When Sports Were Played: W&J wins a PAC classic behind Pagano
The “When Sports Were Played” installment for today goes back to Oct. 31, 1987, when Washington & Jefferson’s football team won for the first time in 16 years at Carnegie Mellon in what is still considered one of the best games in Presidents’ Athletic Conference history.
PITTSBURGH – It will, in all likelihood, go down as one of the greatest Presidents’ Athletic Conference games ever played. And while there will be much written, spoken and thought about what happened at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tech Field Saturday afternoon, none of it will do justice to what really evolved here.
Maybe they are destiny’s darlings, and quite possibly they are as good as their No. 2 national ranking indicates. It could be the Washington & Jefferson football team is a combination of both. One thing for certain is the Presidents find ways to win.
Led by All-America running back A.J. Pagano, who gained 166 rushing yards and 357 all-purpose yards, W&J (5-0, 8-0) rallied back from a 22-7 halftime deficit and two second-half deficits to beat PAC rival CMU 38-36.
Freshman John Ivory kicked the game-winning field goal with eight seconds remaining in the game to lift the Presidents to the dramatic victory and preserve their PAC title and NCAA Division III playoffs hopes.
“I told the kids we might not be the best team in the country but nobody has more character than this group,” said W&J head coach John Luckhardt. “This may be the most exciting moment.
“We weren’t real sharp. They were off the ball better than we were in the first half. To come back so many times is a great thrill for me and this team.”
The Tartans (3-2, 5-2-1) took a 36-35 lead with 49 seconds to play in the game when quarterback Mike Hensel scored on a six-yard run.
But after a 21-yard kickoff return by Ray Ciferno, the Presidents drove from their own 31 to the CMU 23. The big play of the drive was a 31-yard pass from quarterback Pat Aigner to Pagano on the first play of the series.
It was the last of many huge plays by Pagano, who scored four touchdowns to move into second place on the NCAA Division III all-time scoring list. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in a single season at W&J and he caught six passes for a career-high 133 yards.
“For the seniors, it was our last chance at CMU,” Pagano said. “We knew at halftime we just had to come out and play. We didn’t need to adjustments. We were stopping ourselves.”
It appeared the Tartans had put a stop to W&J’s 12-game PAC winning streak until Ivory drilled the victory-clinching field goal.
“I set the tee down three different times,” said Ivory, who kicked a game-winning field goal with no time left to give the Presidents a 17-16 victory in the season opener at Ohio Wesleyan. “I couldn’t doubt. We’ve worked too hard. I wouldn’t want to be part of anything else other than where I am right now.”
While the loss ended CMU’s title hopes and its stranglehold on the Presidents at Tech Field – the last W&J win here was in 1971 – it couldn’t dull the Tartans’ amazing effort.
CMU raced to a 15-point halftime lead on the arm of Hensel and the running of fullback Chris Hansen, who finished with 103 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Hensel scored the first CMU touchdown early in the second quarter on a two-yard run. Hensel, a fifth-year senior who missed most of last season with a neck injury, then went to work.
Hensel, who threw for 200 yards and rushed for 41 yards, hit Dean Garofola on a 55-yard scoring pass to give the Tartans a 16-7 lead. Hensel then found Gary Gojsovich for a four-yard TD pass in the corner of the end zone with just 47 seconds left in the second quarter to give CMU a 22-7 lead.
“They ran a lot of traps and the fullback ran hard,” said All-America linebacker Jim Meyer. “We really didn’t come to play in the first half. They outplayed us.”
“It was a great game,” said Hensel. “We thought they could some back because they have great offense. We knew they could come back.”
The Presidents’ long trek to get back in the game started when Aigner, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 219 yards, hit Andy Pacak with a five-yard TD pass.
Pagano got W&J closer late in the third quarter, scoring on a seven-yard run. Ivory added the extra point to pull the Presidents to within two.
The Tartans soared back. Hensel found tight end Tim Kelly all alone for a 52-yard gain to the W&J 16. Six plays later, Hansen scored on a one-yard run.
W&J’s defense stiffened and then Aigner hit Pagano with a short pass that Pagano turned into a 57-yard TD reception.
The Presidents’ defense then came through with their biggest play of the day. Brett Frum trapped Hensel and caused him to fumble. Linebacker Kirk Lago recovered the ball at the CMU 6.
Two plays later, Pagano scored his fourth TD of the game, on a one-yard run.
“I guess destiny is a positive aspect,” Luckhardt said. “When you win this way, you have to have good things happen to you. We had a lot of bad things happen to us early. We didn’t have the level of intensity early that I would’ve liked to have seen.”