W&J-Bethany Game Notes
Nov 05, 2009
Press Release posted by Washington and Jefferson
No. 23 Washington & Jefferson (7-1, 3-1 PAC) at Bethany (2-6, 1-4 PAC)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 – Bethany, W.Va.
Radio: WJPA, 1450-AM (Mark Uriah)
Internet Audio: http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm
Internet Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=bethanywv&o=cal_stamp&sd=today
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Bison Stadium (1,000)
Series: W&J leads 65-20
Series Streak: +26 W&J
Last Meeting: W&J 54, BC 7 -- 11/8/2008
First Meeting: W&J 36, BC 0 -- 9/26/1896
Last W&J Win: W&J 54, BC 7 -- 11/8/2008
Last BC Win: BC 28, W&J 9 -- 9/25/82
Last W&J Win at BC: W&J 54, BC 0 -- 11/11/2006
Last BC Win at BC: BC 29, W&J 7 -- 10/31/81
THE SERIES: Washington & Jefferson and Bethany meet for the 86th time in history on Saturday. The series is the longest in both schools' histories. W&J holds a 65-20 advantage in the all-time series and has won 26 consecutive times. The Bison last defeated the Presidents on Sept. 25, 1982, by a 28-9 margin in Washington. BC's last home win against W&J occurred on Oct. 31, 1981 (29-7).
THE HEAD COACHES: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union ’94) owns a 68-11 (.861) overall record in his seventh year as the W&J head coach. He is the three-time PAC Coach of the Year and 2004 South Region Coach of the Year. Head Coach Tim Weaver (Davidson '90) is in his fourth year at Bethany. The Bison have posted a 13-25 record since his arrival on campus.
W&J vs. THE PAC: W&J sports a 241-80-4 (.750) all-time record against current members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Presidents have won 55 of their last 59 conference contests. Last week, Thomas More became the first PAC team to knock off W&J in back-to-back seasons in 11 years. Below is a breakdown of the all-time records versus current PAC teams:
Bethany (65-20)
Geneva (36-19-2)
Grove City (33-12)
Saint Vincent (3-0)
Thiel (39-22-2)
Thomas More (3-2)
Waynesburg (33-3)
Westminster (29-2)
THE LAST MEETING {W&J 54, BC 7, 11/8/08 -- Washington, Pa.} : W&J scored the first 41 points of the game and racked up 606 yards of total offense during its 54-7 victory over Bethany on Senior Day at Cameron Stadium. The Presidents received 283 passing yards and four touchdowns from Bobby Swallow. W&J forced a quick three-and-out on the first Bison series and drove 61 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead after Curt Jones crossed the goal line from five yards out. After three plays and another BC punt, Swallow lofted a 63-yard scoring pass to Craig Besong on the Presidents’ first play for a 14-0 advantage. Travis Dunn forced a fumble late in the first quarter which was recovered by David Gitlitz at the BC 22-yard line. Derek Taylor ran 22 yards on the next play for a 20-0 W&J lead. Jones rushed in from four yards on the second play of the second quarter and added a two-point conversion rush to up the lead to 28-0. Following another Bethany punt, Swallow capped a 16-play, 68-yard drive with a 14-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Luke Espe and a 34-point cushion. W&J scored for the third time on its first play of a drive at the 3:14 mark of the second quarter when Taylor took a screen pass 70 yards for a touchdown. The Bison finally got on the scoreboard with 1:04 left in the half on Randy Rankin’s two-yard touchdown run, but W&J quickly pushed the lead back to 47-7 at halftime, driving 57 yards in just 38 seconds. Swallow found David Ravida for a seven-yard scoring play. W&J scored the only points of the second half on its second possession of the third quarter as Jacob McBride capped a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a four-yard run. Gitlitz led a W&J defense which limited Bethany to 151 yards and eight first downs with six tackles. He upped his career tackle total to 277 and moved into fourth place on the W&J career list. The Bison had 10 different drives end after three plays. Dunn added four stops for the Presidents’ defense. Jones gained 112 yards on 16 attempts and scored twice, while Taylor racked up 129 all-purpose yards (59 rush., 70 receiv.) and also added two scores. Espe led the receiving corps with seven catches for 79 yards, while Besong added four receptions for 99 yards. Ravida finished with three catches for 31 yards and moved into third place on W&J’s all-time reception list (171), tying Ryan Silvis ’01. BC quarterback Chad Smith was limited to 12-of-29 passing for 122 yards. Eric Walker was held to 15 yards on 10 carries, while Nelson Mitzen collected a game-high 15 tackles for the BC defense.
