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WASHINGTON AND LEE FOOTBALL RELEASE

Week 8 • W&L vs. No. 4 Bridgewater • October 27, 2001 • 1:00 pm

To view the release in pdf format, click here

LAST WEEK'S SCORES:
Bridgewater 28, Emory & Henry 14
Hampden-Sydney 27, Catholic 25
Davidson 27, Randolph-Macon 24 (OT)
W&L 28, Sewanee 24

THE SERIES:
This is the 32nd meeting between the two schools with W&L holding a 22-9 advantage in the series that began during the 1964 season. The Generals have won seven of the last eight meetings; however, the Eagles took last season's meeting in Bridgewater, Va., 38-10.

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Wilson Field (7,000)
Series: W&L leads 22-9
Last Meeting: 10/27/00 at BC (BC won 38-10)
First Meeting: 10/31/64 (W&L won 28-16)
Last W&L Win: 10/30/99 at W&L (44-38 OT)
Last BC Win: 10/27/00 at BC (38-10)
Current Series Streak: BC +1
W&L vs. BC at W&L: 11-4
W&L vs. BC at BC: 11-5

THE HEAD COACHES:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his seventh season as the head coach at W&L and his 34th year of coaching. He claims a 32-33-1 (.492) overall record, 5-1 all-time against Bridgewater. With the win over Sewanee, Miriello climbed into third all-time in victories at W&L with Tex Tilson (1933-40). Miriello needs 17 more wins to overtake Lee McLaughlin for second place. The Eagles are led by seventh-year head coach Mike Clark (Cincinnati '79), who has posted a 28-39-1 (.419) overall record in his first career head coaching opportunity. Clark is 1-5 all-time against W&L.

W&L vs. THE ODAC:
W&L sports a 50-74-1 (.404) all-time record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and is 90-97-5 (.482) all-time against the current members of the ODAC. The following is a breakdown of the Generals vs. members of the ODAC:

Bridgewater (22-9)
Catholic (5-1)
Emory & Henry (6-24)
Guilford (7-8)
Hampden-Sydney (29-29-2)
Randolph-Macon (21-25-3)

LAST TIME OUT:
Washington and Lee junior running back Chris Sullivan scored on a 23-yard run with 5:50 remaining to lift the Generals to a 28-24 come from behind victory at Sewanee on Saturday afternoon. Sewanee jumped on the board with 4:24 to play in the first quarter as Dale Williams hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Holtgrewe. The Tigers used a 33-yard field goal by Ben Tuck and a 10-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown by Nate Murphy to extend its lead to 17-0 with 8:28 to play in the first half. The Generals cut the lead to 17-7 with 4:45 to play in the first half as Sullivan scored his first of three touchdowns on a 2-yard scamper. The score would remain 17-7 at halftime. W&L sliced the Tiger lead to 17-14 with 4:45 to play in the third quarter as senior running back Marc Watson plunged into the end zone from 1-yard out. The Generals went ahead for the first time in the game just seven seconds into the fourth quarter as Sullivan scored on a 6-yard run. Sewanee regained a 24-21 lead as Holtgrewe found the end zone on a 1-yard quarterback keeper. That set the stage for Sullivan’s game-winning touchdown run. Sullivan led the Generals with 135 rushing yards on 39 carries. Watson toted the ball 14 times and gained a season-high 120 yards. Sophomore quarterback Peter Dean completed 9-of-18 passes for 57 yards. He was intercepted two times. Junior linebacker Matt Stavish led the W&L defense by recording 13 tackles. The Tigers were led by Holtgrewe who completed 12-of-28 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Williams caught six passes for 100 yards. Charles McCauley led Sewanee with 12 stops.

THE LAST MEETING WITH BRIDGEWATER:
(BC 38, W&L 10, October 27, 2000 - Bridgewater, Va.)
Bridgewater scored 26 unanswered points in the final two and a half quarters to hand Washington and Lee a 38-10 loss. Bridgewater was led by quarterback Jason Lutz who went 13-of-16 for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 56 yards and another score. Running back Davon Cruz totaled 177 yards on 21 carries. W&L got on the board first at the 8:36 mark in the first quarter on a 43-yard field goal by placekicker Brad Wiginton. Bridgewater would answer four minutes and seven seconds later on a seven-yard touchdown run by Cruz. The extra point was blocked which kept the score at 6-3. Lutz then found wide receiver Marcus Richardson on a 12-yard touchdown pass to up the Eagle lead to 12-6. Bridgewater's attempt at the two-point conversion failed. Washington and Lee cut the lead to 12-10 with 12:13 left in the second quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Marc Watson. Watson finished the day with 116 yards on 26 carries. Lutz threw his second touchdown pass of the half 1:30 later to Andre Jones to put the Eagles ahead at the half, 19-10. Bridgewater scored with three minutes left in the third quarter after an eight-play, 90-yard drive was capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by Michael Kolley. Lutz then found Van Williams on a 26-yard touchdown with 40 seconds to play in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 32-10. Lutz finished the scoring on a seven-yard touchdown jaunt. The Generals were led by Watson and Chris Sullivan. Sullivan caught four passes for 49 yards and rushed twice for 25 yards. Quarterback Bobby Littlehale completed 12-of-24 attempts for 130 yards and was intercepted once. Linebacker Jeff Bahl continued his steady play with eight tackles and two fumble recoveries.

