W&J hangs on to beat Waynesburg, 33-28
Normally, an 8-2 record would be something to celebrate for any college football team.
Just don’t ask Mike Sirianni about an 8-2 record.
The Presidents reached that mark Saturday at Cameron Stadium with a 33-28 defeat of rival Waynesburg in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference finale for both teams.
The two losses, one each to Grove City and Carnegie Mellon, knocked W&J out of the NCAA Division III playoffs and into a possible ECAC Bowl game.
This game just hurt their pride. The Presidents (8-2, 8-2) were shut out in the second half and were outplayed by the Yellow Jackets (2-8, 2-8) in the final 30 minutes, being outscored, 21-0.
“It is what it is,” said Sirianni. “I give them a lot of credit. I knew they were talented. They have some good players. They didn’t stop us on offense one time. We stopped ourselves. Their quarterback played good. They have a good system. It makes our conference better when you have another good team.”
W&J took a 33-7 lead at halftime, thanks to two touchdowns by John Peduzzi who caught 10 passes for 179 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards receiving. His seasonal total is 1,030 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“I don’t know how many yards I had today. I was counting touchdowns,” Peduzzi said. “I think everything they did we saw before. They switched their cornerbacks but that didn’t have too much effect on us. We have to run a complete game and move the ball the entire game.”
W&J quarterback Jake Pugh completed 27 of 36 passes for 355 yards and four touchdowns. He did not throw an interception.
W&J had two fumbles in the end zone for touchbacks and lost scoring opportunities. One each came in the first and second halves. Zach Cernuto lost both fumbles but also scored the first two touchdowns for W&J.
“We had so many chances to put the game away and we didn’t,” Sirianni said. “We fumbled twice in the end zone. We dropped a touchdown pass. You have to take care of opportunities and we didn’t.”
Zayne Cawley’s 7-yard run with 2:27 left in the first quarter were the first points scored against W&J in the initial quarter by Waynesburg since 2019. It cut W&J’s lead to 14-7 at the time.
Cawley scored the first touchdown of the third quarter and finished with 158 yards on 26 carries. Quarterback Sam Barber broke through the middle of the line for a 9-yard touchdown that cut W&J’s lead to 33-21.
Waynesburg wide receiver Dakota Romantino caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Barber to make it a five-point lead.
“I feel like we have a very talented young group of men,” said Waynesburg head coach Dr. Cornelius Coleman. “Whenever I find a way to put them in a better position, the sky is the limit for them. They took a step in the growth process. We’ll go into the offseason understanding the things we need to work on to get better.”
When Troy Volpatti recovered the onside kick following Romantino’s touchdown, all W&J had to do was kneel to run out the clock and save the victory.
Hash marks
WJPA broadcaster Mark Uriah wrapped up a 40-year career covering W&J football Saturday. Uriah is retiring after a long, illustrious career in radio. … W&J leads the series 47-4, the last Waynesburg win coming in 2014. The last win for Waynesburg at W&J came in 1954. … Sirianni has a 184-44 record and is the winningest coach in program history. … Waynesburg senior running back Justin Flack missed the game with an injury. … W&J inside linebacker Justin Johns led W&J with 13 tackles. Tanner Volpatti and Bruno Fabrycki each had an interception.