Adams stay at QB could be short for W&J
When Alex Rowse went down with a shoulder injury Saturday in Washington & Jefferson’s overtime win against Westminster, Jacob Adams thought his time as quarterback would be long and prosperous.
It turns out that it might be only this week.
The damage done to Rowse was not as crippling as first suspected, and after this week he is expected to be a gametime decision the rest of the way.
So Adams wants to make the most of his start Saturday, when the Presidents travel to Saint Vincent for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game.
Kickoff is 1 p.m. in Latrobe.
“We’re not going to change at all,” said Adams. “We’re focusing on getting the win this week. I’m wishing the best for Alex and hoping he can get back as soon as possible. It will be a little different coming in this week, with it not being overtime. I learned a lot. The coaches are preparing me well for this week and we want to go in and get the win.”
W&J is three wins away from a 10-0 season and a postseason berth. Geneva and Waynesburg round out the schedule following this week.
Adams came into the game and threw the game-winning touchdown to Cody Hearst. In sporadic appearances this season, Adams has completed 27 of 35 attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns and has not thrown an interception.
“We have no issues with Jacob,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “I let them compete for the job (in camp) and Alex was obviously better. But you look at (Adams’) numbers on the season and it’s not like we’re putting (an inexperienced guy) in. We give our B players a ton of work in practice, more than any other program I’ve seen since I’ve been here. He’s played a lot, but he’s also gotten a ton of reps.”
Matt Heslin of Fort Cherry will move to the No. 2 quarterback in the rotation and Amos Luptak, a freshman from Quaker Valley, is third.
Interestingly, Saint Vincent has dispensed Shawn Rohrer to stop the W&J offense. Rohrer was the defensive coordinator for five years at Washington & Jefferson (2011-15). He is a graduate of Beth-Center High School.
Adding to Rohrer’s challenge is the emergence of the W&J running game. Freshman E.J. Thompson has given the running game a spark.
For the third straight week, Thompson was named PAC Rookie of the Week after a game-high 76 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. He has 296 rushing yards and has helped W&J average 153 yards.
Saint Vincent’s defense allows an average of 228 yards a game and depends on quarterback Mike Navarro for offense. He has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,257 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
Mercyhurst at Cal, Saturday, 1 p.m
The logjam for second place will be broken somewhat this week when Mercyhurst and California play. They are two of four teams with with 3-2 records in the PSAC’s West Division. Edinboro’s win over Slippery Rock helped create the logjam.
Cal has won the last two games by a combined five points. The Vulcans’ 38-35 win Saturday over Gannon saw Vulcans quarterback Michael Keir throw for 438 yards and wide receiver Tom Greene amass 202 receiving yards.
Mercyhurst snapped a two-game losing streak with a 35-16 win over Seton Hill. E’Andre Smith rushed for 200 yards and a touchdowns for the Lakers. Quarterback Doug Altavita completed 12 passes, but three went for touchdowns.
Thiel at Waynesburg
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Waynesburg’s best chances to win its first game of the season comes in the next two weeks, when Thiel and Saint Vincent come to Wiley Stadium. The two teams have combined for two wins and each is on a three-game losing streak.
Waynesburg is 0-5 in the PAC, 0-7 overall.
Linebacker John-Glen Davis is second in the conference with 66 tackles and end Brent Blacharczyk is ninth with 54.