NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College football team lost to No. 7 Washington & Jefferson, 49-7, on Saturday at Harold Burry Stadium in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action.
The Presidents (7-0, 3-0 PAC) win their ninth straight over Westminster (3-5, 2-3 PAC) as they are now 55-3 in their last 58 PAC games.
Washington & Jefferson scored three defensive touchdowns in the game, including Josh Buckley returning an interception 36 yards in the first quarter to give W&J a 21-0 lead, Craig Sedunov returning an interception 56 yards in the second quarter to make it 35-0, and Matthew Gal scooping up a third-quarter fumble and returning it 16 yards to give the Presidents a 42-0 advantage.
Westminster did not score until senior running back Nick McKolosky (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) capped off a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive with a 3-yard plunge for his team-high sixth rushing touchdown of the season and the 27th overall touchdown of his career which ranks him seventh in school history.
McKolosky finished with 75 yards on 18 carries. Westminster starting sophomore quarterback Shawn Lehocky (Conway, Pa./Freedom) also grossed 48 yards but with five sacks he finished with 15 net rushing yards on 15 attempts. Lehocky was 10-31 passing for 123 yards. Senior reserve quarterback Kevin Franz (Finleyville, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) threw the two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns on his first two pass attempts of the game before he finished 3-6 passing for 35 yards.
Freshman Connor Kobis (Elma, N.Y./Bishop Timon-St. Jude), freshman Geno Pasquinelli (Salem, Ohio/Salem) and junior John Baummer (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois) led the Titans with three catches apiece, including 56 yards from Kobis in the first three catches of his career.
W&J quarterback Gino Rometo threw for 120 yards on 14-20 passing with 120 yards and a pair of scores. His touchdowns went to Joe Mucho from 18 yards in the first quarter to give W&J a 7-0 lead and he also threw a 21-yard score to Adam Dominick to put the Presidents up 28-0. Craig Besong led the Presidents with eight catches for 46 yards.
Steven Shumaker led the Presidents with 80 rushing yards on 12 totes including an 18-yard touchdown to give W&J a 14-0 lead.
Overall, W&J outgained Westminster 338-224 including a 185-158 advantage through the air.
Defensively, the Presidents posted six sacks as they were led by Sedunov's nine tackles to go with his interception. Jacob Bloomhuff had six tackles including 2.5 sacks and a pass break-up. Sophomore linebacker Zachery Boyd (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) led the Titans with 10 tackles, including his first career sack (9 yards) and his first career interception (13 yards).
Westminster has a bye next week before traveling to Grove City on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.
About Westminster College...
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is a top tier liberal arts college and a national leader in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster ranked third among liberal arts colleges in social mobility, according to the Washington Monthly College Guide, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 371 Colleges" and "Best in the Northeast" by The Princeton Review, and is named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning.
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.
