Presidents win with defense
Washington & Jefferson gave its seniors a win in their final home game as the Presidents defeated ground-oriented Geneva, 17-7, Saturday afternoon at Cameron Stadium.
The Presidents held the Golden Tornadoes to 192 total yards – only 44 passing yards – while improving to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The 44 yards passing were the fewest allowed by the W&J defense since surrendering 35 at Juniata in the 2011 season opener.
Quarterback Pete Coughlin passed for 291 yards and a touchdown while completing 29 of 36 attempts. Wide receiver Jesse Zubik became only the sixth player in PAC history, and third W&J player, with 1,200 receiving yards in a season as he caught 13 passes for 129 yards. He moved to within 18 yards of breaking Alex Baroffio’s W&J career receiving yards record (3,203).
W&J forged a 10-0 lead before Geneva (2-5, 3-6) scored its only touchdown on a four-yard run by Bryan Stafford midway through the second quarter. Geneva rushed for 148 yards and completed three of five passes. Trewon Marshall led the Golden Torandoes’ ground game with 116 yards on 21 carries.
The Presidents pushed the lead to 17-7 when Anthony Keriotius caught a four-yard TD pass from Coughlin with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.
Neither team scored in the second half.
Coughlin opened the scoring with a 13-yard run less than three minutes into the game. Ted Ford made the score 10-0 with a 26-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
W&J’s Nick Mungro had a game-high 12 tackles, including 1 ½ for loss. The Presidents’ defense made 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
The Presidents conclude the regular season next Saturday at Waynesburg.