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WASHINGTON AND LEE FOOTBALL RELEASE

Week 9 • W&L at Emory & Henry • November 3, 2001 • 1:00 pm

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LAST WEEK'S SCORES:
Bridgewater 34, W&L 28 (OT)
Catholic 34, Emory & Henry 21
Guilford 28, Randolph-Macon 7
Davidson 37, Hampden-Sydney 19

THE SERIES:
This is the 31st meeting between the two schools with Emory & Henry holding a 24-6 advantage in the series that began during the 1921 season. The Wasps have won 18 straight meetings in the series, including a 24-10 win last season in Lexington, Va.

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Fullerton Field (5,500)
Series: E&H leads 24-6
Last Meeting: 11/4/00 at W&L (E&H won 24-10)
First Meeting: 10/8/21 at W&L (W&L won 27-0)
Last W&L Win: 9/18/82 at W&L (21-15)
Last E&H Win: 11/4/00 at W&L (24-10)
Current Series Streak: E&H +18
W&L vs. E&H at W&L: 5-12
W&L vs. E&H at E&H: 1-12

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 32-34-1 (.485) overall record, 0-6 all-time against Emory & Henry. Miriello is third all-time in victories at W&L and needs 17 more wins to overtake Lee McLaughlin for second place. The Wasps are led by 20th-year head coach Lou Wacker (Richmond '58), who has posted a 150-58 (.721) overall record at E&H. Wacker is 18-1 all-time against the Generals.

W&L vs. THE ODAC:
W&L sports a 50-75-1 (.401) all-time record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and is 90-98-5 (.479) all-time against the current members of the ODAC. The following is a breakdown of the Generals vs. members of the ODAC:

Bridgewater (22-10)
Catholic (5-1)
Emory & Henry (6-24)
Guilford (7-8)
Hampden-Sydney (29-29-2)
Randolph-Macon (21-25-3)

LAST TIME OUT:
Junior tight end Van Williams caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jason Lutz in overtime to lift fourth-ranked Bridgewater to a 34-28 win over Washington and Lee. The play was the Eagles’ first offensive play in overtime after stopping the Generals on their overtime possession. W&L senior placekicker Brad Wiginton’s 53-yard field goal attempt was blocked by junior wide receiver Brian Ratliff as the Generals failed to score on their possession. Bridgewater had a chance to win the game with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, but freshman placekicker Joel Lemasters’ 22-yard attempt was blocked by W&L senior linebacker Jeff Bahl setting up the overtime. The Generals led the game 7-0 at the half after freshman wide receiver Allen DeBard hauled in a nine-yard touchdown pass with 11:59 remaining in the second quarter. The Eagles scored on their first possession of the second half as senior running back Davon Cruz found paydirt on a one-yard run with 9:12 left in the third quarter. The Generals responded on the ensuing kickoff as junior running back Chris Sullivan returned the kick 89 yards for a touchdown to give W&L a 14-7 lead. The Eagles again tied the score (14-14) as senior defensive end Jeremy Fox stripped the ball away from senior running back Marc Watson and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter. Washington and Lee responded on its next possession as Watson scored on a 28-yard run to give the Generals a 21-14 lead. However, the Eagles scored on the very next offensive play as senior wide receiver Marcus Richardson hauled in a 52-yard touchdown reception from Lutz to knot the score at 21-21. Watson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Cruz scored on a six-yard run three plays later to give the Eagles a 28-21 lead with 14:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. W&L tied the game at 28-28 with 4:58 remaining in regulation as Watson scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Peter Dean. Washington and Lee was led by Sullivan, who rushed 27 times for 109 yards. Watson carried the ball 18 times for 85 yards and caught four passes for 46 yards. Dean completed 13-of-27 attempts for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Bahl led the defense with 14 tackles and a sack. Bridgewater was paced by Cruz, who rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Sophomore linebacker Jermaine Taylor led the defense with 13 tackles and a sack.

