Presidents two wins from playoff berth
Two games separate Washington & Jefferson College from winning the automatic berth in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
The Presidents need those wins to tie Thomas More for first place, and get the automatic bid, thanks to a 45-21 win over the Saints three weeks ago.
But to get to that point, W&J must first dispose of Geneva today (7 p.m. kickoff).
The Presidents are 5-1 in the conference – 6-2 overall – with two conference games remaining. Thomas More is in first place with a 6-1 record and finishes the conference schedule against Bethany today.
“We can’t go anywhere unless we get the first (win),” said head coach Mike Sirianni. “We’re thinking one game at a time. Nothing matters if we don’t win this game.”
The Presidents, riding a three-game winning streak, will finish the regular season against arch rival Waynesburg, which has a bye week and will go into the game with two weeks to prepare.
“(Geneva does) a lot of different things,” said Sirianni. “They are a big team. They are a much bigger team than us.”
Quarterback Zack Hayward paces the Geneva offense. He is completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,273 yards and has 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.
His counterpart, Matt Bliss, has thrown for 1,734 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions in 223 attempts.
Tailback Dion Wiegand passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark last week by three yards. He has been a scoring machine, leading the conference with 21 touchdowns and 126 points.
“When we beat Thomas More, we knew we had a legitimate shot,” said Wiegand. “We’re going game-to-game.”
Schroeder back as starter: Cody Schroeder knew he would have another chance at becoming the starting quarterback on California University’s football team. He just didn’t know when.
That time is now, five weeks after losing the job to James Harris, another sophomore, after a poor performance in a loss to Indiana in Week 4. Interestingly, Harris lasted just four starts before sustaining a head injury. Schroeder came in and play fairly well in a 35-17 loss to Slippery Rock last week. That loss most likely will keep Cal out of the playoffs this season.
With a full week of work with the first team, Schroeder should be more comfortable when the Vulcans (4-2, 6-3) hosts Mercyhurst (3-3, 5-4) at Adamson Stadium today in a PSAC West Division game. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m.
“We are still evaluating the situation,” said Cal head coach Mike Kellar. “But we’re going to go with Cody. He’s taken the most snaps this week. James hasn’t been cleared yet, so that’s what we feel is the best option. We’re just being cautious. As I said before, we have two quarterbacks we can win with.”
Interestingly, the two quarterbacks have nearly identical statistics. Schroeder has completed 85 of 151 passes for 1,072 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. Harris has completed 73 of 143 passes for 1,061 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Schroeder has an efficiency rating of 126.3 and Harris 124.8.
“Cody has been very good in practice,” Kellar said. “He’s looking the same as he did in camp. There are things he can improve on, and this gives him another opportunity.”
Mercyhurst has been in the top third of most of the team categories in the conference. The offense centers on the running of halfback Brandon Brown-Dukes, who needs 47 yards to reach 1,000. Quarterback Anthony Vendemia has struggled this year, completed just over 50 percent of his passes for 1,072 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.