PHILADELPHIA, Pa. --
Pete Coughlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) hit
Anthony Keriotis (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) from 35 yards out with 13 seconds remaining to break a 31-31 tie as the Washington & Jefferson football team erased an 18-point second-half deficit with 25 unanswered points in a 38-31 victory in the 2016 ECAC Presidents Bowl.
The game-winning drive was set up after the Presidents scored to tie the game at 31-31 when Coughlin hit
Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) from three yards out with 1:48 to play to bring W&J within two points, 31-29. On the two-point possession play, the quarterback found
David Kincaid (Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston) to even the score.
After Brockport got the ball back, its first two plays were complete passes totaling 11 yards. Then,
Zach Walker (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and
Tom Marra (Moon Township, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) met in the backfield and sacked the Golden Eagles QB, Joe Germinerio. Following a time out, Germinerio's pass was intercepted by
O'Shea Anderson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester) at midfield and returned three yards to the Brockport 47 yard line, setting the stage for the final score.
The Presidents got within eight points, 31-23, on
Jesse Zubik's (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) second touchdown of the day and 18th of the season, second most in both W&J and Presidents' Athletic Conference history. The play came at the 9:02-mark of the fourth quarter and was from four yards out.
W&J trailed, 24-13, heading into halftime. After the defense forced a punt on the opening possession of the second half, Coughlin was intercepted for the fourth time on the day and saw it returned 34 yards for a touchdown, extending the margin to 31-13. Only a
Blake Davis (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning) 34-yard field goal at 8:24 of the half lit the scoreboard the remainder of the third period.
A three-yard run by Coughlin with 8:44 left in the opening stanza initially gave W&J a 7-3 lead in the game. The Golden Eagles scored consecutive touchdowns to take a 17-7 lead, but Zubik's first scoring grab of the game, a three-yarder 1:12 into the second quarter, brought the Presidents within a score, 17-13. The final points of the half came with more than 11 minutes to go when the Golden Eagles scored on a 47-yard halfback pass, 24-13.
The two teams combined for 159 yards rushing, but accounted for 797 yards through the air. Coughlin shattered the W&J single-game records by completing 52-of-73 passes for 473 yards, finishing seven yards shy of 10,000 for his career. The senior also tossed four touchdowns in his final career game. A trio of W&J receivers caught 10-plus passes, led by Zubik's 13 receptions (for 97 yards and two touchdowns).
Cody Hearst (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) registered new career highs with 12 catches for 125 yards, while Cullen hauled in 10 passes for 82 yards.
Zubik's performance allowed him to break the W&J single-season receptions record, while his yardage was good to set a new Presidents' Athletic Conference mark, becoming the first receiver in league history to reach 1,400 yards since the NCAA began including postseason yardage in regular season and career totals.
The Presidents' defense recorded 11 tackles for losses (to finish with 112 this season)Â and five sacks, led by Marra's 3.0 TFL and 2.5 sacks.
Nick Murgo (Warren, R.I./Mount Hope) registered 2.5 TFL with seven tackles and
Nick Getz (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) paced the team with 10 tackles (eight solo) while adding 1.5 TFL and a sack.
W&J completes the 2016 season with a 9-2 overall record, the 29th time in 125 season the Presidents have recorded at least nine wins.Â
Tweets from the game:
