WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats scored touchdowns on two late drives Saturday, but it wasn't enough in a 28-15 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss on the road to the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets.
 
The Yellow Jackets scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game Saturday. Willie Leavell capped off the seven-play, 66-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run, which gave Waynesburg an early 7-0 lead.
 
Thiel went three-and-out on its first drive, but Kevin Barnes fumbled Dylan Squires (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek)' punt, and Ryan Rowland (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) pounced on the football at the Waynesburg 22-yard line. The Tomcats picked up a first down on their next possession, but the Yellow Jackets refused to give up a point when Dontae Gibson came up with an interception on a third-and-goal play from the seven-yard line.
 
Thiel's defense returned the favor later in the opening quarter when Jake Elk (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin)'s interception at the Thiel two-yard line stopped a long drive by Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets threatened to score again late in the first half, but Doak Walker Jr. (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley) came up with another interception for the Tomcats, this time at their own 15-yard line.
 
The interception by Walker Jr. set up Thiel's first points of the game. Beginning at their own 15-yard line with 75 seconds remaining before halftime, the Tomcats drove down to the Yellow Jacket nine-yard line, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Cody Dinger (Girard, Pa./Girard). Ryan Radke (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster Central) had key plays on the scoring drive, including a 45-yard pass to Ron Howard (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) and a 10-yard run.
 
In spite of Thiel having the momentum, Waynesburg went on to score 21 consecutive points on three touchdowns to hold a 28-3 lead near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
 
Radke engineered a pair of touchdown drives for the Tomcats late in the fourth quarter. Radke scored both touchdowns on eight-yard runs.
 
Radke completed 12-of-22 passes for 140 yards while Jarrett Pound (Wattsburg, Pa./Seneca) completed 9-of-18 attempts for 98 yards. Radke led the Tomcats with 88 yards and two touchdown runs on nine carries. Alex Horvatits (Lancaster, N.Y./Saint Mary's ) led Thiel with seven catches for 100 yards.
 
Waynesburg's Jake Dougherty completed 20-of-27 passes for 296 yards. He threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions. Jerry Lawman led the Yellow Jackets with 79 yards on 17 carries while Leavell carried 12 times for 58 yards. Kevin Barnes led the Yellow Jackets with seven catches for 138 yards.
 
Elk led Thiel's defense with 13 tackles, two of which were behind the line of scrimmage. He also picked off a pass. Walker Jr. recorded seven tackles, 2.5 of which were for a loss of yards. He also intercepted a pass.
 
Zach Machuga led Waynesburg on defense with nine tackles, four of which were for a loss of yards. He also recorded a sack and broke up a pass.
 
The Tomcats will host the Carnegie Mellon Tartans Saturday, Oct. 31 at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.