NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College football team picked up its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win of the season with a 16-10 win at home vs. Thiel on Saturday. The Titans improve to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the PAC while the Tomcats fall to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Westminster junior quarterback Kevin Franz (Finleyville, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) completed 22 of 29 passes for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he became the school's all-time leader in career completions with 497. The old record was held by James Graham with 488 from 1997-2000.
Franz broke a 3-3 tie with 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter when he threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Chad Rosatelli (Clinton, Pa./Hopewell). The touchdown culminated a 10-play, 74-yard drive that gave Westminster a 10-3 halftime lead.
Westminster gambled in the third quarter when it attempted to convert a fourth-down-and-7 play from the Thiel 32-yard line. The result was Franz throwing a rainbow over the middle to streaking sophomore John Baummer (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois) for a touchdown. The 32-yard scoring connection was Baummer's first career touchdown as it gave the Titans a firm 16-3 lead with 5:42 left in the third quarter.
The Titans missed the extra point and Thiel would later draw within six points in the waning moments of fourth quarter when Cody Sirgey scored a 2-yard pass from quarterback Willie Bova. Thiel's on-side kick rolled out of bounds and the Titans hung on for the win.
Franz completed passes to seven receivers led by Rosatelli with six catches for 94 yards. Junior tailback Nick McKolosky (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) caught four passes for a season-high 67 yards. McKolosky also rushed the ball 26 times for 92 yards as the Titans finished the day with 348 total yards (270 pass, 78 rush).
The Westminster defense contained the Tomcat offense to 269 total yards (205 pass, 64 rush) as Bova completed 18 of 35 throws for 205 yards and a touchdown. Bova was sacked four times and intercepted once, the latter by sophomore linebacker Cory Meeker (Glen Dale, W.Va./John Marshall) on the Westminster 7-yard line in the second quarter when Thiel was driving and facing a 10-3 deficit.
Two sacks came from senior defensive end Andrew Robison (Hermitage, Pa./Wilmington) while Meeker posted 1.5 sacks, sharing one with sophomore nose tackle Jeff Bever (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk). Bever also batted down three passes for three pass break-ups.
Senior linebacker Jordan Blinn (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) led the Titans with 13 tackles followed by junior cornerback Mario Camerota (Cheswick, Pa./Springdale) with nine stops, a forced fumble and a pass break-up.
Logan Skjefte led the Tomcats with nine tackles.
Westminster junior kicker Fred Romeo (Lowellville, Ohio/Poland Seminary) hit a game-tying, 30-yard field goal in the second quarter after Thiel's John Madeline split the uprights on a 36-yarder at the 11:05 mark in the second quarter.
The Titans will travel to Waynesburg on Saturday, Oct. 11, for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.
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.
