NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Please don't tell the Titans to pack it in. It's only mid-October.
As far as Westminster College's football team is concerned, Saturday's 41-6 Presidents' Athletic Conference conquest of Thiel College could be the start of a 5-game, season-ending sprint.
Tyler McGowan tossed 2 touchdowns to Damon Maul and another to Chevy Dawson, and Ryan Gomes gained a game-high 134 yards rushing and tallied twice for the Titans (2-2 PAC, 3-3 overall).
"It feels great to get back on the winning side of things," admitted Maul. "It's great the quarterback trusted all three of our tight ends, and it's just great to have a team win again."
Defensively, Westminster stymied Thiel as the Tomcats totalled just 140 yards – 62 of which came on the lone score from backup quarterback Alexander Kovalyak to Alexander Anderson. That occurred with 3:58 remaining in the third period and drew Thiel within 27-6.
Sandwiched in-between the Titans tallied a trio of quarterback sacks and Brice Butler pilfered another pass.
"I think our defense is top-tier. We practice hard, are disciplined … We're gonna go out there and play 'Westminster defense,'" said sophomore safety Butler (Farrell, Pa./Farrell High), who said he simply "was doing my one-eleventh. … Everybody does their one-eleventh and are put in the right spots to make plays."
In his initial collegiate career start, first-year signal-caller McGowan (West Hills, Pa./Moon Area High) completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 107 yards. He tossed 17- and 12-yard TDs to Maul (Portage, Pa./Cambria Heights High) in the first and second stanzas, respectively. He also lofted a 25-yarder to another senior tight end Dawson (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Centennial High) approximately 3 minutes into the second half.
"I was proud of Ty. He's kind've an unflapple guy – very confident. He looked like he was excited to play, and that's what you want," acknowledged Titans' taskmaster Scott Benzel regarding McGowan. "That's why you're here; you want an opportunity to go out and compete. He did a really nice job for us."
"We knew Ty was ready. We gave him some plays he was comfortable with," Maul said. " … Short checkdowns and a little intermediate game, that's his forte. … But he can throw the ball anywhere. If he wants to throw to me, beautiful!"
Gomes garnered a 6- and 7-yard scoring sprints in the second and third quarters, respectively, and continues to be among the PAC's leading ground gainers. His second score took the Titans to a 34-6 tally entering the final frame. Sophomore placekicker Aidan Johnston (New Castle, Pa./Shenango High) tacked on the fifth of his 6 PATs.
At that juncture several newcomers emerged.
Sophomore running back Evan Lewis (Pittsburgh/Elizabeth Forward High) contributed 46 yards rushing working out of the Wildcat formation, and junior QB Joseph Ranft (Pittsburgh/Seton LaSalle High) tossed a 7-yard TD to sophomore tight end Alex Shaugnessy (Canonsburg/Seton-LaSalle High). Also, sophomore QB Billy Levak (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia High) completed a pair of passes, including a 45-yarder to sophomore wide-out Ethan Burford (Shippenville, Pa./Clarion High).
In all, the Titans tallied 380 total yards on 77 snaps. Conversely, Thiel (1-3, 1-5) totalled 140 yards on 53 plays. However, sophomore starting signal-caller Owen Trumbull was injured while running for a first down with 12:21 remaining in the third period and did not return. In his stead Kovalyak connected on 4 of 15 pass attempts for 83 yards.
The Titans tallied twice en route to a 13-0 margin at intermission. With 32 ticks to play in the first frame Maul – at the back of the end zone – hauled in a deflected pass from McGowan. Then with 6:29 left in the second stanza Gomes skirted 6 yards to paydirt for his third TD of the season.
Westminster's defense sacked Trumbull a trio of times during the half – two by senior end Brayden Thimons (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands High) – and Butler picked off a pass for the second straight game.
Westminster's win galvanized the Titans, who travel to Grove City Saturday, Oct. 22.
"Yes, sir. Every week's a new season. … We're not done, we're not done at all. We're still here," Butler emphasized.
"We're the same, old Westminster, and it's – honestly – better for us that people look at us as an underdog. That's dangerous. We're a dangerous team to play," Maul concluded.
"It's important to us," Benzel said regarding the second-half stretch run. "It's a process and we have a standard and we want to play to that. No disrespect to anyone across the sideline, but it doesn't matter if you're playing Mount Union or Thiel or anybody in-between: Anybody who plays this game knows how tough it is. You have to respect (opponents), but you also have to play the way we want to play – to battle."
Benzel was buoyed by the prospect of the start of a return to Westminster's winning ways.
"I sure hope so. I wouldn't count us out. I just think there's too much talent, too much pride. It's not gonna be perfect … but I'll always bet on our guys to come out," Benzel concluded.