SCOUTING BETHANY: The Bison entered the 2009 season with one of the youngest rosters in NCAA Division III. Bethany brought in over 100 newcomers to its preseason camp and has experienced some growing pains, especially during the last two weeks' losses to Waynesburg (52-13) and Geneva (54-21). BC owns victories this season against Kentucky Christian (41-33) and Thiel (42-21). Sophomore quarterback Chad Smith (1,384 yards, 8 TD) was leading the Bethany offense, but has missed the past two games due to an injury. Junior Dan Pegg has stepped into the starting role and has completed 48-of-88 passes for 499 yards and three scores. Sophomore Eric Walker leads the ground game with an average of 100.5 yards per game. He has rushed for 10 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Matt Cruse (40 rec., 531 yards, 3 TD) has been one of the PAC's top deep threats throughout his record-breaking career on the BC campus. The Bethany defense has struggled to stop opponents for a majority of the season. Only six teams in the country have surrendered more rushing yards than the Bison (248.0 ypg). Opponents are averaging 442.8 yards and 36.8 points per game. Senior free safety Matt Dahle leads the squad with 71 tackles.
HISTORY LESSON: Washington & Jefferson has won 664 games in its 117-year history (664-370-40) which is the third-most of any Division III school. Wittenberg holds the all-time lead with 685 victories.
POINTS AT A PREMIUM: Thomas More and W&J combined for 21 points last week which was the fewest scored during a Presidents' game since 2003 (span of 69 games) when Buffalo State upset W&J by a 10-7 margin at Cameron Stadium.
NINE ALIVE: W&J needs victories over Bethany and Waynesburg to clinch its 15th nine-win season since 1992. The only years during this stretch in which W&J has not had at least nine victories were 1996 (8-2), 1997 (6-3) and 1998 (5-4).
SACK MASTER: Although he did not record a sack against Thomas More, senior defensive end Jacob Bloomhuff continued to rank second in sacks (1.44 spg) in NCAA Division III. Wittenberg defensive lineman Eddie Vallery leads the nation with an average of 1.75 sacks per contest.
LIVIN AT-LARGE: Washington & Jefferson's loss to Thomas More gave the Saints the NCAA playoff automatic bid; however, the Presidents still can earn one of six "Pool C" at-large bids to the national tournament. Since W&J made its first playoff appearance in 1984, the Presidents have finished with one regular-season loss 12 times, including four times since 2000, and have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs in all but one of those seasons (1985). The 1992 and 1994 Presidents both suffered a regular-season loss before advancing all the way to the national championship game.
BOUNCING BACK: The Presidents have not lost back-to-back regular-season games since dropping their first three contests in 1997. Since that time, W&J has lost 14 regular-season games, but has bounced back to win its next game all 14 times. W&J's average margin of victory in the week following a regular-season loss has been 25.7 points.
EARLY AND OFTEN: The Presidents have racked up 342 points (57.0 ppg) versus Bethany during the last five meetings. Two years ago, the two squads combined for 116 points (77-39) at Cameron Stadium. In the six other meetings since 2002, BC has only scored one touchdown against Washington & Jefferson.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior wide receiver Craig Besong upped his career reception total to 159 with seven receptions versus Thomas More. He is currently fifth on the all-time reception list at W&J and can pass Ryan Silvis '01, a 2009 inductee into W&J's Athletic Hall of Fame, with 13 more catches. Besong, who also owns 2,199 career receiving yards, has caught at least one pass in all 32 games he has suited up for the Red & Black and owns a streak of 21 consecutive games with at least three receptions.
SENIOR DAY: Washington & Jefferson will honor 23 senior players and one senior student assistant coach prior to next Saturday's game versus Waynesburg. The group has posted a 38-6 record since its arrival on campus and has participated in three consecutive NCAA Division III playoffs.
ACADEMIC AWARD: Senior safety Mitch Erdely was named to the Academic All-District II College Division football team by ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Wednesday. Erdely was a first-team selection which advances him to the national Academic All-America ballot. The District II region includes all NCAA Division II and III and NAIA colleges and universities in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Erdely holds a 3.90 GPA as an accounting major. He owns the third-best GPA among the 27 first-team, all-district selections. Erdely is third on the team in tackles this fall with 43 stops. He is also third on the squad with five tackles for a loss and tied for second with two interceptions. In 38 career games, Erdely has compiled 145 tackles, nine pass breakups, six tackles for a loss, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He was named a semifinalist for the 2009 NFF & College Hall of Fame William V. Campbell Trophy and is a team captain.
LONG TIME AGO: Washington & Jefferson will not own at least a share of the PAC Championship in consecutive years for the first time since the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Hiram won the conference title with a 6-1 record in 1982, while Carnegie Mellon posted a perfect 7-0 mark in 1983 to earn the league championship. Hiram is now a member of the NCAC, while CMU competes in the UAA.
POLL CHANGES: The Presidents dropped nine spots to No. 15 in the latest AFCA Coaches Poll. D3football.com ranks W&J as it No. 23 team. The Presidents are also ninth in the latest NCAA regional rankings for the South Region.
