GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel ended a 23-game losing streak to Washington & Jefferson last year by winning in overtime at the Presidents' home field.

The Tomcats (3-3, 2-1) so thoroughly enjoyed that victory they were determined to repeat the feat yesterday at their homecoming at Alumni Stadium. However, W&J (4-1, 1-0) rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to claim a 27-23 victory.

W&J trailed for most of the game, but took the lead for good with 6:42 left on Kyle Sidebotham's 19-yard field goal. The victory put the Presidents in the driver's seat for winning their 18th Presidents' Athletic Conference championship in 21 years. Thiel won the title last year for the first time since 1972.

"We still have to play five more [conference] games. It looks like we're the top two teams, but you never know what will happen," Presidents coach Mike Sirianni said.

Thiel looked good early in the game, scoring on its first possession. Running out of a shotgun formation, the Tomcats passed the ball on seven of their first nine plays, mostly on quick screens.

Thiel eventually scored on Billy Blankenship's 17-yard touchdown pass to halfback Steve Minton. The extra-point kick by Sammy Koyl was blocked as the Tomcats had to settle for a 6-0 lead.

Washington & Jefferson took a 7-6 lead on its second possession, driving 97 yards on 10 plays. The Presidents scored on a 29-yard pass from Bobby Swallow to Kevin Mathews with 1:37 left in the first quarter. Thiel regained the lead when Koyl hit a 26-yard field goal midway in the second quarter.

A short Presidents punt gave the Tomcats possession at the W&J 47 on their next possession. This led to Blankenship scrambling for a 33-yard touchdown with 3:26 left in the second quarter.

"Even though we were down, 16-7, we were confident at the half," Sirianni said. "We were moving the ball, so I felt comfortable. I knew we had to stop them."

Washington & Jefferson took the second-half kickoff and marched 86 yards to cut the deficit to 16-14. Halfback Ryan Mendel capped the 13-play drive by going 2 yards off right tackle.

"If we don't score there, I think [Thiel] win[s]," Sirianni said. "We made some adjustments and they made some, too, and you saw at the end that these teams were very even. It came down to the last play."

Thiel came right back on an 81-yard scoring drive. The key play was a 36-yard option pass from receiver Marc LaScola to receiver John Adams that took the ball to the Presidents' 5-yard line. On second-and-goal, Blankenship scored behind center on a 1-yard run with 4:58 left in the third quarter to give Thiel a 23-14 lead.

W&J would not go quietly, cutting the difference to 23-21 with 9:50 left in the game after Swallow passed 26 yards to Tom McCafferty for six points. The Presidents then forced an interception on Thiel's first play after the McCafferty touchdown. The pick on another wide receiver option play was returned by safety Nick Cherish to the Tomcats' 9.

W&J had to settle for a field goal by Sidebotham and a 24-23 lead. Blankenship then fumbled the ball away at the Thiel 28, setting up Sidebotham's 25-yard field goal with 2:07 left to boost the lead to four points.

On its last possession, Thiel drove from its 26 to the W&J 6, but Blankenship was sacked at the 10 with 13 seconds left. On fourth down, Blankenship's pass was overthrown in the left corner of the end zone as the Presidents survived.

"I think we had the right play called there and we had kids open, but we didn't quite get the ball there," Thiel coach Jack Leipheimer said.

Swallow completed 19 of 25 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Presidents, who have won four in a row.