WAYNESBURG, Pa. – As a quarterback Tyler McGowan gradually grows and gains confidence every week.
McGowan tossed a trio of touchdown passes Saturday afternoon, leading Westminster College football team to a 30-10 Presidents' Athletic Conference conquest of Waynesburg University.
At John F. Wiley Stadium, first-year southpaw signal-caller McGowan stung the host Yellow Jackets for an 18-for-29, 175-yard, 3-TD passing performance. He spiraled scoring strikes of 38, 23 and 7 yards, respectively, to Jalen Royal-Eiland, Jalen Washington and Chevy Dawson. McGowan also rushed for 21 yards in winning his third consecutive start under center.
Westminster (4-2 PAC, 5-3 overall) claimed its 3rd consecutive conference contest as the Titans totalled 356 yards (181 rushing, 175 passing) and 30 first downs.
Graduate-student offensive tackle Gabriel Cleveland (Cumming, Ga./South Forsyth) stabilized an otherwise young, injury-plagued line.
"Ty's playing awesome. You can only ask so much of a freshman stepping into a big role like that. But I think he's playing great. He's using his speed really well and making some great reads for us," praised senior defensive end Brayden Thimons, a former scholastic quarterback who is now an All-American defensive end.
"This is another test. A road game. We didn't start well, but Ty's throw to Jalen really was the high point of the first half. Phenomenal throw!" Titans' taskmaster Scott Benzel praised, adding, "He was just patient enough not to turn it over.
"I think he was special when we got him, and he continues to prove that," Benzel praised.
In a season-best performance first-year wide-out Royal-Eiland (Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge High) hauled in 7 passes for 68 yards. Also, senior running back Ryan Gomes (Tampa, Fla./Walter L. Sickles High) gained a game-high 181 yards on 19 carries, and Gomes' understudy, sophomore Walter Phillips (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Champagnat Catholic) contributed 54 yards rushing, including an 18-yard 4th-quarter scoring sprint. Also, first-year placekicker Ben Pugh (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield High) connected on a 35-yard field goal.
Thimons (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands High) continued to terrorize opposing offenses, Against Waynesburg Thimons tallied a sack to add to his league-leading tackles-for-loss total (12.5). He is the reigning PAC Defensive Player of the Week, but deflected praise to his teammates for putting him in position to make plays.
Also for the Titans, senior tackle Tyree Reeder (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline High) registered a pair of sacks, Thimons' brother, junior end Daniel Thimons (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands High) added a sack, and senior linebacker Nicholas Treloar (New Castle, Pa./New Castle High) shared a sack with first-year linebacker Dylan Sleva (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon Area High).
Waynesburg (3-3, 4-4) – despite an edge in time-of-possession (30:44 to 29-16) – accumulated only 209 total yards and 10 first downs on 63 snaps. Justin Flack, the PAC's pacesetting ground gainer, was limited to 58 yards rushing on 14 carries.
"We take a lot of pride on that side of the ball, and with Coach Benzel being a defensive coach. We had a lot of older guys come back this year, and we just want to make sure no one scores points – or as few as possible," explained Thimons.
KeAnDre Hollis had 6 receptions for 48 yards and scored the Yellow Jackets' lone TD after hauling in backup QB Thomas Burke's 5-yard, 4th-period pass. Dakota Romantino was on the receiving end of 7 passes for a game-high 86 yards for Waynesburg; however starting signal-caller Tyler Raines was relegated to a 16-for-28, 142-yard passing performance while enduring a handful of sacks.
"We go into every week and we want to be the best defense ever – that's our motive," Thimons explained. "We take a lot of pride up front – we call it our 'Death Row' – but we're together for Friday meetings, and everyone's always working together to make sure of that main goal – being the best defense."
"Brayden's an All-American, and he has the expectation to play like an All-American," Benzel said. "He's a tough guy to block one-on-one. What generally happens is he's gonna receive a lot of attention – double-teams, running the ball away from him. But he's got to be patient enough to still impact games, and I think he did that (Satur)day.
"He's an athlete, that's first and foremost," Benzel continued regarding Thimons. "And athletically, his ability to do a lot of different things allows us as defensive coaches to put him in a lot of those situations. We drop him into coverage … we rush him off the edge. He can do a lot of things. That makes him versatile and that makes him special."
Senior cornerback Bryce Thomas (Saint Marys, Ga./Camden County High) was credited with 11 tackles, Treloar 8, and sophomore lineman Carter Chinn (Grove City, Pa./Grove City High) 6.
McGowan's confidence continued to blossom in his third collegiate start as he demonstrated his poise, rallying Westminster from an early 3-0 deficit.
Twice during the 2nd stanza McGowan (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon Area High) converted 3rd-down plays into touchdowns – the first, a 38-yard rainbow to Royal-Eiland, and the second, a 23-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Jalen Washington (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips High).
An interception by sophomore safety Brice Butler (Farrell, Pa./Farrell High) – his PAC-leading 5th of the season – set up Westminster's second score. It came off a deflection, and Butler returned the theft 39 yards to the Titans' 44-yard line.
During the 1st half McGowan garnered 11 of 17 pass attempts for 113 yards, collaborating 7 times for 68 yards with Royal-Eiland.
Waynesburg scored on the game's opening series, an 11-play drive that covered 71 yards, on Ricco Sastoque's 35-yard field goal just 4:55 into the tilt.
But from that juncture the Titans' defense dominated. Waynesburg entered intermission with only 121 total yards and 3 first downs. Conversely, led by McGowan, Gomes (33 yards rushing), Royal-Eiland, etc. Westminster went for 180 yards and 13 first downs.
Thimons initially was recruited by Robert Morris University to play linebacker, but has blossomed into an All-American terror for the Titans.
"We knew going into this year, being last year's PAC champions, we knew that everyone would give us their best game," he said regarding the Titans' trio of triumphs following a 2-3 start. "Obviously these last couple weeks were big," Thimons summarized.
" … It's the end of the year. You've got to grind it out. There's no style points in football. You've just got to have a couple more points than the other guy," Benzel mused. "This is a team of fighters, and they continue to fight, and I was happy to see that.
"We had lost those two games back-to-back (Carnegie Mellon University and Washington & Jefferson College. It's been a long time since we've done that," Benzel reflected. "But winning's a habit. So is losing. So you've got to be able to identify how to stay with the process. We're thin again, we lost a couple guys (to injury), but kept fighting – next-guy-up.
"Next week's going to be a challenge against a great team."
Westminster welcomes Case Western Reserve University to Harold Burry Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. in another PAC contest.