THE LAST MEETING WITH EMORY & HENRY:
(E&H 24, W&L 10, November 3, 2000 - Lexington, Va.)
Emory & Henry quarterback Shannon Johnson passed for 161 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 36 yards to lead the Wasps to a 24-10 win over Washington and Lee. E&H assumed a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Dan Hammonds with 8:44 remaining in the first quarter. W&L responded on a 34-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Zack McQuigg to senior wide receiver Wes Hardy with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Johnson connected with wide-out Dorsey Hooker on a 62-yard scoring strike with 34 seconds remaining in the opening period and W&L added a 33-yard field goal by placekicker Brad Wiginton with 5:44 left in the half to make the score 14-10 at the half. The Wasps added a 35-yard field goal by senior kicker Chris Epperly with 1:39 left in the third quarter and put the game away with a 1-yard touchdown run by Hammonds with 8:39 remaining in the game. The Wasps were led by Johnson and tailback Earnest Cheatham. Cheatham rushed for 69 yards on 23 carries. Defensively, linebacker Nolan Jeffries recorded 13 tackles, including three for a loss. Washington and Lee was led by tailback Marc Watson, who rushed for 108 yards on 23 carries. McQuigg combined with Sean McGarvey to complete 8-of-19 attempts for 118 yards. Hardy caught three passes for 59 yards and the one touchdown. Linebacker Jeff Bahl notched 13 tackles and a sack.

SCOUTING EMORY & HENRY:
Emory & Henry is 4-4 overall, 2-2 in the ODAC following a 34-21 loss to Catholic on Saturday. The Wasp offense managed just 289 yards of total offense and turned the ball over four times in the contest. Sophomore quarterback Shannon Johnson led E&H by completing 17-of-35 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off four times. Junior wide receiver Adam Davis caught 11 passes for 111 yards and one score, while sophomore running back Dan Hammonds rushed six times for 46 yards and one touchdown. The Wasp defense was led by senior linebacker Phil Christian, who totaled 13 tackles. On the season, Hammonds leads the team with 406 yards and seven touchdowns on 78 carries. Senior tailback Ernest Cheatham has rushed 84 times for 354 yards and one score, while Johnson has rushed 70 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson has also completed 45.7 percent of his attempts for 975 yards and six touchdowns. He has been picked off 11 times. Davis is Johnson's favorite target with 34 receptions for 520 yards and three touchdowns. Christian leads the defense with 83 tackles.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 414-461-39 (.474) 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 1,737 career rushing yards, seventh all-time at W&L. He can move into fourth place with 150 more yards and needs just 91 yards to become only the fifth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

1-2 X 2 = SULLIVAN AND WATSON:
What do you get when you take one-two, times two? Senior running back/wide receiver Marc Watson and junior running back Chris Sullivan. Watson and Sullivan have been a tremendous asset to the W&L offense this season. Thus far, the duo has accounted for 1,791 of the team's 2,432 offensive yards, nearly 74 percent of the team's offensive output. In addition, Watson and Sullivan are No. 1 and No. 2 on the W&L career all-purpose yards list. Watson claims 4,844 career all-purpose yards and is trailed closely by Sullivan (3,780). Sullivan leads the ODAC in all-purpose yards (201.3 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 2,867 career rushing yards and needs just 206 more to break the W&L career record held by Stewart Atkinson since the 1979 season. Now a wide receiver, Watson is averaging just 11.9 carries and 48.1 yards per game this season. However, Watson is averaging 97.0 rushing yards per game over his last two contests.

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 61 turnovers (1.6 per game) themselves. W&L has committed just 12 turnovers in 2001, forcing 21 miscues by the opponents, including 14 interceptions.

MR. AUTOMATIC:
Senior placekicker Brad Wiginton has been almost automatic during his career. Wiginton has connected on 21-of-31 field goals (.677) and 91-of-96 PAT attempts (.948). He second all-time in career PAT percentage and holds the W&L record for career PAT's made. Wiginton currently ranks third all-time in career field goals made, three behind the leader and can set a W&L single-season field goals record with one more make. Wiginton is also tied for third on the W&L career scoring list with 154 points.

OH SO CLOSE:
The Generals have had numerous heart-breaking defeats in recent memory, including both of its ODAC losses this season. W&L fell to Randolph-Macon, 28-24, in the final seconds and fell to Bridgewater, 34-28, in overtime on Saturday. The loss to Bridgewater marked W&L's ninth loss by seven points or less since the beginning of the 1998 season. Included in that total are two losses to Emory & Henry, a 23-21 loss in 1999 and a 23-20 loss in 1998.

GOING FOR FOUR:
W&L will be trying to post its fourth ODAC win of the season when it plays Emory & Henry. W&L has not won four ODAC contests since the 1985 season when the Generals went 4-1 and won the ODAC title. The 1985 season marked W&L's last ODAC title.

-- GENERALS --


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