Nov 17, 2017 4 min read

Bright yellow jerseys are worn at football practice for Washington & Jefferson College by players who are to avoid contact.

Alex Rowse wears one in practice, but this time it has a different meaning. Instead of preventing an injury, the shirt Rowse wears is worn to protect an injury from becoming worse.

Rowse, a senior quarterback, is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered three weeks ago and is a game time decision today, when W&J hosts Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Kickoff is at noon at Cameron Stadium.

Sophomore Jacob Adams has played well in the three games Rowse missed. In practice this week, Rowse looked sharp but he didn’t take any hits. Rowse hurt his nonthrowing shoulder and it hasn’t been tested under game situations.

“I’m ready to play,” said Rowse. “It feels great to be back at practice.”

Rowse said sitting out was a “different” feeling on game day.

“This was the first time I ever sat out practice,” he said. “I missed two weeks. I let it rest for a week, then I started therapy.”

W&J head coach Mike Sirianni said the quarterback situation is unsettled.

“We’ll have to see how Alex practices and we’ll see what he is able to do and not able to do,” he said earlier this week. “Either way, we’ll prepare both and Matt Heslin has to get snaps because he might be the backup (if Rowse can’t go). Alex has earned the right for us to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s a senior and has played really well for us.”

Rowse was having an outstanding season before the injury in the Westminster game in Week 7. He’s thrown for 1,981 yards and 21 touchdowns. He’s thrown 8 interceptions in 227 pass attempts. Rowse could be going against a defense very similar to the one at W&J.

“They do a lot of stunts,” said Rowse. “They run a lot of read coverage.”

Whoever quarterbacks the team will be looking for senior wide receiver Jesse Zubik, who has 65 catches for 1,210 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is coming off a 13-catch, 250-yard, 2-touchdown performance in the regular-season finale, a 42-0 win over rival Waynesburg. And he will be going against a defense that will use a W&J-like 4-2-5 alignment at times.

“They are a fundamentally sound defense,” said Zubik. “They read their keys well and they flow well to the football. We have a game plan down and we’ll be ready for anything they throw at us.”

Zubik and the rest of the large (40) senior class will be playing in only their second playoff game in four years.

“It’s win or you’re done,” said Zubik. “Before, it was back to work for next season after (the last game). Not now for these seniors. That’s why we have to give it everything we got each play.”

W&J’s defense recorded its first shutout since 2012 in the win over Waynesburg. Interestingly, that was the year Johns Hopkins ousted W&J from the playoffs with a 42-10 victory. No players from either team are around and only a hanful of coaches were present at that game. W&J turned the ball over three times and quarterbacks Matt Bliss and Kevin Mechas each were knocked out of the game with an injury.

“Turnovers are big in every game so that’s our main focus in every game,” said W&J cornerback O’Shea Anderson. “If we win the turnover battle, we have a shot at winning.”