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 – Bethany, W.Va.
Radio: WJPA, 1450-AM (Mark Uriah)
Internet Audio: http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm
Internet Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=bethanywv&o=cal_stamp&sd=today
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Bison Stadium (1,000)
Series: W&J leads 65-20
Series Streak: +26 W&J
Last Meeting: W&J 54, BC 7 -- 11/8/2008
First Meeting: W&J 36, BC 0 -- 9/26/1896
Last W&J Win: W&J 54, BC 7 -- 11/8/2008
Last BC Win: BC 28, W&J 9 -- 9/25/82
Last W&J Win at BC: W&J 54, BC 0 -- 11/11/2006
Last BC Win at BC: BC 29, W&J 7 -- 10/31/81
THE SERIES: Washington & Jefferson and Bethany meet for the 86th time in history on Saturday. The series is the longest in both schools' histories. W&J holds a 65-20 advantage in the all-time series and has won 26 consecutive times. The Bison last defeated the Presidents on Sept. 25, 1982, by a 28-9 margin in Washington. BC's last home win against W&J occurred on Oct. 31, 1981 (29-7).
THE HEAD COACHES: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union ’94) owns a 68-11 (.861) overall record in his seventh year as the W&J head coach. He is the three-time PAC Coach of the Year and 2004 South Region Coach of the Year. Head Coach Tim Weaver (Davidson '90) is in his fourth year at Bethany. The Bison have posted a 13-25 record since his arrival on campus.
W&J vs. THE PAC: W&J sports a 241-80-4 (.750) all-time record against current members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Presidents have won 55 of their last 59 conference contests. Last week, Thomas More became the first PAC team to knock off W&J in back-to-back seasons in 11 years. Below is a breakdown of the all-time records versus current PAC teams:
Bethany (65-20)
Geneva (36-19-2)
Grove City (33-12)
Saint Vincent (3-0)
Thiel (39-22-2)
Thomas More (3-2)
Waynesburg (33-3)
Westminster (29-2)
THE LAST MEETING {W&J 54, BC 7, 11/8/08 -- Washington, Pa.} : W&J scored the first 41 points of the game and racked up 606 yards of total offense during its 54-7 victory over Bethany on Senior Day at Cameron Stadium. The Presidents received 283 passing yards and four touchdowns from Bobby Swallow. W&J forced a quick three-and-out on the first Bison series and drove 61 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead after Curt Jones crossed the goal line from five yards out. After three plays and another BC punt, Swallow lofted a 63-yard scoring pass to Craig Besong on the Presidents’ first play for a 14-0 advantage. Travis Dunn forced a fumble late in the first quarter which was recovered by David Gitlitz at the BC 22-yard line. Derek Taylor ran 22 yards on the next play for a 20-0 W&J lead. Jones rushed in from four yards on the second play of the second quarter and added a two-point conversion rush to up the lead to 28-0. Following another Bethany punt, Swallow capped a 16-play, 68-yard drive with a 14-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Luke Espe and a 34-point cushion. W&J scored for the third time on its first play of a drive at the 3:14 mark of the second quarter when Taylor took a screen pass 70 yards for a touchdown. The Bison finally got on the scoreboard with 1:04 left in the half on Randy Rankin’s two-yard touchdown run, but W&J quickly pushed the lead back to 47-7 at halftime, driving 57 yards in just 38 seconds. Swallow found David Ravida for a seven-yard scoring play. W&J scored the only points of the second half on its second possession of the third quarter as Jacob McBride capped a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a four-yard run. Gitlitz led a W&J defense which limited Bethany to 151 yards and eight first downs with six tackles. He upped his career tackle total to 277 and moved into fourth place on the W&J career list. The Bison had 10 different drives end after three plays. Dunn added four stops for the Presidents’ defense. Jones gained 112 yards on 16 attempts and scored twice, while Taylor racked up 129 all-purpose yards (59 rush., 70 receiv.) and also added two scores. Espe led the receiving corps with seven catches for 79 yards, while Besong added four receptions for 99 yards. Ravida finished with three catches for 31 yards and moved into third place on W&J’s all-time reception list (171), tying Ryan Silvis ’01. BC quarterback Chad Smith was limited to 12-of-29 passing for 122 yards. Eric Walker was held to 15 yards on 10 carries, while Nelson Mitzen collected a game-high 15 tackles for the BC defense.
