Week 1 • W&L at Johns Hopkins • September 8, 2001 • 12:00 pm

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LAST WEEK'S SCORES:
Bridgewater 29, Western Maryland 20
John Carroll 23, Catholic 6
Emory & Henry 20, Methodist 16
Carson Newman 48, Guilford 0
Sewanee 22, Hampden-Sydney 14
Carnegie Mellon 40, Randolph-Macon 0

THE SERIES:
This is the 12th meeting between the two schools, with W&L holding a 6-4-1 advantage in the series that began during the 1913 season. W&L won last season's meeting by a 32-19 score. Prior to last season, Hopkins had won each of the previous three meetings between the two schools, including a 31-14 win in Baltimore during the 1999 season.

SERIES INFO:
Time: 12:00 pm
Site: Homewood Field (8,500)
Series: W&L Leads 6-4-1
Last Meeting: 9/9/00 at W&L (W&L won 32-19)
First Meeting: 10/18/13 at JHU (W&L won 34-3)
Last W&L Win: 9/9/00 at W&L (32-19)
Last JHU Win: 9/11/99 at JHU (31-14)
Current Series Streak: W&L +1
W&L vs. JHU at W&L: 2-1-1
W&L vs. JHU at JHU: 4-3-0

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 28-30-1 (.483) overall record, 1-3 against Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays are led by 12th-year head coach Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins '82). He is 60-47-3 (.559) at Hopkins and in his career. He is 3-1 against W&L and can become JHU's all-time winningest coach with one more victory.

FOR OPENERS:
Since 1900, W&L is 53-44-1 (.546) in its season opening games. The Generals ended a streak of 15 straight season-opening losses with their 32-19 win over Hopkins last season.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 411-457-39 (.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 CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE:
W&L is 26-19-1 (.576) all-time against the current members of the Centennial Conference. The following is a breakdown of the Generals vs. the members of the Centennial Conference:

Dickinson (3-0)
Franklin & Marshall (4-2)
Gettysburg (1-3)
Johns Hopkins (6-4-1)
Swarthmore (6-2)
Ursinus (3-3)
Western Maryland (3-5)

THE LAST MEETING:
(W&L 32, JHU 19, September 9, 2000 - Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee began its season with a win for the first time since 1984 with a 32-19 win over Johns Hopkins. The Generals assumed a 6-0 lead with 14:06 remaining in the first half on a pair of field goals by Andy Vendig. However, Hopkins took a 7-6 lead with 10:12 remaining in the quarter as quarterback Rob Heleniak hit wide-out Zach Baylin with a 17-yard scoring strike. The duo hooked up again, this time on an 11-yard scoring strike to give the Blue Jays a 13-6 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the half. The Generals answered as quarterback Bobby Littlehale hooked up with tight end Davis White on a 31-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the half to knot the game at 13-13 at the break. W&L did its damage in the third stanza, outscoring Hopkins 17-0 in the quarter. Vendig booted his W&L record-tying third field goal of the day and White added another touchdown reception, this time going for 17 yards. Tailback Marc Watson scored on a 29-yard run with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter to give the Generals a 30-13 lead. W&L would tack on a safety and the Blue Jays ended the scoring on a four-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver John Baker with 7:17 remaining in the game. Washington and Lee was led by White, who caught eight passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Watson provided the Generals with much of their ground gainers, rushing for 99 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Defensively, W&L was led by linebacker Jeff Bahl, who totaled 10 tackles and a sack. Johns Hopkins was paced offensively by Baylin, who caught 11 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Heleniak completed 19-of-29 attempts for 258 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Kevin Johnson rushed for 62 yards on 13 carries.

