GROVE CITY, Pa. – The No. 20/22 Washington & Jefferson football team built a 35-0 lead at halftime and rolled to a 55-14 league win at Grove City.
The victory improves the Presidents to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. It marks W&J's best start since opening the 2009 campaign 7-0. The Wolverines remain winless at 0-5 and 0-3 in the PAC.
The Presidents received the opening kick and went 68 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 15-yard scoring rush by junior Ryan Ruffing, who also accounted for a 17-yard sprint on the drive. The point-after attempt hit the right upright and W&J lead 6-0 just 3:14 into the game.
The two teams exchanged punts and then W&J held Grove City on downs at the 29-yard line, where the Presidents took over and went 71 yards over nine plays. Ruffing ultimately capped the drive from three yards out after having runs of 24, 16 and 13 on the drive. Sophomore Pete Coughlin completed the two-point conversion to senior Max Creighan and W&J led 14-0 with 2:11 left in the first period.
W&J forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive and Coughlin found Creighan five times on the next drive before Ruffing scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, this one from five yards out with 11:23 left in the half, 21-0.
Another three-and-out by the defense led to a nine-play, 61-yard drive that was capped off with a 17-yard touchdown catch by Ruffing on a screen, 28-0. Ruffing also had the big play of the drive with a 29-yard catch on second-and-21.
Once again, the Presidents caused Grove City to punt after just three plays and on the first play from scrimmage, Coughlin found freshman Jesse Zubik who went 62 yards on the catch-and-run for a touchdown, 35-0, with 5:29 remaining in the half.
W&J fumbled a punt with around three minutes left in the half which was recovered by the Wolverines. The hosts lined up to attempt a 27-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half that was blocked by junior Bryce Merrill, and W&J remained ahead, 35-0, through 30 minutes.
The second half opened with another punt by Grove City and W&J answered with a 10-play, 54-yard drive that was capped by Zubik's second TD catch of the night, this one from 10 yards out. The extra point was blocked and the Presidents held a 41-0 lead.
Another muffed punt by W&J led to an extended Grove City drive after recovering the ball at the Presidents' 18-yard line. Joe Swanson closed the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to get the hosts on the scoreboard, 41-7.
W&J scored on 10 plays once again on the ensuing drive, with an eight-yard run by junior Zack Puckett capping the series. Sophomore Tyler McCullough's point-after attempt was good as the Presidents pushed the lead to 48-7 with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter.
The opening drive of the fourth quarter led to a fourth-down scoring rush from David Kincaid, who finished from 17 yards out. McCullough again converted the point after and W&J led 55-7 with 12:14 to play.
Grove City marched 61 yards on six plays on the ensuing drive that was capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Greco to Josh Peach in the back corner of the end zone.
W&J out-gained Grove City, 594-201, behind 344 yards passing and 250 yards rushing.
Ruffing finished with 191 yards from scrimmage, including 145 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 17 carries and 46 yards receiving and a touchdown on two receptions.
Coughlin completed 27-of-35 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns, his third-straight 300-yard passing game. Creighan caught a career-high 13 passes for 107 yards. His 13 receptions were one shy of the W&J school record of 14 by Jordan Roycroft at Thomas More in 2010. Zubik finished with 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five catches.
Defensively, Merrill led with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Senior Jared Pratt finished second with nine stops. Sophomore Justin Bauer ended with 1.5 sacks, senior Jon Turner had 2.0 TFL and a sack and senior Dan Lofgren and sophomore Zach Perry each added a sack.
The Presidents return to action next Saturday, Oct. 18 at Bethany with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. The two teams both enter unbeaten in the PAC and W&J will be looking to avenge a 24-19 loss in West Virginia last season.
No. 20/22 W&J rolls past Grove City, 55-14
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141011_khfg.xml
2014
Washington and Jefferson
55
Grove City
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 19 Washington and Jefferson (5-0) | 14 | 21 | 13 | 7 | 55 |
| Grove City (0-5) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Oct 11, 2014