GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The No. 15 ranked Washington & Jefferson College football team raced out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Red and Black rolled to a 59-0 shutout victory at Thiel College in Saturday's Presidents' Athletic Conference opener.
The Presidents turned in an all-around team effort, as the offense, defense and special teams units all contributed at least one touchdown against the Tomcats.
After facing tough sledding in a week one victory over nationally-ranked Wittenberg, the W&J offense came out clicking on all cylinders. The defense also played a critical role in Saturday's win at Thiel, as the unit forced eight turnovers, which was the most for W&J in a game since 2014.
After Thiel was forced to punt after a three and out on the game's first possession, the Presidents used a six-play, 74-yard drive to open the scoring. W&J quarterback Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) connected with wide receiver Andrew Wolf (Ashland, Ohio/Hillsdale) for a 17-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0.
On the ensuing drive, Mike Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Langley) pounced on a loose football to give the Presidents the ball at the Thiel 28. Less than a minute later, Adams connected with Wolf again for another President touchdown, this one coming on a 26-yard scoring strike at the 10:02 mark of the first.
After the W&J defense forced another three and out for the Thiel offense, a short punt allowed the Red and Black to set up shop in Thiel territory. Seven plays and 42 yards later, Adams had his third touchdown pass of the first quarter, this time finding Cameron O'Brien (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) for a four-yard passing score. The two-point pass from Adams to Jordan Halford (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) extended the lead to 21-0 at the 6:36 mark.
Already with a three touchdown lead, an opportunistic defense set up the Presidents' offense for another score. Joey Koroly (Washington, Pa./Trinity) intercepted a Tomcat pass and returned it to the home team's 10-yard line. That is where Adams found O'Brien for a touchdown pass for the second time in as many drives. An extra point by Ian Phillips (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) converted the point after to make the score 28-0 with 5:01 to play in the quarter.
The relentless W&J defense forced another interception, as this time it was Max Garda (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) that set up the visitors for a scoring opportunity. A six-play, 34-yard drive was capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington). The point after by Phillips made the score 35-0 after 15 minutes of play.
The 35 first quarter points was the most by the Presidents since they jumped out to a 35-0 lead over Bethany in a PAC game in 2004.
Early in the second quarter, Garda picked off Marko Bakovic for a second time, marking the fourth straight Thiel possession that ended with an interception. W&J would march 65 yards on nine plays to set up a 23-yard field goal by Phillips, which extended the lead to 38-0.
Just two plays into the next Thiel drive, Cole Weston (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) forced a fumble that Delonta Nunnally (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) promptly pounced on to give W&J the ball at the Thiel 32. Three plays later the Presidents found the end zone once again. West found the end zone from seven yards out for his second score of the day. Phillips followed with the point after to make the score 45-0.
With less than a minute to play in the half, Nick Getz (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) forced another Thiel turnover, which was picked up and returned 52 yards by Alex Keith (Hartville, Ohio/Lake) for a defensive touchdown. The Keith touchdown and point after by Phillips made the score 52-0 Presidents at halftime.
W&J added its final touchdown of the day when Koroly took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and raced 98 yards for a touchdown. That was the first kick return for a touchdown by a President since Max Creighan returned one 95 yards in the NCAA Playoffs in 2014.
The Presidents defense continued to do their part in the second half, as Nick Freiwald (Clairton, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) intercepted a pass in the end zone to help preserve the shutout.
A balanced effort allowed the Presidents to shut out the Tomcats for a second consecutive year. Saturday's shutout was the first on the road for the Presidents since 2012, when the Red and Black also blanked Thiel. The W&J rolled up 467 yards of total offense in the victory.
Adams completed 15-of-19 passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns. Justin Heacock (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) performed well off the bench, connecting of 15 of 18 passes for 133 yards.
W&J sported a balanced ground game, as EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone), Jack Ryan (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) and West combined to rush for 163 yards.
Wolf finished with six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns while Burns hauled in three receptions for 76. Defensively, Alex Bellinotti (Lower Burrell, Pa./Shady Side Academy) led the defense with six tackles.
The Presidents (2-0, 1-0 PAC) travels to Carnegie Mellon University for a conference clash with the Tartans on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Pittsburgh.
Adams tosses four touchdowns, defense forces eight turnovers as W&J shuts out Thiel
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20190914_tcx7.xml
2019
Washington and Jefferson
59
Thiel
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Jefferson (2-0) | 35 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 59 |
| Thiel (0-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sep 14, 2019