WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College football team lost at No. 8-ranked Washington & Jefferson, 34-7, Saturday night in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action for the Titans' first night game since 2001.
Westminster's record falls to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the PAC while the Presidents remain unbeaten at 7-0 and 3-0 in the league.
Junior quarterback Kevin Franz (Finleyville, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) became Westminster's all-time leading passer as he threw for 237 yards on 23-of-44 passing with one touchdown and an interception. Franz surpasses James Graham's mark of 5,826 career passing yards from 1997-2000 as Franz now has 5,846 career passing yards.
Franz threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Chad Rosatelli (Clinton, Pa./Hopewell) with 8:59 remaining in the third quarter to cut W&J's deficit to 27-7.
Washington & Jefferson running back Curt Jones rushed for a career-high 188 yards on 26 carries and three touchdowns. Jones' 75-yard run on third-down-and-1 from the Presidents' 22-yard line helped set up his 3-yard touchdown on W&J's first drive of the game. Jones also scored a 2-yard touchdown on W&J's second drive of the game to give the Presidents' a 14-0 lead and a 1-yard scoring plunge in the third quarter.
W&J led 21-0 at halftime after quarterback Bobby Swallow threw an 18-yard touchdown strike to David Ravida on a fourth-down play with 12:01 to go in the second quarter. Swallow finished the game with 290 yards on 22-38 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Swallow, the PAC's leading passer with over 300 yards per game, doubled his interceptions for the season as he now has four on the year.
Westminster senior inside linebacker Jordan Blinn (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) and freshman safety Tony Andreassi (Butler, Pa./Butler) each posted their first career interceptions for the Titans, both coming on successive W&J possessions in the fourth quarter.
The Titans were unable to score off the turnovers each in their own territory. W&J scored its final touchdown on its first possession of the fourth quarter not terminated by an interception when Swallow threw a 7-yard touchdown to Chris Besong.
Ravida led the Presidents with eight catches for 106 yards while Jones caught five balls for 84 yards and Besong snared five for 59.
On Westminster's side of the ledger, junior receiver Jon Gubish (Pittsburgh, Pa./Northgate) caught eight passes for 75 yards and Rosatelli finished with six catches for 85 yards.
The stout Presidents run defense limited Westminster to 48 rushing yards as junior tailback Nick McKolosky (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) toted 21 times for 48 yards.
McKolosky entered the game averaging 89.1 rushing yards per game, second only to Jones' 96.2 average in the PAC.
Westminster sophomore linebacker Jake Brown (Medina, Ohio/Medina) led the Titans with 11 tackles. David Gitlitz and John Fahey led W&J with eight stops apiece.
Westminster is off next week before hosting Grove City Nov. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked 15th among liberal arts colleges, according to the Washington Monthly 2007 Annual College Guide. Westminster is a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 368 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a "Character Building College."
Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty while choosing from 41 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa., campus.
