WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The defense of No. 15 Washington & Jefferson held Thiel to 134 yards of total offense, and minus-10 rushing yards, while also recording 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks in a 55-0 Presidents' Athletic Conference opening win at Cameron Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 8.
 
The blanking was W&J's second-straight home PAC shutout dating back to last year, as the Presidents stymied Waynesburg, 42-0, at Cameron Stadium in the 2017 regular-season finale. Thiel gained just 10 first downs and averaged 2.0 yards per play.
 
Junior defensive lineman Jeffrey Oxner (Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School) posted career highs with 3.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks as part of his four tackles in the game. Senior defensive end Sal DeCario (New Derry, Pa./Derry) paced the defense with seven stops and 1.5 sacks, and sophomore defensive lineman Conor Manning (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) also added multiple TFLs with 2.0 and a sack. A total of 12 Presidents recorded at least 0.5 TFL.
 
Offensively, W&J set the tone early by jumping out to a 21-0 lead within the first 4:45 of the game. Junior quarterback Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) hit sophomore wide receiver Andrew Wolf (Ashland, Ohio/Hillsdale) from 34 yards out after only 1:11 of play to make it 7-0. A three-and-out (for minus-six yards) forced by the defense on the next Thiel drive got the ball back in W&J's possession at 11:49 and Adams connected with senior wide receiver Tim Swoope (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) in the back of the end zone from 29 yards to push the lead out to 14-0 at 11:05. Thiel's next possession was a three-and-out, but the snap was low on the punt and the Thiel punter caught the ball with his knee on the ground, giving the Red & Black possession at the Tomcats' 11-yard line. Sophomore running back EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) needed just one play to barrel those 11 yards and put W&J ahead by the 21-0 count at 10:15 of the first quarter.
 
The 21-0 lead held up through the conclusion of the first period, but the opening drive of the second quarter saw W&J march 90 yards on 13 plays, capped by a one-yard saunter by junior running back Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington). The extra point was blocked, but the lead was extended to 27-0.  W&J's next offensive possession was sandwiched by three-and-outs and ended in the red zone, but Adams found Wolf for the second scoring strike between the two on the afternoon at the 3:42-mark of the second quarter to push the margin to 34-0, a score that stood up at intermission.
 
W&J's first two possessions of the second half came after seven combined Thiel plays as Thompson scored from one yard for his first career multi-rushing TD game, and West plunged in from three yards out at 7:20 of the third as the score jumped to 48-0. The final score of the game came early in the fourth quarter when freshman running back Joey Koroly (Washington, Pa./Trinity) reached pay dirt for the first time in his collegiate career from 11 yards out at 12:53 of the fourth quarter, 55-0.
 
The Presidents put up 653 yards of total offense on 92 plays, including 391 passing and 262 rushing. Thompson led the team on the ground with 89 yards and two scores on 11 carries, while West was right behind at 87 yards and two TDs after 16 totes. Koroly rushed for 50 yards on six carries and his inaugural score. Adams completed 23-of-34 passes for 321 yards and three TDs, his second 300-yard passing game. Wolf hauled in six of those passes for 115 yards and his two scores to give him 15 receptions for 329 yards and five TDs in two games. Swoope caught three passes for 86 yards and his second career TD. Senior tight end Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) snagged a game-high seven passes totaling 46 yards. Senior wide receiver Brandon Barnes (Hagerstown, Md./St. Johns) made five catches and added 55 yards to his season ledger.
 
With the victory, W&J has now won 30-straight regular season home games at Cameron Stadium dating back to 2012 and improves to 49-8 in September under Mike Sirianni.
 
Now 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the PAC, the Presidents will continue their three-game home stand with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, Sept. 15.