Sep 6, 2018 5 min read

The burning question in the St. John Fisher locker room after losing to Washington & Jefferson last Saturday was this:

Who in the heck is Andrew Wolf and where did he come from?

The 6-1, 190-pound sophomore wide receiver for W&J obliterated the St. John Fisher secondary with nine receptions, 214 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-12 victory.

That’s seven more receptions and 210 more yards than Wolf had during the 2017 season, when he played in six games, mostly on special teams.

And you can expect Thiel, Saturday’s opponent, will be digging for information as the two teams prepare for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener at Cameron Stadium (1 p.m. kickoff).

“No, I didn’t expect that type of start,” said Wolf. “We had a good plan going into the game.”

Wolf was targeted 10 times. His one drop was followed by a touchdown catch.

“He’s very strong and physical, something we haven’t had much here (with wide receivers),” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “He’s still got a long way to go. If they want to single cover him, we’re going to make them pay. … He’s big so you better have a physical corner to guard him. He’s a product of what I hope our program is all about. He played in JV games and was awesome. We developed him. He was patient and waited his turn.”

Wolf was a major part of Jacob Adams’ passing success. Adams, making his first Week 1 start, completed 13 of 20 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Adams did not throw an interception.

“I worked with Jake all summer,” said Wolf of Adams, a junior who grew up in Louisville, Ohio. “We got together because he lives pretty close to me.”

A native of Ashland, Ohio, and graduate of Hillsdale High School, Wolf escaped the recruiting grasp of Mount Union and came to W&J thanks to Sirianni’s connections.

For a brief time, Wolf thought about going out for the Presidents’ basketball team. He was a four-year starter at point guard and averaged 18 points as a senior.

“I love basketball,” he said. “It’s my No. 1 sport. But the two seasons are too close to each other.”

So he decided to run track, as a sprinter. He ran the 100 (11.2), 200 (22.5), and 400 (49-plus) dashes and was part of the 400 and 1,600 relays. He finished fourth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 in the PAC Championships.

Westminster at Waynesburg

Kickoff: 1:30 p.m., Saturday

After a 31-24 loss to Muskingum, Waynesburg opens Presidents’ Athletic Conference play against Westminster at John F. Wiley Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets are still deciding on a quarterback but Jake Dougherty took a big step forward in Week 1, scoring two touchdowns and accounting for 90 total yards.

“We are better. We are a better football team than we were one year ago,” said Waynesburg head coach Chris Smithley after last week’s loss. “We’re going to keep working and give Westminster all we have.”

Waynesburg was hurt by some self-inflicted mistakes. The Yellow Jackets had a fumble in the end zone turn into a devastating touchdown when Muskingum recovered. They also had three center snaps sail over the quarterback’s head that hurt drives.

Westminster opened the season with a 34-21 loss to Wittenburg. First-year starting quarterback Augustus Necastro was intercepted three times and sacked twice.

California at Kutztown

Kickoff: Noon, Saturday

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for California but the Vulcans came within a dropped pass in the end zone in the final minute from defeating Ohio Dominican last week. Next up is a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division opponent in Kutztown.

Freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell had a strong first game for the Vulcans, completing 32 of 51 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns. His three interceptions came on deflections.

“He played really well,” said Cal head coach Gary Dunn. “He was calm in the pocket and made good decisions. … It was his first college start and he gave us a chance to win.”

Cal gave up two long touchdown passes and 294 yards passing. But the Vulcans held ODU to 38 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

“I liked the way our kids battled back,” said Dunn. “With such a young team, my questions of how we would fight back were answered. We were down two scores in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win in the end.”

Kutztown opened the season with a 32-28 upset of No. 17 Assumption, which beat Cal in the first round of last year’s NCAA Division II playoffs. Kutztown lost a 26-0 lead but scored in the final 1:55 to win.