Week 8 • W&L (5-2, 3-1) vs. #20 Bridgewater (5-1, 3-0)
October 29, 2005 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Bridgewater 31, Emory & Henry 17
Randolph-Macon 34, McDaniel 10
Hampden-Sydney 28, Catholic 21

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Wilson Field (7,000)
Series: W&L leads 22-13
Last Meeting: 10/30/04 at BC (BC won 34-7)
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: 10/30/04 at BC (34-7)
Current Series Streak: BC +5
W&L vs. BC at W&L: 11-6
W&L vs. BC at BC: 11-7

THE SERIES:
W&L and Bridgewater are meeting for the 36th time, with the Generals holding a 22-13 advantage in the all-time series which began during the 1964 season. The series has been one of streaks, with each program holding at least two win streaks of four games or more. W&L won nine straight to begin the series and then won four straight from 1983-86. The Eagles posted wins from 1989-92, before the Generals reeled off seven straight victories from 1993-99. Since then, BC has won five straight, including a 34-7 victory last season at Jopson Field.

THE HEAD COACHES:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his 11th season as the head coach at W&L and his 37th year of coaching. He claims a 52-53-1 (.495) overall record and ranks second all-time at W&L in victories. Gary Fallon holds down the top spot with 77 victories. Bridgewater is led by 11th-year Head Coach Mike Clark (Cincinnati ‘80), who is 70-47-1 (.598) overall at Bridgewater. Clark’s teams have gone 58-10 overall since the 2000 season and have claimed the last four ODAC Championships.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 436-480-39 (.477) all-time record. The Generals have been linked to the first intercollegiate football game played in the south, an 1873 matchup with VMI though the University officially recognized football as a varsity sport beginning in 1890.

LAST TIME OUT:
(GC 28, W&L 26; October 22, 2005 - Greensboro, N.C.)
Guilford freshman quarterback Josh Vogelbach found junior wide receiver Chris Barnette with a 12-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining to lift the Quakers to a 28-26 win over Washington and Lee. W&L took a 26-21 lead with 4:25 remaining in the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Stuart Sitterson, but the attempt at a two-point conversion failed. The Generals stopped the Quakers on fourth down on the ensuing possession to take over on their own 15 yardline with 2:10 remaining in the game. However, W&L was forced to punt three plays later and managed just a 16-yard punt giving the Quakers possession on the W&L 33 yardline with 1:04 remaining. The Quakers drove to the W&L 12 yardline where they faced a 4th-and-10 play with nine seconds remaining. Volgelbach then found Barnette for the game-winner. Guilford built a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter, before the Generals found the scoreboard on an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by junior wide receiver Colton Ward with 3:55 remaining in the half. For Ward, it was his third career kickoff return touchdown, a new school record. Trailing 14-7 at the half, W&L scored a pair of touchdowns in just 26 seconds of the third quarter for a 20-14 lead. Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy found sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 2:38 left in the third and then the duo hooked up for a 34-yard touchdown after Guilford fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The PAT attempt failed and Guilford went back on top (21-20) at the 8:39 mark of the fourth quarter on a 20-yard hookup between Vogelbach and Barnette. Guilford committed seven turnovers in the contest, including on four straight second half possessions. Despite the turnovers, the Quakers out-gained W&L, 490-334. Washington and Lee was paced by Ward, who totaled 264 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. In addition to notching 130 kickoff return yards, he caught a career-high 15 passes for 138 yards. Martin caught four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns, and set a new W&L season record for receiving yards (1,028), eclipsing the record of 1,010 held by Craig Irons ‘91 since 1989. Tweardy completed 30-of-47 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns to tie the school record for season touchdown passes (16). Senior linebacker Brian Gallagher led the defense with 11 tackles, two forced fumbles and one interception.

