PHOTO GALLERY

A fourth quarter touchdown lifted the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets to a 12-10 victory over the Bearcats in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Chuck Noll Field.

The Bearcats led much of the game, but the visitors' lone touchdown of the afternoon proved to be just enough, as the Bearcats were unable to score in the game's closing minutes.

Waynesburg received the opening kickoff and covered 48 yards in 9 plays on the first drive of the game, but the Bearcat defense held on a third down pass attempt.  Garret Guthrie came on and hit a 39-yard field goal to put the visitors in front, 3-0, with 10:17 remaining in the first quarter.   

The hosts answered right back, starting with a 31-yard kickoff return by Sam Nowicki that gave the Bearcats good field position to start the drive.  A pair of 11-yard completions by Tekoah Guedes to Aaron Austin and Mike Stasko helped to move the ball to midfield.  Stasko then picked up 13 on a run, setting up a 36-yard scoring dash by Guedes on a quarterback keeper.  Sam Elliott's point after made it 7-3 in favor of the Bearcats, and the first quarter ended that way.

Early in the second quarter, the Jackets cut the margin to just one.  The Bearcat defense again stopped a Waynesburg drive outside the red zone, but Guthrie hit a 40-yard field goal that made the score 7-6.

The Bearcats followed with a 13-play drive that stalled at the Waynesburg 19, but a field goal attempt pushed just wide right.  After a punt by Waynesburg, SVC once again drove deep into the opponents' territory, and Elliott hit a 27-yard field goal that made the score 10-6, with just 10 seconds remaining in the half.

The third quarter was a defensive battle, as neither team was able to put points on the board.  The Bearcats had an opportunity with just over 4 minutes remaining in the quarter, setting up for a 27-yard field goal attempt, but a bad snap left Elliott unable to make the attempt on fourth down.

The fourth quarter started well for the Bearcats, with a Christian Witchey punt downed at the Waynesburg one-yard-line.  Three plays later, Waynesburg was forced to punt from their own end zone, and SVC's Nowicki returned the punt all the way to the Waynesburg 24.  However, a holding penalty during the return backed the Bearcats up to midfield, and the offense was unable to get closer than the 37.

After another punt, Waynesburg took over at their own 20, and drove 80 yards in 12 plays, with Tyler Perone completing a pass to Nick Moretti from 9 yards out for a touchdown.  Guthrie's extra point attempt was blocked by Cody Henry, and the score was 12-10 with 4:44 remaining in the game.

The Bearcats were held on the next drive and punted, but the defense once again stopped Waynesburg and forced another punt.  The Bearcats took over at their own 30 yard line with 2:11 remaining.  Guedes hit Philip Harding with an 11-yard pass to start the drive, but three plays later SVC faced a fourth-and-4 from their own 47.  Guedes kept the drive alive, completing a 6-yard pass to Austin.  

After a pair of incompletions, Guedes eluded a tackler and hit Stasko with a screen pass that covered six yards, making it fourth down from the 29 yard line.  SVC lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt, but the kick fell short, and Waynesburg held on for the two-point win.

Guedes led SVC on the ground with 91 yards on 18 carries, while Stasko had 13 carries for 42 yards.  Guedes was 13-34 passing, for 123 yards.  Defensively, Caleb Collins had 8 tackles, while Hauns White had 7 and Izaak Gray recorded 6.  Gray had 1.5 sacks.

Chad Walker led Waynesburg with 70 yards rushing on 18 carries.  Perone completed 15 of 25 passes for 128 yards.  

SVC had 20 first downs on the day, while Waynesburg had just 13.  SVC recorded 280 yards of offense, compared to 198 for Waynesburg.  Neither team turned the ball over.

Waynesburg is now 4-4 overall, 4-3 in the PAC.  SVC falls to 1-6 overall, 1-5 in the conference.  Next up for the Bearcats will be a trip to Grove City to face the Wolverines on Saturday, October 27 at 1:30.