W&J routs Allegheny; defense, special teams shine
If the Washington & Jefferson football team wants to capture the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title, then maybe the Presidents should declare the rest of the games as Homecoming.
W&J scored in just about every way imaginable in crushing Allegheny, 66-14, in front of a soggy Homecoming crowd at Cameron Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Presidents scored 56 points, in the first half. They ran for five touchdowns, passed for one more, and returned two interceptions for scores
In the second half, W&J added a field goal.
Special teams recovered a muffed punt at the 2-yard line, setting up another touchdown, and blocked a punt to set up another score.
The only way W&J (2-1, 4-1) didn’t score in the first half was on a kickoff, but they only got one to open the game.
Last year, W&J scored more than 60 points in a game in a 63-33 victory over Saint Vincent . . . on Homecoming.
And in 2019, W&J again surpassed 60 points in a 69-21 victory over Bethany . . . on Homecoming.
“It was wet and they made some mistakes but Allegheny is great fit for the conference,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni. “Sometimes, you get behind and things start to snowball. That’s what happened to them. They didn’t play the way I saw on tape but that happens.”
Jacob Pugh, still sharing quarterback duties with Colt Jones, scored on three short runs. Raymond Holmes, who led all rushers with 64 yards, scored on a two-yard run.
But the big plays came from free safety Dillon Rebuck and outside linebacker Tanner Volpatti, who took back interceptions for touchdowns 5:31 apart.
“I just read the quarterback eyes,” said Rebuck. “I saw him look at a single receiver and I jumped the route and took it to the house. I took a peak behind me (while running to the end zone) and it didn’t look anybody was close to me.
“(When you make a play like that), everyone get pretty emotional. The sideline gets hyped up and it’s pretty neat to see that no matter who it is.”
The two seniors celebrated their first collegiate touchdowns.
“I don’t know who knocked it up in the air but I got it, then got some good blocks,” said Volpatti, whose brother Troy is a freshman running back for the Presidents. “I was taught to never look back over your shoulder and get there (to the end zone) as fast as you can.
“It really takes the life out of them. If you get a defensive touchdown, it helps a lot.”
Volpatti, a graduate of Bethel Park, and Rebuck were part of a W&J defense that allowed 218 total yards and 68 yards rushing on 38 attempts. Allegheny also lost a fumble.
“In that first half, I don’t know if we could have done anything worse,” said Allegheny head coach Rich Nagy. “We had two interceptions for touchdowns, a fumbled punt at our 2-yard line. Every time I looked up, it was something new. Coaching and preparation, we have to do a better job with it.”
W&J did not turn the ball over. Jones and Pugh combined to complete 16 of 24 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown.
Outside linebacker Drew Erlich led W&J’s defense with seven tackles, one more than outside linebacker Braden Gennock.
Allegheny (1-2, 2-3) scored on a 59-yard pass from quarterback Jack Johnson to Jaden Debevec and a three-yard run by John Ian Duron in the second half.