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Ruffing’s 4th TD caps drive, comeback

6 min read
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Washington & Jefferson’s Ryan Ruffing gets past Westminster’s Justin Shaw for a touchdown Saturday night at Cameron Stadium.

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W&J quarterback Pete Coughlin throws for a first down over the Westminster defense Saturday.

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W&J defensive lineman Ryan Snedeker tackles Westminster’s Dominique McKinle Saturday.

Punches were thrown, the stadium lights went off and an upset was almost completed.

It all happened in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game that did not count toward the standings.

A Westminster player was ejected in the first quarter and a power outage delayed the game for 15 minutes in the third quarter, but the story of the night was the Presidents’ offense – or at times, lack thereof.

With a steady rain falling on Cameron Stadium, W&J needed 21 fourth-quarter points to complete a come-from-behind 35-31 win over Westminster Saturday night.

The Presidents weren’t themselves against an opponent that head coach Mike Sirianni called a championship contender in the PAC. They had two turnovers and were one-dimensional for three quarters, relying on senior running back Ryan Ruffing. After W&J comeback, the Titans regained the lead with three minutes left in the game, but W&J answered on its next drive when Ruffing scored his fourth touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line for the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Quarterback Pete Coughlin put the Presidents (2-0) in position with a nine-yard run to the 1-yard line. Instead of settling for a field goal, Sirianni did not hesitate to hand the ball to Ruffing.

“On that fourth and short, I didn’t even think about kicking it,” Sirianni said. “Honestly, we have one of the best running backs in the country, so why not just give him the ball?”

After W&J took its first lead since early in the first quarter, Titans running backs Kimu Kim and Dominique McKinley, who rushed for 164 yards, marched Westminster downfield where Kim scored from one yard out for the three-point lead with less than three minutes to play. The Presidents’ Anthony Keriotis returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to Westminster’s 44-yard line. Ruffing rushed for 91 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 1, 7, 3 and 1 yard. Coughlin struggled mightily for most of the game, completing just one of 7 passes in the third quarter.

But the fourth quarter was all that mattered. He completed seven consecutive passes, ran for a touchdown and set up Ruffing’s eventual game-winner.

With W&J trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, Coughlin took the snap from the Titans’ 13-yard line and found open space. He juked a defender and another closed in until wide receiver Jesse Zubik, returning from a hip pointer, laid a block to seal the edge, insuring a touchdown run. Coughlin, an Upper St. Clair graduate, completed 19 of 35 passes for 210 yards and he threw two first-quarter interceptions.

“Pete Coughlin is awesome,” Westminster head coach Scott Benzel said. “He gets out, beats you with his feet. He’s the X-factor. He keeps them dangerous. When things aren’t there, he makes plays. He’s a heck ofa football player.”

After the defense forced a three-and-out, Coughlin engineered a six-play, 74-yard drive that Ruffing capped with a three-yard touchdown run for a 28-24 lead.

The drama began in the first quarter and never stopped.

After Westminster (1-1) tied the score 7-7, W&J defensive back Zak Dickey was blocking Titans running back Isaiah Faulk. As the play ended, Faulk pushed Dickey to the ground and threw two punches. The Presidents’ players ran onto the field from the sideline. It took officials several minutes to sort out the penalties before off-setting unsportsmanlike conducts were issued and Faulk was ejected. Dickey was taken to the hospital to have x-rays and the results were unknown.

“You’ll get two different stories, but the kid threw a punch that blatantly would be assault and battery,” Sirianni said. “It was one of the most atrocious things I’ve seen on a football field ever and I’ve been coaching and playing. There’s no reason for that. We did not react accordingly, but I have not seen anything as blatant and dirty.

“How are we supposed to react? That’s the most ridiculous thing.”

The rise in emotions did not help W&J.

Deep in his own end after a three-and-out, W&J punter Kevin Mechas took the high snap just four plays after the ejection and he was tackled in the end zone for a safety to give the Titans the 9-7 advantage.

The Titans could not capitalize on the ensuing drive, but Coughlin’s rough start continued. He forced a pass that was intercepted by Todd Jeter, who returned it 23 yards for the touchdown.

Ruffing’s 8-yard touchdown with 1:45 left in the first half cut the deficit to two points, but mistakes plagued the Presidents. They had another drive stall in Titans territory after a penalty and two sacks, and Ruffing ran for a 44-yard touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty.

W&J was held to just 147 yards of total offense on 41 plays in the first half.

“They made a couple more plays than we did,” Benzel said. “It was a good football game with two good football teams. We just didn’t finish.”

After a three-and-out on their first drive, Merhaut’s 51-yard punt return set up Ruffing’s first touchdown – a 1-yard run.

Westminster quarterback Paul Columbo’s 24-yard screen pass to Jametrius Bentley set up Kim’s 9-yard touchdown to tie the score 7-7 with 3:19 left in the first quarter. On the following kickoff, Faulk was ejected and emotions erupted from there.

Facing 3rd-&-6 on its own 46-yard line late in the third quarter, Bentley caught a short pass off a slant route and ran up the sideline for a touchdown to give the Titans a 10-point lead.

“It’s definitely a relief (to get the win), but they’re a great team,” Coughlin said. “They showed how tough they are and that we are definitely beatable. We need to regroup, come back next week and come back the way we usually do.”

NOTES: Wide receivers Daniel Lis and Eric Scott combined to catch 14 passes for 154 yards. … Zubik caught just two passes for 33 yards after missing the season opener. … On the Titans’ final possession, Dan Graziano’s interception sealed the victory for the Presidents. … Sophomore middle linebacker Zach Walker, a South Fayette graduate, recovered a fumble early in the third quarter.

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