WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Junior quarterback Jacob Adams (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) tossed six touchdowns, including four to sophomore wide receiver Andrew Wolf (Ashland, Ohio/Hillsdale), as No. 12 Washington & Jefferson raced to a 48-0 lead and never looked back in a convincing 62-10 win over Grove City.
The victory was the 32nd straight regular-season home win for the Presidents, who improved to 4-0 on the season behind a 3-0 mark in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Wolverines fall to 1-3 and 0-3 within league competition.
Adams finished the day by going 15-of-22 for 276 yards and a career-high six touchdowns, the most by a President since Sept. 16, 2017 when Alex Rowse tossed six scores to Jesse Zubik against former PAC foe Thomas More. Wolf, who entered play leading Division III in receiving yards and all of NCAA football in receiving touchdowns, continued to shine as he caught six passes for 196 yards and a career-best four scores. Thus far this season, the sophomore has made 26 catches totaling 711 yards and 12 touchdowns.
W&J completed seven scoring strikes through the air with Adams connecting with seniors Jake Cullen (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) and Tim Swoope (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) for scores and freshman Justin Heacock (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) connected with sophomore wide receiver Josh Burns (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) for the first touchdown in the careers of both.
On the ground, sophomore running back EJ Thompson (La Plata, Md./Thomas Stone) led W&J with 87 yards and a score on 13 carries, while junior running back Jordan West (Washington, Pa./Washington) toted the rock five times for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Grove City took the ball after winning the coin toss and W&J forced a punt after five plays. The first play from scrimmage on the day was a 66-yard connection from Adams to Wolf just 2:50 into the game, 7-0. The two teams exchanged interceptions, with sophomore cornerback Zac Taylor (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) snaring the Grove City pass for W&J. The Wolverines ensuing punt was blocked by freshman cornerback Kristopher Ricks (Rockville, Md./Avalon), the first time W&J has blocked a punt since 2015 when Asa Costelnock blocked one against Bethany. The punt turned into six points in four plays after a 20-yard hook up from Adams to Wolf at 3:46 of the first quarter, 14-0.
In total, the Presidents found the end zone on seven of their first eight possessions to run the lead to 48-0 by halftime. Wolf's first-half scores were from 66, 20, and 80 yards (W&J's longest since Zubik broke off an 80-yarder at Thiel on Nov. 8, 2014), while his second-half score came from 15 yards out.
Total offense for the game amounted to 564 yards on just 58 plays behind 377 yards passing and 187 yards rushing. W&J held Grove City to 338 yards on 96 plays, and just 205 through the air, while also forcing five turnovers.
Senior linebacker Cody Milsom (Butler, Pa./Knoch) led all players with career highs of 12 tackles (11 solo) and 3.0 tackles for loss. Sophomore linebacker Sean Doran (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) made eight stops and classmate Max Garda (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) added seven stops. Senior cornerback Zack Queen (Level Green, Pa./Penn-Trafford) finished with six tackles, plus two picks and two pass breakups. Taylor and freshman cornerback Nick Freiwald (Clairton, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) also had interceptions.
W&J will hit the road for the first time since week one when it travels to Bethany for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Quick sixes, picks propel No. 12 Presidents past Grove City, 62-10
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20180922_5p5p.xml
2018
Grove City
10
Washington and Jefferson
62
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grove City (1-3) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| No. 17 Washington and Jefferson (4-0) | 21 | 27 | 7 | 7 | 62 |
Sep 22, 2018