WASHINGTON, Pa. --
Torre Carr (North Strabane, Pa./Canon-McMillan) intercepted a pass with 9:14 left in the fourth quarter set up a 57-yard scoring strike as Washington & Jefferson rallied to defeat Bethany, 37-36, in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.
The pick came as Bethany was driving and looking to take a two-score lead. It was the seventh play of a drive that began for the Bison at the W&J 45, while the play was a first-and-10 at the 24. Bethany QB Chase Kinemond dropped back and was looking for tight end Dustin Hess when Carr stepped in front of the screen play and hauled in the pass at the 32 yard line and returned it 11 yards to the 43.
On the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, quarterback
Pete Coughlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) stepped up in the pocket and found a streaking
Jesse Zubik (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) behind the Bethany secondary for a 57-yard catch-and-run to knot the game at 36-36.
Ted Ford (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton) knocked home the extra point to give the Presidents the eventual winning margin of 37-36.
Zubik finished the game with seven receptions and two touchdowns. He also set a new career high in receiving yards for the third straight week at 235, which also matched the W&J single-game record set by 2016 W&J Hall of Fame inductee Todd Fry in 2001 against Malone. Two weeks ago at Thiel he accounted for 199 and then last week against Carnegie Mellon he finished with 201. The final catch pushed him over 1,000 yards for the season (1,016) and gave him 14 touchdowns, tying the fifth most in a single season in program history. He also moved to 57 receptions for the season, establishing a new career high. For his career, he now has 2,951 yards in 27 games, the third most for a Presidents' receiver all-time.
The Bison took a 29-20 lead into halftime after Kinemond connected with Blake Lipke on a 42-yard Hail Mary as time expired. Zubik's first score of the day opened play in the second half and brought W&J within two, 29-27. It was a 72-yard catch, his longest of the season, and came on the second play from scrimmage of the half.
A 44-yard strike from Kinemond to Tyler Ambush with 7:33 left in the third quarter pushed the lead back to two scores, 36-27, but would be the final points the W&J defense would allow. Ford drilled a career-long 40-yard field goal with 1:20 to play in the third period to make it 36-30.
The Bison rolled up 202 yards of offense, including 165 on the ground, in the first quarter to hold a 10-7 lead after 15 minutes. The Presidents got on the board with a two-yard rush by
Austin Kemp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson).
Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) gave W&J a 14-10 lead at 9:26 of the second quarter with a 14-yard TD reception from Coughlin, but Bethany scored the next two touchdowns and missed the point after on both to build a 22-14 lead. Kemp went in again from four yards out with 55 seconds left in the opening half to bring it within 22-20 before Kinnemond's Hail Mary to Lipke.
Coughlin completed 17-of-31 of his passes for 320 yards and three scores, topping the 300-yard mark for the fifth time this year and 16th time in his career. Kemp finished with 97 yards and two scores on 22 carries. W&J turned to
David Kincaid (Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston), making his season debut, for most of the final drive as the senior ended up with 58 yards on 12 carries, nine of which came on the last drive as the Presidents looked to ice the win.
Ryan Snedeker (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) led the team with 11 tackles (seven solo), one shy of his career high, while also recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Both the 4.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks were career highs.
Zach Royba (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) made seven stops (all solo) and was joined by
Tom Marra (Moon Township, Pa./Our Lady of Sacred Heart) at seven stops.
Nick Getz (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) finished with 2.0 TFL as part of his six tackles, while Carr had five tackles and half a sack go with his interception.
The victory improves W&J to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the PAC, ahead of a showdown at Westminster next Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. in New Wilmington.
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