Oct 15, 2015 5 min read

For Asa Costelnock, the idea of leaving the football team was unthinkable.

It didn’t matter as a senior on Washington & Jefferson College’s football team, the 6-2, 205-pound tight end had seen little action.

His love of the game kept him coming back when it would have been easier to dedicate more time to his studies. Instead, he worked hard at practice and got noticed.

W&J head coach Mike Sirianni rewards that type of effort and told Costelnock he would make his first start against Grove City. Costelnock responded with three receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns in a 55-7 victory at Cameron Stadium.

“It’s the best game I played on varsity,” said Costelnock, who had 16 career receptions entering the game. “Coach told me I would get the start. I was pretty happy.”

Costelnock will get the starting assignment again Saturday, when the Presidents host Bethany in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game.

“He did a good job,” said Sirianni. “It’s good to see a senior play like that. It makes you happy to see that.”

Costelnock plays the tight end position but W&J uses them differently than other teams, Costelnock and Mike Giampole will rotate at the position, which means each should be in for about 45 snaps. W&J’s tight ends are rarely in a three-point stance, go in motion a lot and are looked upon more as a wide receiver than a blocker, though that is a responsibility.

“Coach thought he’d give me a chance and see what happens,” said Costelnock. “I just took advantage of it. I love this game. I can’t picture life without it. It will certainly be an adjustment next year.”

W&J will be without defensive back Billy Kelly, who is out for the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. He injured it against Carnegie Mellon. Junior Luke Merhaut has taken his place at free safety.

The W&J secondary will have its hands full with Bethany’s Eric Blinn, who leads the PAC with 57 catches for 608 yards and six touchdowns. Tyler Ambush is averaging nearly 20 yards on his 29 receptions.

“Bethany is very talented, very capable of beating any team they play,” said Sirianni. “They are athletic, can throw and run. We have to be careful not to give up big plays and avoid their big-play capability. … They have two really good receivers.”

It’s easy to guess what California spent the most time on in practice this week: red zone offensive plays.

The Vulcans saw their chance to beat Slippery Rock last week dissolve in five drives inside the 20-yard line that produced zero points.

The Vulcans can’t do that if they want to defeat Indiana in this crucial PSAC West Division game.

“My experience tells me – and it’s true about this game – it’s never as bad as you think it was and it’s never as good as you think it was,” said Cal head coach Mike Kellar. “We were so close on a couple of things, a missed tackle here, an overcut route there, guys trying to do too much. You’re closer than you think. The score got away from us but they are correctable mistakes. We’ll spend more time on it because it really hurt us.”

Kowan Scott has been Cal’s hottest receiver, catching 11 passes for 285 yards over the past two games. He is third in the PSAC with 25 catches for 589 yards.

IUP replaced Chase Haslett, the son of former Steelers coach Jim Haslett, with Lenny Williams early in the season. Williams has only thrown 87 times for 581 yards and four TDs. He’s been intercepted twice. The heart of IUP’s offense is the running game, where Williams plays a more effective role. He has run for 439 yards and scored three touchdowns. He averages 8.6 yards on his 51 carries. Chris Temple leads the team with 518 yards and nine TDs from the spread offense.

“They are big physical,” Kellar said. “No doubt it will be the best defense we’ll see all year. On offense, (Willliams) can create his own offense. … He made (some of his runs) look like a video game.”

Waynesburg can deal a devastating blow to Westminster’s playoff hopes by winning this PAC game.

To do that, the Yellow Jackets (1-3, 2-4) must play better defense. They are seventh in the conference in allowing 30.3 points per game. In total defense, they are ninth.

Westminster (3-1, 4-2) is plus-6 on takeaways and linebacker Mac Quinn is tied for the PAC with 64 tackles. The Titans offense revolves around the running of Dominique McKinley, who needs 272 yards to reach 1,000.

Wide receiver Willie Leavell has 45 touches – rushing, receiving and returns – for 532 total yards, an average of 11.8 yards per touch.