jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

At times, Stefon Strothers can blend into a crowd of players. At 5-7, he can be easy to miss, until he's stepping in front of the football to make a game-changing interception.

This small safety has a been a big part of Waynesburg University's success on defense. And he will have an even bigger job Saturday afternoon.

Strothers will be the last line of defense against Washington & Jefferson College quarterback Bobby Swallow. That's the same Bobby Swallow who has thrown 33 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

This battle, one of many that will take place at Wiley Stadium, will help decide which team leaves with its first loss of the season and which team is on the right path to a Presidents' Athletic Conference championship and NCAA Division III playoff berth.

The Yellow Jackets, ranked 21st, are 4-0 in the conference and the No. 8 Presidents are 3-0. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.

"It's going to be on the secondary to win this game," said Strothers, a Canon-McMillan graduate. "This is a good passing team."

Strothers has been one of those can-do guys ever since transferring to Waynesburg after an unhappy first stop at Thiel. What he found at Waynesburg was a perfect fit in Jeff Hand's defensive scheme as a cornerback. One year later and there was a new person, Rick Shepas, leading the team and he wasn't easy to please. Then, Strothers was moved to safety.

"I've been hard on Stefon," Shepas said. "I've been hard on him because I don't want him to ever use any bad situations that happened in his life ... as an excuse. We haven't done that and it's made him stronger. He plays hard. He plays healthy, he plays hurt, he makes adjustments, the whole nine yards."

Waynesburg's defense has been somewhat overlooked this season. It's understandable because of the sensational season Robert Heller is having at tailback. The Ringgold graduate is on pace to rush for nearly 1,900 yards and a record-setting season tends to eat up the headlines.

But the Yellow Jackets lead the conference and are third in the nation in rush defense. They also lead the PAC in total defense, allowing only 206.7 yards per game.

Strothers and teammate Jacques Newberry are tied for the conference lead with four interceptions apiece. They will have their hands full with W&J's taller receivers: 6-3 Luke Espe, 6-4 Ryan Church and 6-3 Craig Besong.

"(Height) has never been a problem for me," Strothers said. "I go against (6-3) Ray Hightower every day in practice. Luckily, he's on our team. That's not going to be a problem covering those taller guys."

Especially with defensive end Mike Czerwien and linebacker Brendon Steele pressuring the quarterback. The two have combined for 106 tackles and Czerwien has a school-record 47 career sacks.

"We have a lot of good players on defense," Strothers said. "Once you see us run to the ball, then you know it's not about just one player."

Notes

Waynesburg had five interceptions in last week's win over Thiel. ... Newberry has intercepted a pass in four of the last five games. ... Over the last three seasons, Waynesburg has allowed only three running backs to reach 100 yards in a game and two of them - R.J. Zitzelsberger (2005) and Ryan Mendel (2006) - played for W&J.

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