BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Three third quarter touchdowns and a dominant defensive performance propelled the Washington & Jefferson College football team to a 28-3 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup Saturday night at Reeves Field in Beaver County. 
 
Senior quarterback Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) completed 24-of-36 pass attempts for a season-high 311 yards. Jordan Halford (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) put together a big performance in the passing game, as the junior wide receiver recorded career highs in receptions (10) and receiving yards (211). The 211 yards receiving were the most by a W&J receiver since Andrew Wolf racked up 214 receiving yards against St. John Fisher in the 2018 season opener. 
 
The defense came through with a solid performance as well in the victory, as the unit limited Geneva to 19 passing yards and forced three turnovers (all fumbles) on the evening.  
 
Geneva used a lengthy opening drive to advance the ball deep inside of W&J territory. The 12-play, 73-yard drive stalled out on a fourth and two from the three-yard line. Junior defensive back Max Garda (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore linebacker Mitch DeZort (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands) in the end zone for a touchback. 
 
After the two teams traded a pair of punts, W&J drove deep into Geneva territory before coming up short on a 4th and 5 play inside the 10-yard line. The turnover on downs kept the game remain scoreless with 14:13 left in the second quarter. 
 
On W&J's next possession, the Red and Black drove deep into Geneva territory once again before a fumble ended the threat at the Geneva six-yard line.
 
Later in the second quarter, Adams hit junior wide receiver Cameron O'Brien for a 14-yard touchdown pass on 4th down. The extra point by freshman Ian Phillips (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) made the score 7-0 Presidents with 3:12 remaining in the half. The touchdown pass capped a seven-play, 73-yard drive.  
 
A 22-yard field goal by Geneva's Daniel Nordaas cut the Presidents' lead to 7-3 with 17 seconds left in the first half. Despite putting up just seven points over the first 30 minutes, Adams completed 17-of-25 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown in the first half. 
 
The Presidents offense kicked things into gear in the third quarter, as the Red and Black outscored the GT's 21-0. Midway through the third, the Presidents extended their lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington). The point after by Phillips made the score 14-3 W&J with 7:26 to play in the quarter. 
 
After a quick three and out by the W&J defense, the Presidents marched 55 yards on just five plays to find the end zone again. The big play on the drive was a 49-yard catch and run by Halford that set W&J up with a first and goal. West then capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown at the 3:39 mark of the third. The point after by Phillips made the score 21-3. 
 
With just 31 seconds left in the third quarter, junior EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) raced 27 yards into the end zone to give W&J its third touchdown of the quarter. The point after by Phillips stretched the Presidents advantage to 28-3.
 
West finished with 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns while picking up fifty yards receiving on eight catches. Offensively, the Presidents nearly doubled up the GT's in terms of total yards (512-271).

Garda collected a team-high 11 tackles and junior Keith Knowell (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) registered 10 tackles in the victory. 
 
The win improves the Presidents to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the PAC. The loss drops Geneva to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the PAC.

The victory was the 15th straight for W&J in the head-to-head series, as the last Geneva win came back in 1983. 
 
The Presidents host conference rival Westminster College for a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Cameron Stadium.