Sep 4, 2025 4 min read

By John Sacco

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

Kellen Stahl has waited his turn to be Washington & Jefferson’s quarterback.

He backed up a record-breaking quarterback (Jacob Pugh), biding his time.

What awaits him this season is a challenging schedule and the pressure of leading one of the top programs and teams in the country.

And it’s a team with two dynamic, All-American-type receivers.

Meet the Presidents’ Jacob Macosko and John Peduzzi.

They are two of the top six receiving yards leaders for a career in the country. The W&J seniors have made their marks the past handful of seasons.

Now, they are the main marks of an eager quarterback.

W&J will host Utica in a non-conference season opener Saturday at Cameron Stadium. Kickoff is noon.

Peduzzi enters 2025 as the active leader in receiving yards with 3,100 in 33 games (93.93 yards per game). Macosko, a Peters Township graduate, has 2,169 yards in 27 games (80.33 per game). Peduzzi has 39 TDs while Macosko has 26.

Pick your poison, or in Stahl’s case his pleasure.

“We have two of the best receivers in the country and I’ve worked on creating a better relationship with them,” Stahl said. “They worked with Jake for the past two years. I really went out of my way to improve my relationships. I’m going to be working on taking what the defense gives us. Whatever the scheme is, I want to be able to execute it. If I’m needed to throw it 50 times a game, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll do whatever coach needs me to. If I’m needed to run the ball 55 times, I’ll do that.”

W&J won’t totally rely on Macosko and Peduzzi, who is from Hilton Head, Island, S.C. The offensive line is experienced and two running backs, senior Kobe DeRosa and sophomore Andrew Sharp, are threats.

“We’re going to have a great team,” Peduzzi said. “Last year ended with a disappointing playoff loss (at Randolph-Macon). I thought we could’ve done more and we got some great guys returning.

“Kellen hasn’t played too much but he’s always had potential. Unfortunately, he was behind another great quarterback. I knew we were going to have a great team coming back. We have a great coaching staff. I decided to come back for my last year of eligibility because I love playing the game. It’s hard to walk away sometimes.”

Macosko has outstanding hands and has a penchant for circus and combat catches. He’s a fiery competitor.

“I grew up playing three sports – baseball, basketball and football. The hand-eye coordination has always been there,” he said. “I guess I can say it just started from catching with my dad – him throwing me a football as I jump in the pool, stuff like that.

“I try to work on a lot over-the-shoulder catches and tracking the ball over my head. I think that goes back to me playing center field, just opening the hips, getting back and tracking the ball. It just all goes together.”

In one of the biggest games of 2024, Macosko had 13 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a pivotal victory over Grove City. It was his second consecutive 160-yard receiving performance against the Wolverines.

Hea coach Mike Sirianni wants to utilize all the weapons W&J has at his disposal.

“Whoever the quarterback is, I think they must take advantage of what is there instead of being quick to pull the ball,” he said. “We’re going to be forced to take what the defense gives us and we might be a little bit different in terms of throwing the ball. I think we might be able to throw the ball better deeper down the field. I think our pair of receivers are the best pair in the country.

“We been so good at the other things. I do think we’ve gotten light in the run game a little bit. It’s going to be essential to get off the line better but I also think it’s going to be up to the quarterback to make that read. If we show early in the first half of games that we could really run, it will prevent defenses from trying to double one of our guys and probably opens the passing game.”