we were a good team. We just had to prove we were to everyone else.”

Washington & Jefferson considered it an elimination game — even though it had seven more PAC tilts remaining.

“We just looked at each other and locked in. We focused on stacking good days and good practices together,” W&J senior cornerback Angelo Volomino said. “Grove City was ranked at the time and we knew that game was make or break — that was our season there. Really, every game since the off week has been a playoff game for us.”

The switch finally flipped for the Presidents against the Wolverines. They scored the game’s first 34 points and cruised to the 34-14 triumph.

“Our mentality was that our backs were against the wall. Are we going to lie down and let them hit us or are we going to get back up and fight?” Peduzzi said. “It was a do-or-die game and a huge win for us. It was a very highly anticipated game. We knew Grove City was a good team and we knew we were, too. We had a lot of inexperienced players in bigger roles in those first two games, so they built on their experience. We knew what we were capable of and we knew we weren’t losing that game. We knew every game from that point was a playoff game.”

The win over Grove City, which is in the NCAA playoffs as well, sparked the Presidents, who ran the table to close the regular season with an 8-2 mark and defended their PAC crown with an 8-0 mark, just ahead of the Wolverines (7-1).

“Every week has been a different challenge for different groups on our offense and defense,” Volomino said. “We pride ourselves on staying focused, putting good practices together and beating some pretty good teams. We’re glad to win the conference and get this playoff bid. Now, it’s time to take advantage of it.”

Washington & Jefferson qualified for the playoffs last year for the first time since 2018. The Presidents admit their playoff inexperience showed as they built a 14-0 lead through a quarter at Randolph-Macon, but watched the Yellow Jackets tally the next 38 to post a 38-22 triumph.

“We went up two quick scores on Randolph-Macon and it wasn’t that people weren’t ready. None of us had been in a playoff game and I think the inexperience hurt us,” Peduzzi said. “I think we just didn’t know the mentality of the other teams in the playoffs. They are a playoff team for a reason. No one will give up. Everyone has their backs against the wall and we have to keep fighting to the end.”

The returning players drew from that experience when they were searching for answers following this year’s 0-2 start.

“Even against Randolph-Macon last year, there just needed to be more intensity,” Volomino said. “We have been to the playoffs and we know the standard. We know what it takes to be one of the better teams in the country. It just took our team a little bit of figuring out for that to happen.”

Now, the squad looks to capitalize on its experience as it treks across Pennsylvania to meet Susquehanna (8-2) in the first round.

“Everyone here knows what needs to happen. No one is going to go down without a fight,” Peduzzi said. “Susquehanna made it to the semis last year. We know they are a good team. We just have to execute where we can execute.”