SCOUTING BETHANY: The Bison entered the 2009 season with one of the youngest rosters in NCAA Division III. Bethany brought in over 100 newcomers to its preseason camp and has experienced some growing pains, especially during the last two weeks' losses to Waynesburg (52-13) and Geneva (54-21). BC owns victories this season against Kentucky Christian (41-33) and Thiel (42-21). Sophomore quarterback Chad Smith (1,384 yards, 8 TD) was leading the Bethany offense, but has missed the past two games due to an injury. Junior Dan Pegg has stepped into the starting role and has completed 48-of-88 passes for 499 yards and three scores. Sophomore Eric Walker leads the ground game with an average of 100.5 yards per game. He has rushed for 10 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Matt Cruse (40 rec., 531 yards, 3 TD) has been one of the PAC's top deep threats throughout his record-breaking career on the BC campus. The Bethany defense has struggled to stop opponents for a majority of the season. Only six teams in the country have surrendered more rushing yards than the Bison (248.0 ypg). Opponents are averaging 442.8 yards and 36.8 points per game. Senior free safety Matt Dahle leads the squad with 71 tackles.
HISTORY LESSON: Washington & Jefferson has won 664 games in its 117-year history (664-370-40) which is the third-most of any Division III school. Wittenberg holds the all-time lead with 685 victories.
POINTS AT A PREMIUM: Thomas More and W&J combined for 21 points last week which was the fewest scored during a Presidents' game since 2003 (span of 69 games) when Buffalo State upset W&J by a 10-7 margin at Cameron Stadium.
NINE ALIVE: W&J needs victories over Bethany and Waynesburg to clinch its 15th nine-win season since 1992. The only years during this stretch in which W&J has not had at least nine victories were 1996 (8-2), 1997 (6-3) and 1998 (5-4).
SACK MASTER: Although he did not record a sack against Thomas More, senior defensive end Jacob Bloomhuff continued to rank second in sacks (1.44 spg) in NCAA Division III. Wittenberg defensive lineman Eddie Vallery leads the nation with an average of 1.75 sacks per contest.
LIVIN AT-LARGE: Washington & Jefferson's loss to Thomas More gave the Saints the NCAA playoff automatic bid; however, the Presidents still can earn one of six "Pool C" at-large bids to the national tournament. Since W&J made its first playoff appearance in 1984, the Presidents have finished with one regular-season loss 12 times, including four times since 2000, and have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs in all but one of those seasons (1985). The 1992 and 1994 Presidents both suffered a regular-season loss before advancing all the way to the national championship game.
BOUNCING BACK: The Presidents have not lost back-to-back regular-season games since dropping their first three contests in 1997. Since that time, W&J has lost 14 regular-season games, but has bounced back to win its next game all 14 times. W&J's average margin of victory in the week following a regular-season loss has been 25.7 points.
EARLY AND OFTEN: The Presidents have racked up 342 points (57.0 ppg) versus Bethany during the last five meetings. Two years ago, the two squads combined for 116 points (77-39) at Cameron Stadium. In the six other meetings since 2002, BC has only scored one touchdown against Washington & Jefferson.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior wide receiver Craig Besong upped his career reception total to 159 with seven receptions versus Thomas More. He is currently fifth on the all-time reception list at W&J and can pass Ryan Silvis '01, a 2009 inductee into W&J's Athletic Hall of Fame, with 13 more catches. Besong, who also owns 2,199 career receiving yards, has caught at least one pass in all 32 games he has suited up for the Red & Black and owns a streak of 21 consecutive games with at least three receptions.
SENIOR DAY: Washington & Jefferson will honor 23 senior players and one senior student assistant coach prior to next Saturday's game versus Waynesburg. The group has posted a 38-6 record since its arrival on campus and has participated in three consecutive NCAA Division III playoffs.
ACADEMIC AWARD: Senior safety Mitch Erdely was named to the Academic All-District II College Division football team by ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Wednesday. Erdely was a first-team selection which advances him to the national Academic All-America ballot. The District II region includes all NCAA Division II and III and NAIA colleges and universities in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Erdely holds a 3.90 GPA as an accounting major. He owns the third-best GPA among the 27 first-team, all-district selections. Erdely is third on the team in tackles this fall with 43 stops. He is also third on the squad with five tackles for a loss and tied for second with two interceptions. In 38 career games, Erdely has compiled 145 tackles, nine pass breakups, six tackles for a loss, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He was named a semifinalist for the 2009 NFF & College Hall of Fame William V. Campbell Trophy and is a team captain.
LONG TIME AGO: Washington & Jefferson will not own at least a share of the PAC Championship in consecutive years for the first time since the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Hiram won the conference title with a 6-1 record in 1982, while Carnegie Mellon posted a perfect 7-0 mark in 1983 to earn the league championship. Hiram is now a member of the NCAC, while CMU competes in the UAA.
POLL CHANGES: The Presidents dropped nine spots to No. 15 in the latest AFCA Coaches Poll. D3football.com ranks W&J as it No. 23 team. The Presidents are also ninth in the latest NCAA regional rankings for the South Region.