Week 3 • W&L vs. Centre • September 22, 2001 • 1:00 pm

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LAST WEEK'S SCORES:
Sewanee 20, Emory & Henry 13
Randolph-Macon 43, Denison 25
Washington and Lee 27, Guilford 6

THE SERIES:
This is the 54th meeting between the two schools with Centre holding a 31-20-2 advantage in the series that began during the 1897 season. The 31 losses to Centre are the most by the Generals to any opponent; however, W&L has won each of the last three meetings, including a 45-7 victory last season in Danville, Ky. W&L and Centre have met every year since the 1955 season.

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Wilson Field (7,000)
Series: CC Leads, 31-20-2
Last Meeting: 9/23/00 at CC (W&L won 45-7)
First Meeting: 10/30/1897 at CC (W&L won 22-0)
Last W&L Win: 9/23/00 at CC (45-7)
Last CC Win: 9/27/97 at W&L (30-14)
Current Series Streak: W&L +3
W&L vs. CC at W&L: 11-10-2
W&L vs. CC at CC: 8-19-0

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 29-31-1 (.484) overall record, 4-1-1 against Centre. The Colonels are led by 4th-year head coach Andy Frye (Muskingum '81). He is 15-17 (.469) at Centre and in his career. He is 0-3 against W&L in his career.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
Since 1900, W&L is 226-121-14 (.645) at home, including a streak of 51 consecutive home victories from the 1910 season until the 1924 season.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 412-458-39 (.475) all-time record. The Generals have been linked to the first intercollegiate football game played in the south, an 1873 matchup with VMI.

W&L vs. THE SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE:
W&L sports a 55-63-3 (.467) all-time record against the current members of the SCAC. However, the Generals have taken six straight against the SCAC, defeating Centre and Sewanee in each of the past three seasons. Here is a breakdown:

Centre (20-31-2)
DePauw (0-0)
Millsaps (0-0)
Rhodes (6-11-1)
Rose-Hulman (0-0)
Sewanee (29-21)
Trinity (0-0)

LAST TIME OUT:
Sophomore quarterback Peter Dean completed 20-of-34 attempts for 227 yards and junior running back Chris Sullivan rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries to lead Washington and Lee past Guilford, 27-6, in ODAC football action on Saturday afternoon. The Generals struck first as senior running back Marc Watson scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 7:00 remaining in the first quarter. The Generals upped their lead to 10-0 with 2:13 remaining in the opening quarter as senior placekicker Brad Wiginton booted a 25-yard field goal. Wiginton added a 39-yard field goal with 9:02 remaining in the second quarter as W&L carried a 13-0 lead to the half. Guilford notched the first points of the second half with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter as junior wide receiver Chris McKinney scored on a 16-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Oren Robinson. However, Sullivan would score on an 8-yard touchdown run at the 10:27 mark of the fourth period and Watson added a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining to give the Generals their first win of the season. Watson rushed for 49 yards and two scores on 18 carries, while junior tight end Jay Thomas caught eight passes for 125 yards for the W&L offense. Senior linebacker Jeff Bahl led the Generals’ defense with 13 tackles, an assisted sack and a fumble recovery.

