Washington & Jefferson coach Mike Sirianni tailored his offense to the swirling winds that whipped across Cameron Field, the sleet and rain and the dropping temperatures when the teams came out for the second half yesterday.

The game plan was simple: Give the ball to running back Ryan Mendel and run as much time off the clock as possible.

With Mendel carrying on almost every play and spurred by a defense that scored two touchdowns on interceptions, Washington & Jefferson powered its way to a 30-3 victory against visiting Waynesburg in a key Presidents' Athletic Conference game. Mendel carried a total of 35 times for 154 yards and a 4-yard touchdown as W&J (7-1, 4-0) won its seventh consecutive game and solidified its chance of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Waynesburg (4-4, 4-1) had its four-game win streak ended.

"When the wind was blowing sideways into my face, I figured the best thing for us to do in the third quarter was run 2¹/₂ minutes off the clock with every three downs," Sirianni said. "We were playing great defense and the conditions dictated what we were going to do on offense."

Mendel, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior from Brentwood, took handoffs and pitchouts for runs on 10 of W&J's 11 plays from scrimmage in the third quarter.

"With our offensive line we feel we can run on anyone, but after the fifth or sixth carry, I looked over to the sidelines hoping that maybe we would throw a pass," Mendel said with a smile. "We kept calling the same play."

Sirianni explained, "No way were we going to throw the ball."

Left-handed Bobby Swallow didn't complete a pass on two attempts in the second half and finished 7 of 10 for 73 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown to David Ravida.

As for the playing conditions, Mendel said, "It was scary out there for a little bit, but we persevered and went with it."

Swallow's touchdown pass to Ravida made it 7-0 in the first quarter and Mendel's 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter stretched the lead to 14-0. Waynesburg place-kicker Ben Popson had a 35-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the half to cut W&J's halftime advantage to 14-3.

"I knew if we got to the fourth quarter up 14-3, we would win," Sirianni said."

The Presidents added 16 points in the fourth quarter on Kyle Sidebotham's career-best 42-yard field goal and interception returns of 21 yards for touchdowns by defensive linemen Dan Brodland and Jeff Ernst. Both interceptions occurred on screen plays. Brodland scored to make it 24-3 midway through the fourth quarter and Ernst's touchdown came on the final play.

"That's the only touchdown I've scored in my life," said Brodland, a 240-pound senior from Upper St. Clair. "Now I have six points next to my name. I'm very proud of that. Everything was in slow motion, but my adrenaline was pumping. It could have been 100 yards and I would have run it."

Waynesburg, which relies on the run, managed just 118 yards. Ryan Abels carried 14 times for 57 yards and Eric Daniels 14 times for 52 yards. Without much success on the ground, quarterback Tres Cobb completed just 7 of 15 for 53 yards and was intercepted twice.

"Our defense did a great job," said Sirianni, whose Presidents defeated the Yellow Jackets for the 16th time in the past 17 meetings between the two teams. "You couldn't do much on offense.