Week 5 • W&L (2-2, 1-0) at Catholic (0-4, 0-1) • October 9, 2004 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Bridgewater 37, Hampden-Sydney 28
Greensboro 28, Guilford 7
Methodist 36, Emory & Henry 27

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: DuFour Field (3,500)
Series: W&L Leads, 6-2
Last Meeting: 10/11/03 at W&L (W&L won 31-27)
First Meeting: 11/7/81 at CUA (W&L won 24-10)
Last W&L Win: 10/11/03 at W&L (31-27)
Last CUA Win: 10/12/02 at CUA (39-20)
Current Series Streak: W&L +1
W&L vs. CUA at W&L: 5-0
W&L vs. CUA at CUA: 1-2

THE SERIES:
W&L and Catholic will be meeting for the ninth time, with the Generals holding a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series which began during the 1981 season.  W&L won last season's encounter by a 31-27 count, but has not defeated the Cardinals in Washington, D.C., since Catholic rejoined the ODAC in 1999.  The combined total of W&L's last two games against Catholic at DuFour Field has been 86-20, including a 47-0 CUA win in 2000.

THE HEAD COACHES:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his 10th season as the head coach at W&L and his 36th year of coaching. He claims a 43-49-1 (.468) overall record. Miriello is third all-time in victories at W&L and needs six more wins to overtake Lee McLaughlin for second place. He is 2-2 all-time against Catholic. The Cardinals are led by first-year Head Coach Tom Clark (Maryland '86). Clark is in his second stint with Catholic, having served as the head coach from 1994-2000 before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at William & Mary. Clark led the Cardinals to three NCAA Tournaments during his time with CUA. He currently claims a 56-18-1 (.753) overall record, 1-0 against Washington and Lee.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 425-475-39 (.473) all-time record. The Generals have been linked to the first intercollegiate football game played in the south, an 1873 matchup with VMI.

LAST TIME OUT:
(W&L 17, R-MC 0; October 2, 2004 - Lexington, Va.)
The Washington and Lee defense recorded a school-record 10 sacks in posting a 17-0 Homecoming shutout victory over Randolph-Macon on Saturday at Wilson Field. The Generals limited Macon to just -6 yards rushing and 119 yards of total offense in the contest. Following an interception by sophomore linebacker Robert Foster at the R-MC 23-yardline, the Generals got on the board with 7:24 remaining in the first quarter as junior running back Michael Lackett scored on a 9-yard run. W&L added to its lead on a 22-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker Ben Long with 11:56 remaining in the second quarter and entered the half with a 10-0 lead. The Generals' defense then scored for the second time in three weeks as Foster forced a fumble on a sack, which was picked up by junior safety Stuart Swann and returned 49 yards for a score with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter. Foster finished the day with eight tackles, a school-record tying five sacks, one interception and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Lloyd Wilson notched a team-high nine tackles and two sacks, while Swann added four tackles, two sacks, and his return for a touchdown. Offensively, the Generals were led by Lackett, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Junior quarterback Greg Tweardy completed 18-of-28 passes for 111 yards. Randolph-Macon was paced by sophomore running back Sam Robinson, who rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries. Sophomore quarterback Daniel Bowles completed 18-of-33 passes for 125 yards, but was intercepted three times. Sophomore defensive end Chris Marshburn led the defense with nine tackles and two sacks.

WHEN LAST WE MET:
(W&L 31, CUA 27; October 11, 2003 - Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee scored 24 unanswered points in the final 16:06 of the game for a 31-27 win over Catholic at Wilson Field. The Generals trailed 27-7 with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter, but climbed to within 27-14 on a 21-yard scoring strike from quarterback Greg Tweardy to wide receiver Taylor Callaham with 1:06 remaining in the period. After a Cardinal punt with 8:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, Tweardy again led the Generals on a scoring drive, this time an 11-play, 88-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Whitfield with 4:40 remaining in the game. On the ensuing Catholic possession, quarterback Pat Truxillo was intercepted by cornerback Rob Rain who returned the ball 12 yards to the CUA 6-yard line, setting up a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Michael Lackett on the game's next play. The PAT was good, giving the Generals a 28-27 lead. After the Cardinals were forced into a four-and-out on their own 11-yard line with 1:42 remaining in the game, placekicker Ben Long capped the scoring with a 27-yard field goal with 1:19 remaining in the game. From there, the W&L defense held again on four downs, solidifying the win. Tweardy led the Generals, completing 19-of-29 passes for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lackett carried 11 times for 27 yards and one touchdown and caught five passes for 69 yards, while Callaham hauled in five passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Lloyd Wilson led the W&L defense with 10 tackles. Truxillo competed 17-of-35 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cardinals. He was intercepted four times on the afternoon. Running back Ed Smith rushed 21 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Kevin McNulty caught five passes for 92 yards. Senior linebacker John Blattner paced the CUA defense with nine tackles and a sack.