SCOUTING JOHNS HOPKINS:
Hopkins takes the field for the 2001 season after posting a 5-5 overall record last season, 4-3 in the Centennial Conference. The Blue Jays, ranked third in the preseason Centennial Conference poll, return a total of 17 starters (8 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists), including a pair of First Team All-Centennial Conference selections in senior running back Scott Martorana and senior wide receiver Zach Baylin. Martorana averaged 195.7 all-purpose and 133.0 rushing yards per game over six games last season. Baylin caught 68 passes for 663 yards and a school-record 12 touchdowns in 2000. Senior quarterback Rob Heleniak also returns after earning honorable mention All-Centennial Conference honors last season. Heleniak played in seven games, completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,597 yards and 17 touchdowns. Defensively, the Blue Jays return seniors Eric Hellmold (DL) and Craig Reinert (LB). Both earned Second Team All-Centennial Conference honors last season. Hellmold finished fourth on the team in tackles with a career-high 43. In addition, he led the team with six sacks and 12 tackles for losses. Reinert finished sixth on the team with 34 tackles and added five tackles for loss and one sack on the year as well. In addition, he had one interception, one blocked field goal, and two fumble recoveries.

ON THE TURF:
W&L's game at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field will be its only contest of the season played on artificial turf. The 2001 season marks the first time that the Generals will be able to prepare for the turf difference after construction on the W&L turf field was completed last fall.

WHAT'S BACK FOR THE GENERALS?:
The Generals enter the 2001 season with 13 starters (6 offense, 6 defense, 1 specialist) returning. Offensive starters returning include senior running back Marc Watson, the 2000 ODAC Player of the Year. Watson rushed for a school-record 1,325 yards and 12 touchdowns last season while compiling a school-record 1,997 all-purpose yards. Watson is a Preseason Second Team All-America selection by D3Football.com and Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Also returning on the offensive side of the ball is junior running back/wide receiver Chris Sullivan. Sullivan earned Second Team All-ODAC and Freshman All-America honors in 1999 and totaled 314 receiving yards, 106 rushing yards, 366 return yards and four touchdowns last season. The Generals offense also received a huge boost with the transfer of junior offensive lineman Mat Rapoza from Swarthmore College. Rapoza was a First Team All-Centennial Conference and Second Team D3Football.com All-America selection last season. He is a preseason First Team All-America pick this season by D3Football.com and Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Defensively, the Generals welcome back senior linebacker Jeff Bahl. Bahl earned First Team All-ODAC honors last season after leading the conference in tackles with 108 total stops, including 16 for a loss. Bahl also posted five sacks, six fumble recoveries and an interception. Sophomore defensive lineman Brian Becker also returns after garnering Second Team All-ODAC and Freshman All-America honors during the 2000 campaign. Becker totaled 33 tackles and a half sack last season. The Generals second-leading tackler, Matt Stavish, also returns to his linebacker position. Stavish totaled 86 tackles, including 10 for a loss last season. He also had two interceptions, including an acrobatic pick against Hopkins last season. Senior placekicker Brad Wiginton is also back to spearhead the special teams. Wiginton already holds the W&L record for career PAT's (72-77) and has made 11-of-16 field goal attempts during his career.

WATSON AGAINST HOPKINS:
Senior running back Marc Watson has had a fair amount of success in his career against Johns Hopkins. Watson has totaled 216 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and four receptions for 19 yards in three games. Last season, Watson rushed 14 times for 99 yards and one touchdown against the Blue Jays. In 1999, Watson totaled 102 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Impressive numbers, but consider the fact that among the teams that Watson has played three games against, Johns Hopkins is the team that Watson has the fewest yards and touchdowns against.

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 during his first three years. 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 11 fumble recoveries for his career, six of which came last season.

LEFTY QB:
Sophomore Peter Dean enters the 2001 season as the starter at 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 two decades. Last spring, Dean posted a 6-0 record and 3.10 ERA on the mound for the baseball team.

SHOE'S ON THE OTHER FOOT:
Junior Davis White has decided to see what the other side of the ball is like. A tight end each of the past two seasons, White has switched to safety this season. White will try and show the form which led to Honorable Mention All-ODAC, First Team All-State and Third Team All-South Region honors as a freshman. His career receiving totals will remain at 71 catches for 989 yards and 10 touchdowns in just two seasons.