It was a matter of time before Jeff Wagner would get his chance.

His time has come.

Wagner, a junior linebacker at Thiel College, has been a driving force for a Tomcats defense that helped to produce an 8-0 record and that that helped to clinch the Presidents' Athletic Conference title.

Wagner, a graduate of Karns City, has 63 total tackles, 28 more than the team's second-leading tacklers, who both have 35.

"We graduated two of our top backers and Jeff was the top backup the year before," said Thiel defensive coordinator Joe Rossi.

"I expected him to slide in. I expected competition, but thought he'd move right in. I figured if he was the guy, he had to be able to do good things," Rossi added.

"Things have been going pretty good," said Wagner. "I knew I would have the opportunity to get a lot of playing time."

That became apparent in the spring, when Wagner showed it was his job to lose.

"This year was the first year they allowed spring drills in Division III," said Rossi. "From start to finish, Jeff's improvement was tremendous. He has the ability to play and the ability to read defenses."The 5-foot-11, 203 pound Wagner, didn't plan to lose the job once he got it, but even his success came as a surprise."I expected to have a good season, but I didn't expect to lead in tackles," said Wagner. "That's not important. Winning eight games and winning the PAC championship, that's more important."The Tomcats have had a couple of close conference games along the way, but the biggest win came in the fourth week of the season, a 38-35 overtime triumph over longtime PAC ruler Washington & Jefferson College.The Presidents had won 18 of the past 21 PAC titles and last lost to Thiel in 1981, a streak of 23 games.Thiel's last title was in 1972, and the Tomcats also snapped the Presidents' 27-game winning streak when scoring at least 31 points in a game."That game was a big step, confidence-wise," said Wagner, who had nine tackles in the game and a 43-yard interception return. "It gives us the confidence to know we can play with anyone."Having defeated Bethany 41-7 the week before the W&J game, Thiel blanked Grove City 30-0 before eking out a huge 35-28, double-overtime win against Waynesburg."We were down 21-0 and came back to win," said Wagner, who contributed 15 tackles in that contest. "This group of guys would do anything for anyone."A 34-0 win over Westminster followed by a 24-14 decision over Thomas More last Saturday clinched the title.Wagner played in all 10 games last season, registering 13 tackles and an interception. As a freshman, he played in three games and made nine tackles, plus recovered a fumble."The thing with Jeff — and a credit to him — is when he came out of high school, one of the things he had going for him that I liked was he was fundamentally sound," said Rossi."He was well-coached in high school. At the college level, the thing he lacked was playing a space. He needed to improve on that and lateral quickness."He worked his butt off in the off-season and in drills. Every time he had a chance to work on something, he did," Rossi added.Several other Butler County area players also are a part of the championship team.Wagner's teammate at Karns City, linebacker Mike Stimac, is also among the team leaders in tackles with 29, including a pass breakup and a forced fumble, and defensive end and Seneca Valley graduate Kellen Manning (15 tackles, 3½ for loss, 1½ sacks and one blocked kick).Other area athletes include Steve Minton (Seneca Valley, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards, the first Thiel player ever to do so), Ben Cleary (Butler), Ricky Gable (Mars), Tim Hickey and Tyler Ray (Knoch), and Matt Turek and Adam Rudolph (Grove City).