W&J faces another tough road challenge
The Washington & Jefferson College football team finds itself in a similar situation to last season.
When W&J travels to Cleveland Saturday for its Presidents’ Athletic Conference opener against Case Western Reserve, it will do so in need of a victory to keep its NCAA Division III playoff hopes alive and to control its own destiny.
A season ago, the Presidents travelled to Grove City with a 0-2 mark, played the Wolverines on a Saturday night and came away with an impressive win that helped catapult them to a 28th PAC title and 28th playoff berth.
This time W&J is 1-1, losing its opener to nationally ranked Utica and having defeated Keystone, 42-0, in a game halted at halftime because of weather.
The Presidents have 799 wins in program history. Their next victory would make them the 22nd NCAA program, and third Division III program, to reach the milestone.
Two losses would seriously hinder W&J’s playoff hopes and would necessitate help and seven consecutive victories to have any chance at earning the PAC championship and automatic NCAA playoff berth.
The Presidents are facing a Spartans team that is 2-0 and coming off an impressive win over Shenandoah.
Case Western Reserve also defeated Rochester. The Spartans have been led by a balanced offense, averaging 43 points per game with 183.5 rushing yards and 284 passing per game.
Graduate senior quarterback Aaron Filips has had an efficient start to the season, going 50-for-64 (78.1 percent) for 568 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions.
The standout for the Spartans in last week’s win over Shenandoah was junior running back Andy Kavcic, who set the program’s single-game record with 256 rushing yards. Case Western Reserve is yielding 30.5 points per game. Shenandoah passed for 414 yards and four touchdowns against the Spartans.
“Their quarterback is back after he was hurt last year, and he’s an older kid,” W&J coach Mike Sirianni pointed out. “We’ve already played one quarterback who was a fifth- or sixth-year player when we played Utica. He’s a really good player. He’s very active with the football. He has a strong arm. He can make all throws. I think it looks like he’s getting more comfortable running the ball. They have a good running game, too. They’re going to present a strong challenge to our defensive side of the football.”
W&J has relied heavily on running back Andrew Sharp.
After a 153-yard performance in the season opener, Sharp had another dominant game against Keystone. The junior totaled 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown prior to the game being called at the half.
Case Western Reserve last won the PAC in 2019 and prior to that in 2017.
“The season that we went through, both on and off the field, these guys are resilient,” veteran Spartans coach Greg Debelak said. “I think everybody believes in each other because of some really hard times that we’ve already gone through. Who knows how this will end up? It’s not going to be because the moment’s too big for these guys. We’re not going to get nervous and choke. The teams are going to have to come in here and beat us. I have complete confidence in our guys’ abilities to fight and compete in battle. We’re looking forward to this game.
“I think it all starts with the offensive line, to tell you the truth. We have four sophomores and a junior on our offensive line. And we haven’t had as physical a line like this in probably a decade. So that’s where it starts. We have a great quarterback. We have a solid receiving corp. We have a lot of guys who can catch the ball. I think we’re well-rounded. I’m excited about the matchup, believe me.”
In other games
Waynesburg (0-2) hosts Westminster (0-2) Saturday at John F. Wiley Stadium in a PAC game. California (2-1) hosts Slippery Rock (3-0) in a PSAC West Division showdown at Adamson Stadium. kickoff is at noon. Slippery Rock is ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II.