SCOUTING BRIDGEWATER:
Bridgewater is 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the ODAC following a 28-14 win at Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are ranked fourth in Division III Senior running back Davon Cruz rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns and scored another touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return. Senior quarterback Jason Lutz completed 9-of-18 attempts for 168 yards and another touchdown. Senior wide receiver Marcus Richardson led the receiving corps with three catches for 72 yards. Sophomore linebacker Jermaine Taylor headed up the defense with 12 tackles. On the season, Cruz leads the Eagle offense with 736 yards and 11 touchdowns on 104 carries. Lutz has completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 844 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed 61 times for 422 yards and eight scores. Richardson leads the receivers with 18 catches for 355 yards and two touchdowns. Senior linebacker Lonnie Parker leads the defense with 50 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one interception. Taylor claims 47 stops and two sacks.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 414-460-39 (.475) all-time record. The Generals have been linked to the first intercollegiate football game played in the south, an 1873 matchup with VMI.

LEFTY QB:
Sophomore Peter Dean is the starting quarterback after switching from the defensive back position he held last season. Dean is the first left-handed quarterback to assume starting duties at W&L in over five decades. Dean also plays baseball at W&L where he posted a 6-0 record and 3.10 ERA on the mound last season.

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN:
Though Marc Watson has received much of the publicity the last three years, junior running back Chris Sullivan has been very productive at the position. Sullivan was a Second Team All-ODAC selection at running back in 1999 after amassing 722 yards and seven touchdowns. He claims 1,628 career rushing yards, eighth all-time at W&L. A versatile back, Sullivan has also recorded 3,543 career all-purpose yards, third all-time at W&L. Watson holds the top spot with 4,665 career all-purpose yards although Sullivan leads the ODAC in all-purpose yards (199.1 ypg.) this season.

CLOSING IN:
Senior running back/wide receiver Marc Watson holds 15 Washington and Lee game, season and career records and is closing in on another. Watson claims 2,782 career rushing yards and needs just 291 more to break the W&L career record held by Stewart Atkinson since the 1979 season. Now a wide receiver, Watson is averaging just 11 carries and 42.9 yards per game this season. He rushed for a season-high 120 yards at Sewanee last week.

TURNOVER TALLY:
One of W&L's strengths over the last four years has been turnover margin. During that span, the Generals have forced 101 turnovers (2.7 per game) while committing just 59 turnovers (1.6 per game) themselves. W&L has committed just 10 turnovers in 2001, forcing 21 miscues by the opponents, including 14 interceptions.

BREAK OUT:
Junior linebacker Matt Stavish is the Generals' second-leading tackler this season with 51 total stops. However, Stavish had his first break out game of the season at Sewanee, totaling 13 tackles, including nine solo stops. Stavish posted 86 tackles, including 10 for a loss, and two interceptions last season.

MR. AUTOMATIC:
Senior placekicker Brad Wiginton has been almost automatic during his career. Wiginton has connected on 21-of-29 field goals (.724) and 87-of-92 PAT attempts (.946). He ranks second all-time at W&L in career in field goal percentage and is tied for second all-time in career PAT percentage. Wiginton holds the W&L record for career PAT's made and ranks third all-time in career field goals made. He will break the career field goals record with four more makes and can move into the Top 5 in career scoring with one more point.

THE DRIFTER:
Sophomore safety Ted Maffitt has been trying to find a home this season. Maffitt, who played fullback last season, was switched to cornerback in the preseason to help sure up a thin secondary. Maffitt played the first three games at corner before moving to safety against Randolph-Macon. Since making the switch, Maffitt has recorded four interceptions, including two to preserve victories against Catholic and Sewanee in the final minutes.

THE DRIFTER -- PART TWO:
Junior cornerback Brian Meehan has also switched to the defensive backfield after beginning the season as a wide receiver. Meehan moved to cornerback prior to the Randolph-Macon game and started at the position prior to the Catholic game. Since moving to corner, Meehan has posted 19 tackles, six pass breakups, one sack and one forced fumble.

OH SO CLOSE:
The Generals' game at Randolph-Macon on September 29 was a real heart-breaker as the Yellow Jackets drove 95 yards to score the game-winner with 15 seconds remaining. The loss to Macon marked the eighth time that the Generals have lost a game by seven points or less since the beginning of the 1998 season.

-- GENERALS --


Contact: Brian Laubscher
Sports Information Director
PO Drawer 928
Lexington, VA 24450
Phone: 540-463-8670