WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson clinched its league-record 25th Presidents' Athletic Conference football championship with a 42-0 rout of Waynesburg in the 2017 PAC Backyard Brawl.
The victory gives the No. 15/10 Presidents the program's first league title since 2014 and the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship. It will mark the 25th all-time playoff bid for W&J, which is the second-most appearances in history. The NCAA Selection Show will be streamed on NCAA.com tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m. and that is where the opponent and location of next week's game will be revealed. The first round game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m.
Sophomore quarterback
Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) completed 23-of-30 passes for career highs of 392 yards and four touchdowns, and senior wide receiver
Jesse Zubik (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) broke the W&J career receptions record by hauling in 13 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
All of the scoring was done in the first half as W&J raced out to a 23-0 lead after one quarter and then 42-0 at halftime.
Adams hit Zubik three times on the four-play opening drive, capped by a four-yard score that included receptions of 18 and 35 yards as well. The defense forced a three-and-out and W&J got the ball back at midfield, but was stopped at the two-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. On third down of the ensuing Waynesburg drive, senior defensive lineman
Matt Girting (Midland, Pa./Western Beaver) sacked the Yellow Jackets' quarterback in the end zone for a safety, 9-0.
Following the free kick by Waynesburg, Adams found senior wide receiver
Cody Hearst (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) from seven yards out to push the lead to 16-0. Another three-and-out by the visitors led to W&J getting the ball back with 27 seconds left where Adams and Zubik connected for a 66-yard catch-and-run as time expired in the first quarter, 23-0.
W&J extended the lead to 29-0 with 6:26 remaining in the second period when sophomore running back
Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington) capped a 78-yard drive with a one-yard plunge set up by three Zubik receptions and a 23-yard completion to junior wide receiver
Braydon Toy (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning). The next time the Presidents got the ball, Toy was rewarded with an 11-yard scoring grab to make it 35-0. Waynesburg's first play from scrimmage on its possession led to senior cornerback
O'Shea Anderson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester) picking off his PAC-leading five interception of the season and returning it 28 yards for his second touchdown, 42-0.
The W&J defense was stout all day, holding the Yellow Jackets to just 164 yards of total offense and 2.7 yards per play and pitching the first shutout since Sept. 22, 2012, a 17-0 win at Thiel. Meanwhile, the offense racked up 606 yards on the day, including 465 through the air. Freshman running back
EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) led all rushers on the ground with seven carries for 77 yards, while West toted the ball 15 times for 53 yards.
Senior linebacker
Dalton Day (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) led all players with a career-high 16 tackles, the most by a President this season. Girting had a game-high three tackles for loss and two sacks. In total, the defense racked up 13 tackles for loss and five sacks on the day. Anderson added two picks to take over the PAC lead by himself with six this season.
On top of marking the 25th league title and NCAA appearance in program history, the win clinched the 13th undefeated regular season all-time for W&J. The victory was also the 138th in the 15-year head coaching career of
Mike Sirianni, moving him into sole possession of first place on the W&J career wins list past former head coach and W&J Hall of Famer John Luckhardt (1982-1998).
Highlights
Zubik's first TD
Girting takes down the Waynesburg QB in the end zone for a safety
Adams hits Hearst for a seven-yard scoring strike
Zubik's 51st career receiving touchdown came from 66 yards to end the first quarter
West plunges in from one yard out
Toy with the toe-tap in the side of the end zone for the score
Anderson returns his second pick six of the season to cap the scoring late in the first half
Anderson intercepted another pass later in the game
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