Oct 11, 2014 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg University football team came into Saturday’s Homecoming game against Case Western looking to build off a dominant defensive effort last week in a shutout of Grove City.

The Yellow Jackets did exactly that and received a four-touchdown performance from quarterback Carter Hill as Waynesburg rolled to a 35-15 victory over Case Western in the first meeting ever between the schools.

The Waynesburg defense forced a pair of turnovers and sacked Case Western quarterback Billy Beecher three times.

“We have been playing a lot of guys,” said Waynesburg head coach Rick Shepas. “We are starting to get comfortable with our adjustments. I’m happy with the experience the guys are getting. Once we settle in, it usually goes well for us.”

The win improves Waynesburg to 3-1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and 5-1 overall.

Both teams came out slowly with punts ending the first five possessions of the game. Case Western (2-3, 2-3) started gashing the Waynesburg defense on the ground late in the first quarter, which led to a 40-yard field goal from Nick Bavaro on the final play of the quarter.

The Case Western lead didn’t last long as Waynesburg’s Willie Leavell jump-started the Yellow Jackets by retuning the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and 7-3 lead.

Waynesburg caught a break as CW had to kick off twice after being offside on the first attempt.

“The kickoff return gave us the jolt we needed,” Shepas said. “Although if we catch a couple passes, we are still on the field and not punting after third down.”

The Spartans answered on their next drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Beecher to Bryan Erb, but the Yellow Jackets’ offense started rolling after falling behind 9-7.

Hill completed 6 of 9 pass attempts on an 11-play drive that culminated with a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bernie Thompson on a fourth-down play on which Thompson made an outstanding acrobatic catch.

The Yellow Jackets upped their lead to 21-9 before halftime when Hill and Thompson hooked up again, this time with the receiver making an even better acrobatic catch for a seven-yard touchdown.

“As usual, Carter threw perfect balls,” said Thompson. “He laid it out there, just barely over the defender’s hands, and all I had to do is go up and get them.”

Thompson’s second TD was set up when Case Western made the mistake of giving Hill and the Waynesburg offense the football back with just over 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Leavell sprung a draw play for a 47-yard gain, which set up the Yellow Jackets with a first-and-goal situation.

“You have to respect our running game now,” Shepas said. “Jake Forsythe is tough to stop and Willie Leavell is a great change of pace.”

The duo of Forsythe and Leavell combined for 142 rushing yards on 22 carries.

The second half saw more of the same, with the Yellow Jackets’ defense not allowing any big plays and Hill making a couple of clutch throws to move the Waynesburg offense.

Wide receiver Andrew English caught a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter to extend the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 28-9, and Hill connected with tight end Zac Capan in the fourth to push the lead to 35-9.

Hill completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 173 yards and four touchdowns.

Waynesburg stopped Case Western on fourth down on four different occasions, including an interception and long return by safety Mike Lopuchovsky, who also led the Yellow Jackets with eight tackles.

The Spartans added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter on a Connor Simpson 34-yard touchdown pass to Zech Medved.