A key midseason matchup is set for Saturday featuring the Presidents' Athletic Conference's top offensive and defensive teams.

The Westminster College football team (1-1 PAC, 2-2 overall) welcomes Washington & Jefferson College  (2-1, 4-1) to Harold Burry Stadium/Memorial Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

 

Coming off a win against Allegheny College (66-14), Washington & Jefferson is pacing the PAC, averaging 42.6 points-per-game.The Presidents also posted 50-point performances against Saint Vincent (52-21) and Bethany (50-7).

 

" … a very deep and talented W&J football team … " assessed Titans' taskmaster Scott Benzel.

 

W&J signal-caller Colton Jones is the PAC's passing pacesetter, having completed 100 of 151 attempts (66.2%) for 1,201 yards and 10 TDs (3 interceptions) for a 150.9 efficiency rating. His top targets have been John Peduzzi (24 receptions, 393 yards, 16.4 yards-per-catch, 3 TDs) and Anthony Rosati (28-371, 13.3, 2 TDs). Raymond Holmes and Justin Huss have rushed for 243 and 212 yards, respectively, and Holmes has a trio of TDs.

 

Westminster's defense has been the circuit's stingiest to date, as the Titans have yielded just 49 total points (12.3 per-game). In last week's 10-0 loss at Carnegie Mellon's Gesling Stadium Westminster did not yield an offensive TD and coerced 10 Tartans' punts.

 

Including the season-opening setback to Delaware Valley University, the Titans' two losses occurred on the road to teams nationally-ranked at the time.

 

Senior stalwarts Nick Treloar (New Castle, Pa./New Castle High), Brayden Thimons (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands High), Ian Barr (State College, Pa./State College High) and Luca Botti (Ellwood City, Pa./Ellwood City High), along with sophomore Kevin Wright (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge High) have served as the linchpins to the league-leading defense.

 

However Benzel (9th season 58-26, 69%) admitted, "In regard to our performance (last) Saturday night, it was disappointing. We played with great effort and I was very proud of our players and coaches for fighting for 60 minutes. However, our carelessness with the football (5 Titans' turnovers) was the biggest reason we were not successful Saturday night. 

 

'Some of the credit has to go to CMU's defense (4 interceptions, including a pair by PAC Defensive Player of the Week Nolan Pitsenberger) and their punt unit playing very well all night," Benzel continued, noting, "They held a sizable field-position advantage, particularly after the first quarter. You cannot expect to beat anyone, especially the number 17-ranked team on the road,turning the ball over five times."

 

Benzel continued, "Defensively, we played well, limiting (the Tartans) to 105 total yards, but we needed to force some more turnovers. Again, credit to the CMU offensive coaches (for) not putting the ball in harm's way and protecting a one-score lead in very difficult weather."

 

Led by Head Coach Mike Sirianni (20th season, 171-41, 80.6%), W&J commenced the campaign with a win over Ohio Athletic Conference power John Carroll University (35-26). The Presidents' lone loss occurred in Cleveland Heights to Case Western Reserve University (14-10).

 

W&J's defense is yielding just 16.4 ppg. and is ranked 3rd in the PAC. Justin Johns (35 tackles, including 18 solos) and Dawson Dietz (32 and 16, including 6.5 sacks), along with Alex Keith (6.5 tackles-for-loss), Jaren Thimons (4 sacks), and Tanne Volpatti and Tyler Sabo (2 interceptions apiece) are key Presidents' performers on defense.

 

Also, owing to Benzel's point regarding CMU flipping field position, W&J punter-placekicker Deven Wyandt won PAC Rookie of the Week honors. He has scored 34 points (including 9 PATs last week) and is averaging 36.5 yards-per-punt.

 

While Washington & Jefferson has dominated the all-time series with Westminster, the programs have evenly divided the last 10 meetings. Also, Westminster has won the last 4 showdowns, including a 27-20 home-field win on April 23, 2021 for the Titans' initial PAC title.

 

Last Oct. 23 at W&J's Cameron Stadium Westminster won (23-18), rallying from a 12-3 deficit by scoring 20 unanswered points. The pitch-catch combo of quarterback Cole Konieczka (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon Area High) and wide-out Tylon Eilam (Sharon, Pa./Sharon High) collaborated for 41- and 30-yard TD tosses. It was part of Eilam's 10-catch, 172-yard career day.

 

Former standout Frank Antuono and Thimons jump-started the comeback bid with a 2-yard TD pass play – the first scoring strike and TD reception, respectively, of their careers. Perhaps most notably, however, was Westminster limiting W&J's high-powered offense to 174 total yards (19 rushing), led by Barr's 9 tackles and 6 total Titans' sacks.

 

While Westminster shared the 2021 conference crown with Carnegie Mellon, the Titans and W&J both finished 8-3 last year and both earned Eastern College Athletic Conference bowl bids.

 

But Benzel assessed, "Complementary football is still something we are trying to put together, and it's something that all championship teams have. We currently are still trying to understand how to do that.  

 

"We need to turn the page and get ready for another top-notch team Saturday when we take on a very deep and talented W&J football team," Benzel concluded.