WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Thiel College football team lost a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game on the road to the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets Saturday afternoon, 14-13.
Trailing 14-0, the Tomcats saved their best for the fourth quarter.
Starting a drive at their own 11-yardline early in the fourth quarter, quarterback
Marlon Brown (White Plains, Md./St. Charles) gained 48 yards on a first-down run. Brown also gained 19 yards later in the drive, setting the Tomcats up with a fresh set of downs on Waynesburg's 20. However, the Tomcats went on to turn the ball over on downs at the Waynesburg 17-yardline.
On the ensuing drive, cornerback
Eligah Flynn (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) picked off a second down pass by Mason Schrenker at the Waynesburg 38 and returned it to the house for Thiel's first points of the game with 7:13 remaining in regulation.
Chris Rosales (Port St. Lucie, Fla./St. Lucie West Centennial) added the extra point to cut Waynesburg's lead down to 14-7.
Neither team was able to score on the next two possessions. After Thiel punted from its own end zone, Waynesburg's offense was set up first-and-10 at the Thiel 18-yardline with just 2:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Waynesburg's Chad Walker gained three yards on first down. On second down, he ran for seven yards, but linebacker
Pap Keeler (Sharon, Pa./Farrell) forced a fumble.
Trou Johnson (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) scooped up the loose ball and jetted 86 yards for Thiel's second touchdown of the game with 2:16 remaining. However, Thiel's game-tying extra point try was blocked.
Thiel attempted an on-side kick, but Waynesburg recovered and went on to run out the clock.
Brown led the Tomcats with 62 yards on the ground on four carries.
Yoseph Bekele (Silver Springs, Md./Paint Branch) caught two passes for 35 yards.
Schrenker scored both of Waynesburg's touchdowns on runs of one and two yards, respectively. Schrenker completed 11 passes for 104 yards. He threw two interceptions.
Keeler led Thiel on defense with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
Cameron Prebble (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) made 10 tackles while Johnson made nine tackles, broke up four passes and returned a fumble recovery 86 yards for a touchdown.
The Tomcats will host the Saint Vincent Bearcats during homecoming next Saturday at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff for the PAC game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
