GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats defeated the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets 15-14 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Saturday during Homecoming 2023 at Alumni Stadium.
 
Trailing 14-9 in the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Joseph Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) engineered a 19-play, 80-yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes of the game clock and ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Fell that would eventually count as the game-winning score.
 
On the ensuing drive Waynesburg advanced the ball all the way to the Thiel 38-yard line, but Justin Logan (North Chesterfield, Va./James River) forced a fumble on a second-and-nine play with a little more than a minute remaining in regulation and Donnovan Blue (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) came up with the recovery at the Thiel 47-yard line to preserve the win.
 
Thiel opened scoring with 10:18 remaining in the first half on a 25-yard field goal by Preston Lefkowitz (Warren, Ohio/Champion) to cap off a 9-play, 78-yard drive.
 
However, the Yellow Jackets held a 7-3 lead at halftime thanks to a 41-yard pick-6 by Brandon Tyson with 36 seconds remaining in the first half.
 
Fell put the Tomcats back on top (9-7) on the first drive of the second half when he scored on a 52-yard run.
 
Waynesburg countered later in the third quarter on a 63-yard touchdown run by Zayne Cawley to take a 14-9 lead, setting the stage for Fell's game-winning touchdown run with 2:08 to play.
 
It was Thiel's first homecoming win since 2014. It was also the first time since 2009 that the Tomcats won consecutive home games.
 
Fell ran for 122 yards on 26 carries and scored both of Thiel's touchdowns. Fell is the first Tomcat to run for more than 100 yards in a game since Deon Logan (Richmond, Va./James River) ran for 113 yards on 13 carries against Waynesburg on Sept. 18, 2021. He is also the first Tomcat to score two rushing touchdowns in a game since Nick Barca accomplished the feat against Saint Vincent on Oct. 6, 2018.

Andrew Plowden (Homewood, Pa./Penn Hills Charter) ran for 91 yards on 10 totes.

Fell completed 13-of-28 passes for 141 yards. Chase Lawler (Etters, Pa./Red Land) caught four passes for 50 yards.
 
Cawley paced the Yellow Jackets with 103 yards rushing on 15 carries. Adrian Letta caught eight passes for 53 yards.
 
Jared Curcio (Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area) led Thiel's defense with nine tackles, two of which were behind the line of scrimmage, to go along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Caleb Shuler (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) made three tackles and intercepted a pass. Jaellen Rose (Midlothian, Va./James River) recorded three tackles and a sack.
 
Thiel will face Carnegie Mellon on the road next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.