THE LAST MEETING WITH CENTRE:
(W&L 45, CC 7, September 23, 2000 - Danville, Ky.)
Running back Marc Watson posted 236 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to lead Washington and Lee to its first 3-0 start since 1963 with a 45-7 rout of Centre. The 45 points marked the most points scored by W&L since Sept. 16, 1989, when it defeated Methodist, 47-0. Watson scored on carries of 18 and 61 yards, as well as an 88-yard kickoff return to start the second half. He finished the day with 16 carries for 100 yards and two kickoff returns for 136 yards. Watson's 18-yard touchdown run gave W&L a 7-0 lead at the 12:27 mark of the first quarter. With just over three minutes to play in the first quarter, tight end Davis White caught a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bobby Littlehale to put the Generals up 14-0. Placekicker Andy Vendig kicked his seventh field goal of the season with 32 seconds remaining in the first half giving W&L a 17-0 lead at the half. Watson then took the second half kickoff 88 yards to the endzone to give Washington and Lee a 24-0 lead. Senior wide receiver Wesley Hardy pulled in his first touchdown of the game with 4:38 left in the third quarter on pass from quarterback Zack McQuigg to put the Generals in front 31-0. Watson scored his third touchdown on a 61-yard scamper to up the lead to 38-0 with 2:46 to play in the third quarter. Centre got on the board as time expired in the third quarter on a 11-yard touchdown pass from Drew Mildren to Joe Guthire. However, McQuigg found Hardy for a second time on a 42-yard pass to round out the scoring with 12:37 to play. Washington and Lee was led by Watson and Hardy, who caught four passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Littlehale and McQuigg combined to go 13-27 for 203 yards and three touchdowns. The Generals outgained the Colonels, 357-240, holding Centre to only 79 yards rushing. The defense picked off Mildren three times. Defensive back Lee Walker had seven tackles, a sack and an interception.

SCOUTING CENTRE:
Centre enters its game with the Generals sporting a 2-0 overall record after defeating Rhodes College on Saturday, 56-43. The Colonels racked up 365 yards of total offense and scored on a punt return, a blocked punt and a fumble return. Sophomore tailback Jeremy Britt rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, while his brother, senior defensive back Brian Britt got on the scoreboard with a 71-yard punt return. Senior quarterback Drew Mildren, the son of Oklahoma great Jack Mildren, completed 23-of-30 attempts for 373 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receivers Jeremy Gomez (108) and Chuck Beard (102) both recorded over 100 yards receiving. The Centre defense picked off four Rhodes passes and sacked the quarterback five times on the day. Senior linebacker Carter Conley recorded nine tackles, two sacks and one interception to lead the defense. Senior defensive back John Gist added 11 tackles and an interception.

WATSON AGAINST CENTRE:
Senior running back Marc Watson has had plenty of success against Centre, rushing for 328 yards and four touchdowns in three games. Last season, Watson totaled 100 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and also scored on an 88-yard kickoff return. He accumulated 118 rushing yards an a touchdown against the Colonels in 1999 and 110 rushing yards and a touchdown in 1998. Watson's first career start took place against Centre in 1998.

KEEP IN MIND:
Senior running back Marc Watson is well on his way to breaking a few more W&L career records. Watson is just three touchdowns from breaking the career TD record held by Kevin Weaver (29) since the 1986 season. Watson is also just 523 yards from breaking Stewart Atkinson's career rushing yards record (3,072).

SIMPLY AMAZING:
Amazing feats are performed on football fields every fall. A feat which never ceases to amaze involve the incredible fumble recovery numbers which have been put up by senior linebacker Jeff Bahl. Unbelievably, Bahl time and time again emerges from the turf with the ball following a fumble by the Generals' opponents. Although fumble recovery records have not been kept by the NCAA, Bahl may have set the record for recoveries in a game with four against Sewanee during the 1999 season. All told, Bahl claims 12 fumble recoveries for his career, including one last week against Guilford.

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. Last spring, Dean posted a 6-0 record and 3.10 ERA on the mound for the baseball team.

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 rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown last week against Guilford and was a Second Team All-ODAC selection at running back in 1999 after amassing 722 yards and seven touchdowns. Sullivan needs just 50 more rushing yards to reach 1,000 for his career and just 356 more yards to move into the all-time Top 10 in career rushing.

OUT OF THE BLUE:
Junior tight end Jay Thomas appeared out of the blue against Guilford, catching eight passes for 125 yards, the most receiving yards posted by a General since Wes Hardy recorded 130 yards last season at Centre. Heading into the Guilford game, Thomas had made just four catches for 52 yards in his career.