Football | 9/1/2012 6:18:00 PM

Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Washington & Jefferson College scored on consecutive third-quarter possessions to turn to 10-0 halftime lead into a 23-0 advantage en route to a 23-6 win over Methodist University on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
After the stadium lost power with 41 seconds remaining in the first half, W&J (1-0) flipped a switch of their own in the second half as senior running back Tim McNerney scored on plunges of six and seven yards, respectively, to propel the President's to a 23-0 lead with 8:50 to play in the third quarter.
 
The offensive outburst was in stark contrast to the back-and-forth defensive battle of the first 30 minutes. W&J opened the scoring on a two-yard pass from junior Matt Bliss to senior Hunter Creel at the 12:27 mark of the first period.
 
Following punts by both teams, Methodist began its second on its own 14 yard line. Three plays into the drive, sophomore quarterback Max Reber was picked off by W&J's Dan Sciortino at the 26 yard line. A pass interference penalty and a 12-yard completion by Bliss put the Presidents in position to add to their lead with a third and one play from the MU three. However, the Monarchs managed to hold W&J to just a field goal as senior Seth Sandlin was able to bring McNerney down for a two-yard loss on the play.
 
After another punt by the Monarchs gave possession back to W&J at its own 26, the Presidents moved the ball to the Methodist 34 yard line before Bliss was picked off in the endzone by sophomore Keltcey Richardson, who brought the ball all the way out to the 37 yard line.
 
However, neither team managed to mount much of an offense as they traded possession back and forth the remainder of the half, until MU's drove 84 yards in 2:22 only to run out of time in the opening period with the Monarchs on the W&J two yard line, but out of timeouts.
 
In the second period, still with no power in the stadium, Washington & Jefferson used the aforementioned spurt to keep the Monarchs at bay. Methodist got on the board when Reber hooked up with junior Vaughn Cross on an eight-yard touchdown strike with 9:09 to play in the game.
 
Cross finished with 78 yards receiving on nine receptions to lead Methodist. Reber finished 19-of-33 for 181 yards with two interceptions on the day. Freshman John Pappillion led the Monarchs' ground game with 43 yards on 12 carries as MU mustered just 96 yards on 33 carries.
 
Defensively, sophomore Van Conyers led the way with nine total tackles. Junior Navahri Holden added eight stops and sophomore Bryan Bing chipped in seven tackles, including two for loss (-5 yds). Juniors Antjuan Jones and George Adams each recorded a quarterback sack.
 
Bliss finished 21-of-31 with a pick and a touchdown for W&J as the President's racked up 378 yards of total offense. McNerney finished with 111 yards on 23 carries and the two trips to the endzone. Alex Baroffio was the main beneficiary of Bliss' attempts on the day, finishing with 127 yards on 11 receptions.
 
Defensively, Nathan Melhorn paced the Presidents with eight total stops, including one behind the line of scrimmage.  B.J. monacelli added five solo stops, a forced fumble and an interception.
 
The Monarchs return to the field on Saturday as they travel to Guilford for a 7:00 pm contest.