Experienced Yellow Jackets seek to join PAC’s elite
Waynesburg University
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
The struggle to gain entrance into the Presidents’ Athletic Conference top-5 football teams is real for the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets.
Over the last few seasons, Waynesburg has gotten close to breaking through. But the Yellow Jackets are still in search of that signature win that seems to somehow escape their grasp. What’s more, they sometimes don’t quite navigate the minefield that is the rest of the PAC field and lose a game they shouldn’t. That’s what happens to young football teams.
The Yellow Jackets are getting older and the return of a strong offensive line, standout running back, a good crop of receivers and promising defense has Waynesburg poised to make significant gains in 2025.
Skeptics outside of Greene County remain.
In the PAC preseason poll, Waynesburg was voted as the No. 6 team. The Yellow Jackets garnered 260 points from voting by the media, sports information directors and coaches. Waynesburg fell seven points short of No. 5 Geneva.
Returning offensive starters are senior lineman Kory Ansell (6-2 285), senior lineman Jacob Brisky (6-3 280), senior running back Zayne Cawley (5-7, 185), senior offensive lineman Isaiah Grenway (6-0, 320), senior offensive lineman Dalton Scruggs (6-5, 350), senior wide receiver Isaac Trout (5-10, 160), junior wide receiver Tyler Richmond, (6-1, 185) and senior tight end Dagyn Williams (6-0 205).
Returning defensive starters are junior defensive lineman Virgil Doiron (6-3, 240), junior linebacker Ewing Jamison (5-11, 205), junior defensive lineman John Johnson III (6-1, 300), sophomore linebacker Vinnie Heller (5-11, 180), senior defensive lineman Alex Paulson (6-0, 245), senior defensive lineman Sebastian Ross (5-11, 245), senior defensive back John Stewart (5-11, 205) and junior linebacker Kevin Willis (5-10, 215).
The Yellow Jackets have experience at almost every position on the field.
“Our most talented and deepest position that we have on our roster currently, and it has been the last several years, has been the guys up front,” said Waynesburg coach Dr. Cornelius Coleman. “We are excited about our offensive line. We’re excited about the guys returning and we have four of our returning starters coming back.
“Those guys are putting in a lot of work in the classroom. From the standpoint of just learning how to watch film and having an understanding of the game, which is key. In this day and age, they put in a ton of work in the weightroom. I feel they collectively are coming together as teammates. So, we’re excited about the returning guys up front and then obviously we feel as though our running back corps, in general, is a good group of young men.”
Cawley will be the focus of the offense.
Last season he rushed for 1,225 yards on 219 carries, an average of 5.6 yards per carry. He scored nine touchdowns and averaged 122.5 yards per game. He also caught 21 passes.
In 2023, Cawley set the Waynesburg single-game rushing record with a 336 yards against Bethany.
“He’s effective for a few different reasons,” Coleman said. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I’ve been around a lot of good players at the running back position. He is generally doing things that stand out when you look at the numbers. When he first got here, he had older guys in front of him. He learned how to take care of his body, how to properly watch film and how to set adequate goals for himself.
“It’s the little things for me that make him great. He represents our institution. Those are the reasons that he’s great. His teammate see that. He has the right work ethic.”
The PAC is playing an unbalanced schedule this year, giving each team the opportunity to play two non-conference games at the start of the season.
Waynesburg will host John Carroll in its opener and then play at Dickinson in the second game. John Carroll was a playoff team a year ago when it had a 9-3 record and Dickinson went 5-6 and played in an ECAC Bowl game.
If the Yellow Jackets could earn a split in their first two games, then they could open the season 4-1 as it would be the considered favorite – based on the preseason poll – in its next three games. The two teams they are not playing in the PAC are Westminster and Case Western Reserve, two of the top-4 rated teams in the conference.