Washington and Jefferson Takes All-Time Series Lead

Sep 17, 2005

Boxscore

WASHINGTON, Pa. – It is difficult to find a series any more exciting, and any closer through 42 games than the one between the Allegheny Gators and the Washington and Jefferson Presidents. W&J now has the series lead by a one-game margin, 21-20-1. The team lived up to its number seven ranking by D3Football.com, beating the Gators by a score of 45-21, and grabbing a one win advantage in the series. Allegheny kept pace early, but a pair of late touchdowns in the second quarter put the Presidents up by 13, and that was as close as Allegheny would get the rest of the way.

Allegheny fans represented a huge portion of the 3,200 in attendance, and they had a lot to cheer about early. In response to a four-play, 62-yard opening drive by the Presidents, the Gators put together a 10-play, 59-yard drive, and took the lead 7-6 thanks to a missed extra point by the President placekicker. Sean Locklin (Export, Pa./ Franklin Regional) was the Gator scorer, running the ball in from four yards out. The Allegheny advantage marked the first time Washington and Jefferson had trailed all year.

The Presidents marched down the field again on their second possession, but a fumble by President quarterback Chris Edwards, and a recovery by Allegheny senior Paul Pugh (Beaver, Pa./ Beaver Area), halted the W&J offensive attack. The first quarter ended with Allegheny maintaining its one point advantage.

The Presidents found the endzone for the second time on their third possession, and with a two-point conversion took a 14-7 lead with 10:28 on the clock in the second quarter. The advantage was short-lived once again, however, as back-up QB James Jones (Ellington, N.Y./ Falconer Central) led Allegheny on an eight-play, 54-yard journey up the field, tying the game at 14 all. James completed five passes on the drive, with the fifth being completed to tight end Marko Fonzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Brentwood) for a three-yard score.

Things started to fall apart for the Allegheny players and fans near the end of the first half. With 3:27 to go in the quarter the President quarterback completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide-out Jon Miller, and W&J took a 21-14 lead. Then, after a poor kick-off return and a penalty, Allegheny was pinned at its own five-yard line. A three-and-out gave the Presidents a short field, but they had only 2:23 to work with. That was all the team would need, as it went 44 yards on nine plays and took a 27-14 lead.

The half was highlighted for W&J by their quarterback's performance. Edwards completed his first 21 passes, setting a Division III record for consecutive completions. He closed out the half going 24-25, and went 33-37 in the game.

Washington and Jefferson wasted no time in expanding its lead after the break, as a touchdown pass by Edwards widened the gap to 35-14. Allegheny’s Gators had another score left in them though, as a twelve-yard rush by quarterback Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/ Hoover) capped a seven-play, 63-yard drive.

The Presidents put up another touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter, and that is where the scoring ended. W&J only had two more first downs than the Gators, but an average of nearly thirteen yards per completion made the difference for the home team as it moved to 3-0 overall.

Savage, who went 17-24 passing for 148 yards, led the Gator offense. Savage also had two carries for 14 yards and a touchdown. Jones came off the bench to throw for 86 yards in a 14-18 night, while also throwing a touchdown and rushing for 38 yards. Defensively, the Blue and Gold were led by Curt Anderson (Batavia, N.Y./ Batavia Notre Dame), who had seven tackles.

Edwards led the Presidents with a personal best 419 yards passing. He also had four touchdown strikes. Running back Ryan Mendel led the ground attack, as he had 100 yards on 19 carries and Jon Miller led receivers, with 9 receptions for 134 yards. The potent President offense now has gained over 500 yards in all three games in 2005. Defensively, W&J was marshaled by Cory Walsh, who had 13 tackles.

The Gators are now 0-3, and will look to turn things around in two weeks when they begin conference play. The start of the North Coast Athletic Conference slate also marks the beginning of a two-game home stand, as the team hosts Wooster on October 1, and Ohio Wesleyan in its homecoming game on October 8. Both games kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

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