SCOUTING CATHOLIC:
Catholic is 0-4 overall, 0-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference following a 16-13 to Randolph-Macon on Sept. 25. The Cardinals led 13-6 with 8:46 remaining in the game, but surrendered a touchdown and a game-winning field goal with 1:28 remaining for the loss. The Cardinals outgained Macon 311-226, but could not overcome five turnovers, including an interception which was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. Freshman quarterback Greg Nejmeh led CUA by completing 20-of-38 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. However, he was intercepted three times. Senior running back Ed Smith rushed for 87 yards on 29 carries and caught five passes for 36 yards, while freshman wide receiver Noah Rogers hauled in four passes for 68 yards and one score. Junior defensive back John Bowes led the defense with nine tackles. On the season, Nejmeh has completed 47.8 percent of his passes for 628 yards and three touchdowns, while Smith has rushed 64 times for 213 yards. Senior wide receiver Pat Truxillo, who played quarterback last season, has caught 20 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown. Rogers is the team's big-play threat, catching eight passes for 148 yards and one touchdown. Junior defensive back Tim Fontaine has paced the Cardinals' defense with 27 tackles. Freshman linebacker Greg Brown has posted 22 stops and two sacks, while senior defensive back Ryan Parrish, junior defensive back Derell Quick and senior linebacker Dave Beety claim 21 tackles each.

DEJA VU:
After six years without a defensive touchdown, the Generals must have felt like they were experiencing deja vu on Saturday as they scored their second defensive touchdown in three weeks. Junior safety Stuart Swann scooped up a fumble forced by sophomore linebacker Robert Foster and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown in the win over Randolph-Macon. This was after freshman defensive back Kyle Harvey picked off a pass on the same side of the field and returned it 50 yards the same direction for a score in week two against Sewanee. Prior to Harvey's pick six, the Generals had forced 158 straight turnovers without a touchdown.

SACK PARTY:
W&L's defense has been experiencing a tremendous season thus far, allowing an average of just 246.2 yards per game and an ODAC-leading 42.8 yards per game rushing. This is due mainly to a greatly improved pass rush. The Generals recorded a school-record 10 sacks against Randolph-Macon on Saturday, bringing their season sack total to 25, just 10 away from tying the school record set during the 1995 season. W&L had just 15 sacks all of last season.

FOSTERING ATTENTION:
Sophomore linebacker Robert Foster has been fostering plenty of attention with his play this season. Not yet a full-time starter at outside linebacker, Foster has been having a monster season highlighted by his play on Saturday against Macon when he totaled eight tackles, a school-record tying five sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. He was named the ODAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. For the season, Foster has tallied 15 tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

EAT, DRINK AND BE MURRAY:
Junior defensive end Liam Murray is having a stellar junior season playing the defensive end position. Murray is currently tied for second in the ODAC in tackles per game (8.8) and tackles for loss per game (2.00). Murray has also totaled three sacks on the season.

ON THE OFFENSIVE:
Senior wide receiver Taylor Callaham has been one of the Generals' best weapons over the past four years. Callaham has grabbed 10 touchdown passes, a total which ties him for sixth all-time at W&L. He can move into a tie for third all-time with two more touchdown receptions and is just seven touchdown catches from taking over the top spot. For his career, Callaham has caught 96 passes for 1,196 yards and 10 TD's.

SHOW ME THAT FOUR:
The Generals have loved seeing a four on the sideline down marker this season. W&L has stopped its' opponents on fourth down six times this season (6-of-7), while the Generals' offense has converted 4-of-5 fourth downs.

PLEASANT SURPRISE:
Junior punter Donny Banks has been a pleasant surprise for the Generals thus far. A first-year player, Banks is averaging 36.4 yards over 37 punts this season. He has also pinned the opponent inside their 20-yard line 14 times, equaling the number from all of last season. He ranks second in the ODAC in net punting (32.5 ypp.) and claims the two longest punts in the ODAC this season -- boots of 66 and 65 yards.

STREAKIN':
The Washington and Lee defense has recorded eight interceptions through four games this season. Dating back to a 31-27 win over Catholic last Oct. 11, W&L has recorded at least one interception in 10 straight games.

HOME vs. ROAD:
As well as the W&L defense has played this season, the numbers bear that there is a big difference between the Generals at home and on the road. In two home wins, the Generals are allowing an average just 125.5 yards of total offense and just - 0.5 rushing yards. However, in two road losses, W&L is allowing 325.5 yards of total offense and 86.0 rushing yards. W&L also has 19 sacks at home and six on the road.

-- GENERALS --