WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The No. 16/15 Presidents racked up 579 yards of total offense to Thiel's 199 en route to a 55-3 win over the Tomcats at Cameron Stadium.

The victory improves the Washington & Jefferson football team to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Thiel drops to 1-4 this year and 1-2 in the PAC.

Justin Vickless (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) rushed for a career-high 130 yards and two scores and Matt Heslin (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) found the end zone three times on six rushes in the win.

Heslin kicked off the scoring on W&J's first drive after taking three-straight snaps and plunging toward the line, the final rush came on a one-yard carry that gave W&J a 7-0 lead after 4:28 had elapsed. The Presidents got the ball back quickly and the second play from scrimmage saw Vickless rip off a 71-yard carry for a score, the longest rush for W&J since Dion Wiegand had a 76-yarder on Sept. 21, 2013, 13-0.
 
The third W&J possession resulted in W&J's third TD of the evening when Alex Rowse (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) hit Jesse Zubik (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) from three yards out to cap a 12-play, 67-yard drive that took 4:21. Benjamin Waugh (Olean, N.Y./Portville Central) carried in the two-point conversion attempt and gave the Presidents a 21-0 lead.
 
After the ensuing possession saw the quarter change and Thiel hold the ball for 6:44 and kick a field goal, W&J needed just three plays before Rowse found Cody Hearst (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) for an 11-yard score to take a 27-3 lead. W&J found the end zone again with 2:39 to play in the half after a 46-yard pass from Rowse to Zubik helped set up a three-yard scoring rush by Heslin, 34-3. The Presidents forced a three-and-out on the next Thiel drive and got the ball back with Vickless doing all the work by carrying twice, once for 36 yards and then a two-yard score and the Presidents led 41-3 at halftime.
 
It was more of the same to start the second half as W&J embarked on a seven-play, 45-yard drive capped off by a two-yard Heslin run to extend the margin to 48-3 just 3:35 into the third quarter. A one-yard, fourth-quarter scoring rush, the first of Ron Tuck's (Middletown, Del./Appoquinmink) career, capped the scoring at 14:55 of the fourth quarter, 55-3.
 
Seven Presidents combined to carry the ball 40 times for 243 yards, including 13 totes for 65 yards by EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) and four carries for 44 yards from Tuck. Rowse and Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) combined to complete 23-of-27 passes for 336 yards and two TDs. Rowse was 14-of-15 for 229 and two scores and Adams went 9-of-11, totaling 107 yards, 44 of which came on a connection with Omar Whiting (Pikesville, Md./Loyola Blakefield). Hearst led all receivers with four receptions and 69 yards. Braydon Toy (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning), Waugh and Reed Relosky (Canonsburg, Pa./Bishop Canevin) each recorded three receptions.
 
The W&J defense held Thiel under 200 yards of total offense (only 48 passing on 6-of-23) and had one fumble recovery, seven tackles for loss and four sacks. Dalton Day (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) tied Tom Marra (Moon Township, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) for the team lead in tackles with seven apiece, with Day also contributing a sack. Jeffrey Oxner (Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School) had a team-best two TFL and a sack on the evening. 31 different Presidents recorded at least one stop and 19 posted at least a pair.
 
The Presidents will play their second game of the week on Saturday, Oct. 7, traveling to Pittsburgh for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Carnegie Mellon.