WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- The Allegheny College football team survived a second-half scare to beat Waynesburg University in overtime, 39-36, in the 2023 season opener on the road at John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Allegheny (1-0, 1-0 PAC) led by as many as 19 points in the first half, but needed to convert a third-and-15 play to secure the victory after limiting Waynesburg (0-1, 0-1 PAC) to a 42-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime. On the winning play, quarterback Jack Johnson (Hingham, Mass./Hingham/Milford Academy) threaded the needle to find Declan O'Brien (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) on an out-and-up route, one of many impressive plays between the two senior classmates against the Yellow Jackets.
Johnson, O'Brien, and senior running back Tre Worship (East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) fueled an Allegheny offense that put up nearly 500 total yards and six touchdown passes in Braden Layer's head coaching debut with the Gators. Johnson finished with 305 yards and three scores through the air with O'Brien as his main target, as the 5-foot-11 receiver from Irwin, Pennsylvania, made 14 catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Worship, who ran for a career-high 201 yards last season against Waynesburg, carried the rock 34 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns of his own.
In total, the Gators gained 498 yards on 81 plays, the most since torching the Yellow Jackets for 559 yards in last year's 31-15 win against Waynesburg at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.
Layer's offense found pay dirt on each of its first four possessions, including an 11-play, 80-yard drive on its first possession and a seven-play, 94-yard march midway through the second quarter. Despite failing to convert two early extra-point opportunities, the Gators cruised to a 26-7 advantage by halftime, with the only blemish being a 99-yard kickoff return by Waynesburg's Xavier Nelson early in the second quarter.
Waynesburg, however, was not keen on disappointing its home crowd in the first game of the 2023 campaign. A change to Division II transfer Samuel Barber at quarterback sparked new life in the Yellow Jackets, who looked like a different team on both sides of the ball in the second half. Trailing 33-27 with 1:10 remaining in regulation and the ball on their own 31-yard line, Barber led the Yellow Jackets down the field and found Dakota Romatino streaking down the left sideline for a 39-yard, game-tying touchdown.
The Allegheny defense forced three incompletions in Waynesburg's first overtime possession. Although Rico Sastoque missed a game-winning extra point after Romantino's touchdown, the kicker was good from 42 yards to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the day, 36-33. Moments later, facing a third-and-15 from the 19-yard line, Johnson connected with O'Brien for the walk-off win.
Inside the Box Score
- Allegheny outdid Waynesburg in most statistical categories, including rushing yards (193-to-80), passing yards (305-to-238), total yards (498-to-318), plays (81-to-57), and yards per play (6.1-to-5.6).
- Johnson completed 74.2% of his passes (23-of-31) for 305 yards and three touchdowns.
- For Waynesburg, Barber finished 13-of-25 for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
- Worship ran for 134 yards on 34 carries and three touchdowns.
- O'Brien amassed 169 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Austin Williams (Warsaw, N.Y./Warsaw Central) made six catches for 77 yards.
- Ian Durci (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) only had one reception, but it was a 28-yard touchdown grab.
- David Babb (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) and David Williams (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) each had one interception for the Allegheny defense.
- Second-year safety Samuel Caito (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) had a team-high eight tackles, followed by senior linebacker Travis Dear (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) with five.
- Josh Salisbury (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) provided Allegheny's only sack.
- Waynesburg defensive lineman Joel Zellem had six tackles and returned a Johnson fumble 39 yards, a play that helped the Yellow Jackets flip the momentum in the third quarter.
News and Notes
- For the second time in the last three years, Allegheny has won its season opener; the Gators beat Thiel College, 42-14, to kick off the 2021 campaign.
- Allegheny improved to 6-0 all-time against Waynesburg.
- Dating back to last year's 20-17 win at Bethany College in the 2022 finale, the Gators have won back-to-back games against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opponents in overtime.
- Layer, who previously spent two seasons as Allegheny's offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018, won his first-ever game as a collegiate head coach.
- Johnson had 300-plus yards through the air for the fourth time in his career and the first time since totaling a career-high 410 yards against the College of Wooster on November 6, 2021.
- Johnson now ranks seventh all-time in program history with nearly 4,700 career passing yards after surpassing Mike Ganey '70 (4,564).
- O'Brien moved into eighth place all-time in program history with 1,480 receiving yards, surpassing John Boughton '69 (1,314); O'Brien needs only 14 yards to pass Ben Bachik '20 (1,493) for seventh place.
- Salisbury, who spent his first two years as a tight end, picked up his first career sack in his first-ever game as a defensive lineman.
- Babb's interception marked the sixth of his career.
Up Next
Allegheny's 2023 home opener is set for Saturday, September 9, when the Gators host Geneva College at Frank B. Fuhrer Field at the Robertson Athletic Complex. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.