NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College football team scored all 17 of its points in the fourth quarter as the Red and Black rallied to knock off rival Westminster College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon at Harold Burry Stadium in Lawrence County.
The victory improves the Presidents to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in PAC play. The loss was the second straight for the Titans, who fall to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in conference games.
The win was extra sweet for the Presidents, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the head-to-head series and also keeps W&J's hopes alive of a conference championship. W&J welcomes unbeaten and No. 17 ranked Carnegie Mellon University to Cameron Stadium for another league showdown on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Cameron Stadium. The Tartans escaped Waynesburg with a 27-20 victory on Saturday afternoon. CMU scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:09 to play.
W&J picked up the victory despite five turnovers and being shut out for the first three quarters of game action. The Titans entered halftime with a lead after Brice Butler intercepted a W&J pass and raced 77 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 showing on the second quarter clock. The Titans intercepted a W&J pass just before halftime to preserve the lead.
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter and the host team carried a 7-0 lead into the fourth. The defensives continued to shine early in the final frame, as the two teams exchanged interceptions on their initial possessions. An interception by W&J freshman cornerback Bruno Fabrycki (New Salem, Pa./Albert Gallatin) set up the Red and Black offense with the ball deep in Titan territory. Fabrycki picked off a Tyler McGowan pass and returned it to the Westminster 11-yard line. Two plays later, Jacob Pugh (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to John O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Pittsburgh Central Catholic) at the 12:44 mark of the fourth. The PAT by Deven Wyandt (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) evened the score at 7-7.
The W&J defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, which included a sack on third down by Alex Keith (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) and Jaren Thimons (Valencia, Pa. / North Catholic). W&J took advantage of good field position, as they drove 60 yards into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Westminster committed a pair of personal foul penalties on the drive before W&J used a double-pass trick play to find the end zone. W&J receiver John Peduzzi (Hilton Head, S.C. / Hilton Head Christian Academy) connected with a wide open O'Rourke for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The PAT by Wyandt gave W&J its first lead of the day at 14-7 with 7:58 to play.
Westminster's Luca Botti fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his own 24-yard line. The fumble was forced by Tyler Sabo (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) and recovered by Zach Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa. / Southmoreland). W&J took advantage of another short field and eventually made it a two-possession game on a 27-yard field goal by Wyandt.
The Titans drove 75 yards on their next possession and found the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown pass by McGowan to Ryan Gomes. The PAT was added to trim W&J's lead to 17-14 with 1:23 to play. Westminster was out of timeouts and forced to recover an onside kick attempt. W&J sealed the victory as T.J. Troxell (Hatboro, Pa. / Upper Moreland) handled the onside kick and two kneels down ran out the clock.
O'Rourke, who entered the day with just one collegiate receiving touchdown (also against Westminster in 2019), put together a key performance to help W&J beat Westminster. The senior h-back hauled in both touchdown receptions and finished with a team-high five catches for 58 yards.
The defense lived up to its billing as one of the best in Division III football. The unit held the Titans to just 11 first downs, 71 yards rushing and 112 yards passing. They had four sacks and forced 11 Titan punts.
Leading the way was Keith, who finished with a game-high nine tackles (4.5 tackles for loss) and 2.5 sacks. Keith added three additional quarterback hurries. Dawson Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) collected eight tackles, which included 3.5 tackles for loss. Justin Johns (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), the team's leading tackler this season, finished with nine tackles.