jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

If not for a road sign, David Gitlitz might be playing linebacker for another small college football team.

On a trip back to his hometown, Columbus, Ohio, Gitlitz saw the sign for Washington & Jefferson College along the interstate and decided to drop in for a visit.

W&J was recruiting him but a stop when no one was expecting him might give him a better feel for the campus. He liked what he saw.

"I wanted to take a peek," Gitlitz said. "I talked to the coaches, made the visit and here I am."

Gitlitz, a junior, will be at his usual inside linebacker position today when Washington & Jefferson College takes on North Carolina Wesleyan in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs at Cameron Stadium. Kickoff is noon.

W&J, 10-0 and champions of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, is coming off a less-than-stellar defensive performance against Bethany. The Presidents allowed more than 600 total yards and 39 points. Fortunately for Gitlitz and the rest of the defense, W&J's offense scored 77 points.

"I don't know what happened in that game," Gitlitz said. "We're going to put that behind us. People just weren't making plays. If it happens this week, there is a good chance we'll be sitting home next week."

W&J is allowing an average of 300 total yards per game, but the statistic is deceiving because the first team defense was on the bench for much of the second half of four games, when the score got out of hand.

And the Bethany game pushed the average up by about 60 yards per game.

Gitlitz leads the Presidents in tackles (71.5) and tackles for losses (14.5). He has helped W&J produce 28 turnovers, including four against Bethany that helped the Presidents score 49 second-half points.

"He's a passionate player," said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. "Football is important to him and he's a student of the game. He's 6-4, 225 pounds and can run."

Gitlitz knows W&J's 19-18 record in the last 37 playoff games shows the unpredictability of the postseason. And that adds a certain finality to each game.

"I realize this program has a great tradition," Gitlitz said. "We know we have to live up to that."

Now that's tough

North Carolina Wesleyan's Cedrick Townsend is tough. We know that because of what happened to the senior quarterback early in his college career.

"He broke his jaw in the first quarter of a game during his sophomore year," said North Carolina Wesleyan head coach Jack Ginn. "And he finished the game. We didn't know he'd broken it at the time. We found out after the game. But that shows how competitive he is."

Townsend shared quarterback duties with Kevin Allen at the time and the two combined for nearly 2,000 yards passing.

"Cedrick is the centerpiece to our offense," Ginn said. "He does a lot of things for us and the kids know he's a leader."

Townsend helped North Carolina Wesleyan (8-2) become the first USA South Conference team to go unbeaten in league play.

Notes

The Presidents have scored in 48 of 61 trips to the red zone (inside the 20-yard line). They have 42 touchdowns and eight field goals. ... Ginn was an assistant coach on Emory & Henry teams that played W&J in the late 1990s. ... If successful, W&J will host a second-round game against the winner of Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor.

, two Texas teams.

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