By Justin Zackal
W&J senior Zac Quattrone and the Presidents hope to claim a PAC crown in 2018.
Although Washington & Jefferson has won 25 PAC football titles, the Presidents haven’t won an outright championship since 2007. W&J shared the top spot four times since 2012, including last year with co-champion Case Western Reserve.
Both W&J and Case went undefeated in the regular season last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, but this year the Presidents return 12 starters, while the Spartans return eight.
W&J head coach Mike Sirianni’s confidence in his team will help remove any doubts his younger team may have as the Presidents look to restore the dominance of the league they’ve won 17 times more than any other school.
“We should be the favorites this year because we have some key players back and shared (the PAC championship) with Case,” said Sirianni, who would go on to acknowledged that past success and returning players doesn’t guarantee anything, but he doesn’t plan to restrict his team as they develop. “Yeah, (our team is) younger, but we’re going to let them have fun, we’re going to let them play (and) we’re going to let them develop a sense of confidence. This is a very good football team and I’m very confident in what we have coming back.”
Here’s a quick looks at what each of the PAC’s 10 teams have coming back this year, listed in order of predicted finish based on the preseason poll:
W&J (11-1, 8-0 PAC in 2017)
The Presidents lost one of the best receivers in the country in Jesse Zubik (84 catches, 1,408 yards, 17 TDs in 2017), but they return senior WR Brandon Barnes (50 for 497); junior QB Jacob Adams, who started three games last year; three returning offensive linemen led by preseason All-American Andrew Reo; and a defensive secondary that includes three senior returning starters.
CASE WESTERN RESERVE (11-1, 8-0)
After averaging nearly 40 points per game last year, the Spartans may need two quarterbacks to replace what three-year starter Rob Cuda was able to do for them. Head coach Greg Debeljak admitted as much in the team’s season outlook, saying they will change the way they do things based on the quarterback, but they will still be a fast-paced team that can change speeds as needed. So far in 2018, they’ve done just that: Freshman Drew Saxton and junior Ryan Coolidge took snaps at QB in the first half of Case’s 2018 opener. The Spartans’ defense will be led by Cameron Brown, a first-team all-PAC end from last year.
WESTMINSTER (7-3, 6-2 PAC)
Westminster will need to replace a quarterback (Paul Columbo) and running back (Dominique McKinley) that combined for nearly 3,000 yards of total offense last year. Among the Titans’ 14 returning starters are the team’s leading receiver from a year ago, junior Connor Cox (24 catches for 338 yards), and first-team all-PAC safety Miquel Luis.
CARNEGIE MELLON (7-4, 5-3 PAC)
The Tartans also lost two key offensive players from last year in RB Sam Benger (983 rushing yards) and WR John Prather (994 receiving yards), but senior QB Alex Cline is back after throwing for a school-record 2,336 yards last year. Senior CB Ethan Anderson leads a defense that has only three returning starters.
GROVE CITY (4-6, 4-4 PAC)
After a four-win improvement on winless 2016 season, the Wolverines should continue to make strides this year with 15 returning starters. Among them are junior QB Randall Labrie, who threw for 1,586 yards last year, and junior RB Wesley Schools, who rushed for 903 yards and 1,266 yards in each of his last two seasons.
GENEVA (3-7, 2-6 PAC)
Three of the Golden Tornadoes’ seven losses last year were by six points or fewer. Seventeen starters are back from that team, including senior RB Trewon Marshall, who led the PAC with 1,520 rushing yards, and senior DB Joe Shively, whose 9.6 tackles per game tied for the lead in the PAC.
SAINT VINCENT (2-8, 1-7 PAC)
Fifth-year head coach Ron Dolciato said until this year he’s never had a quarterback returning from the previous season. However, the Bearcats started a freshman, Tekoah Guedes, in their 2018 opener. Dolciato also admitted during PAC Media Day that Saint Vincent will rely heavily on its defense this year. Sophomore linebacker Hauns White leads the defense after making a team-high 72 tackles a year ago.
BETHANY (2-8, 2-6 PAC)
The fact that Bison won their last two games should buoy hopes for 2018. That, and the return of all three starting linebackers, led by senior Joseph Fiasco and his PAC-best 9.6 tackles per game. Junior RB Raekwon Wright returns after leading the team with 751 rushing yards and six TDs last year.
WAYNESBURG (2-8, 2-6 PAC)
Waynesburg also finished strong last year, winning two of its last three games. Junior QB Tyler Perone returns after starting seven games and passing for 878 yards last year. One of Perone’s top targets will be out of the backfield, as junior RB Chad Walker returns after leading Waynesburg with 28 receptions last year.
THIEL (1-9, 1-7 PAC)
The Tomcats return 11 starters, including seven on offense, highlighted by senior RB Nick Burca, who rushed for a school-record 1,232 yards last year. On defense, senior DL Cody Wagner and junior LB Matt Crawford each posted more than 50 tackles in 2017.
