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Presidents' weaknesses revealed
Most took that as the normal complimentary bluster that surrounds these events.
Sirianni, the head coach at Washington & Jefferson, felt the Saints had enough talent to challenge for the PAC title that W&J would attempt to defend.
Sirianni's words were prophetic.
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In winning this game, Thomas More revealed some serious flaws that Washington & Jefferson was able to hide, thanks partly to a weak schedule.
The Presidents were unable to run the football. Though Sirianni didn't call a running play after tailback Curt Jones hurt his ankle two plays into the fourth quarter, it didn't matter. Before his injury, Jones rushed for only 39 yards on 12 carries, and 15 came on two first-quarter runs.
Jones is a strong runner, able to pick up tough yards, but he lacks breakaway speed and doesn't make people miss. Sirianni had to be envious of the Thomas More running backs, who left W&J's defense grasping at air because of their moves.
Thomas More's defensive front dominated W&J's offensive line, holding the Presidents to 29 rushing yards and sacking quarterback Bobby Swallow eight times. The Saints' front line is not particularly big - only tackle Eric Barimah, at 6-1 and 290, has much size - but their quickness was too much for W&J. Tyler Owens, a 200-pound tackle, had three sacks.
The strength of W&J's defense has been suspect all season. The Presidents allowed three touchdowns or more in the first four games and gave up a lot of yards to sub-.500 teams.
In that critical third quarter against Thomas More - and after the Presidents had tied the game 14-14 - the W&J defense gave up touchdown runs of 40, 30 and 23 yards. The Saints rolled up 159 of their 273 rushing yards in a seven-minute span when they took a 35-14 lead.
With all these problems, W&J nearly managed to tie the game. But Swallow was stopped at the one-yard line on a fourth-down scramble in the fourth quarter. Had he scored there, Swallow might have been able to pull off one of the great comebacks in the school's history.
This was one of Swallow's greatest games at W&J. He threw 58 passes, completed 40 without an interception, for 361 yards.
Losing this game doesn't destroy W&J's hope for a playoff spot. It just forces the Presidents to impressively win their final two games: home to Bethany and at Waynesburg. The NCAA took two teams from the PAC in the 2005 playoffs. The Presidents have a great tradition and are well thought of by the NCAA.
If they make the playoffs, the Presidents need to address the problems the Saints exposed.
Or it will be a short stay.
Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
President's Weaknesses : 11/3/2008
I am a staunch fan of W&J but have always felt that their accomplishments wer somewhat tainted due to the PAC strength. The PAC is not a strong athletic conference and receiving an automatic NCAA bid does nothing to enhance that image. Ther are just too many excellent programs in Div. III and in my estimation the PAC is not one of them. I'll still support W&J in all sports because they deserve it. It's just the PAC I have trouble with.
PAC football weak??? : 11/5/2008
Ed, PAC football is better than at least half the D3 conferences. There are around 30 conferences and over 200 teams. The PAC is in the middle of it all. Not the top 10. Not the bottom 10. Your concern, and the concern of anyone who says it is weak, is truly not accurate.