WHEN LAST WE MET:
(BC 34, W&L 7; October 30, 2004 - Bridgewater, Va.)
Tailback Winston Young rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to lead Bridgewater past Washington and Lee, 34-7, at Jopson Field. A pair of Young touchdown runs sandwiched around a 60-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Brandon Wakefield to wide receiver Blake Warring gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead that they carried into the half. The Eagles extended their lead to 34-0 on a pair of Wakefield touchdown passes, before the Generals got on the board with a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hunter Dawkins to wide receiver Jack Martin with 1:56 remaining in the game. W&L racked up 322 yards of total offense in the game, but could not offset three turnovers and four failed fourth down conversions in Bridgewater territory. Quarterback Greg Tweardy completed 26-of-39 passes for 219 yards for W&L, but was picked off three times. Dawkins completed 6-of-9 passes for 55 yards and one score, while wide receiver Colton Ward caught 11 passes for 85 yards and rushed five times for 13 yards. Martin hauled in seven passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Senior defensive lineman Chris Caramore led the W&L defense with eight tackles. Bridgewater was led by Young’s rushing effort. Wakefield completed 14-of-28 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, while defensive back Adrian Herndon and senior linebacker Cameron Garvin each posted seven tackles.

SUCCESSFUL START:
W&L's 5-2 start this season is its best since beginning 6-1 during the 1985 season. That season, the Generals went 7-2 overall and won the ODAC Championship, the program's last conference championship. Counting the end of the 2004 season, W&L has won seven of its last nine games, also the best nine-game stretch since 1985.

SCOUTING BRIDGEWATER:
The Eagles are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the ODAC following a 31-17 win at Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles led just 10-0 at the half but scored a trio of third quarter touchdowns, two by senior tailback Marcus Washington, to build a 31-3 lead with 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. BC rolled up 435 yards of total offense led by Washington (114 yds., 2 TD) and junior tailback Winston Young (120 yds., 1 TD), who combined for 234 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Senior signal-caller Jacob Lewis completed 15-of-22 passes for 111 yards, while senior wide receiver Stephen Morin hauled in five passes for 34 yards. Senior defensive back Drew McQueen paced the Eagles' defense with seven tackles and one interception. For the season, BC averages 514.0 yards and 44.0 points per game. Washington leads the offense with 621 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on just 82 carries. He has also caught nine passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and has passed for three more scores. Young has totaled 370 yards and three touchdowns on just 35 carries, while Lewis has completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1183 yards and 11 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Senior wide receiver Brian Awkard leads the receiving corps with 26 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns, and senior defensive back Adrian Herndon has led the defense with 36 tackles and three pass breakups.

TWEARDY TALK:
Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy is having his best season as a General. He has completed 168-of-251 (.669) passes for 1,980 yards and a school record-tying 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Tweardy has set new school records this season for passing touchdowns in a game (5) and completion percentage in a game (.833). His total of 397 passing yards in the win over Hampden-Sydney was also the second-best in school history and just four yards away from the school record. He tossed the five touchdowns in a season-opening win over Alfred and set the completion percentage record (15-of-18) against Randolph-Macon. Tweardy's 16 touchdown passes tie him with Christian Batcheller '00 for the season record and he is just 294 yards shy of breaking Batcheller's record for season passing yards (2,273). Additionally, Tweardy ranks No. 1 all-time at W&L in career completion percentage (.669) and he can moved into second place all-time in passing yards with 177 more yards. For his career, Tweardy has completed 447-of-741 passes for 4,717 yards and 35 touchdowns.

JACK BE NIMBLE, JACK BE QUICK:
Tweardy's favorite target this season has been sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin. Martin has caught 55 passes for a school-record 1,028 yards and a school-record 11 touchdowns. Martin became the first wide receiver at W&L to break 200 yards in a game since 1970 when he caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Centre. He topped that performance with nine catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns against Catholic and then snared 12 balls for a career-high 219 yards against Hampden-Sydney. Martin also caught 10 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns in the season-opener against Alfred. His three TD receptions tied the school record. Martin's 36.3 yards per catch average against Macon also established a new school record. Martin's 146.9 receiving yards per game rank second in Division III. He currently ranks second in the ODAC in receiving yards (146.9 ypg.), is tied for second in scoring (9.4 ppg.), and is tied for third in receptions per game (7.86 rpg.).

VERSATILE BACK:
W&L's offense looks much different this season as offensive coordinator Bert O'Neal continues to find ways to capitalize on the Generals' personnel strengths. O'Neal created a position called "Versatile Back", or V-Back, which features the talents of junior Colton Ward. Ward will sometimes line up at wide receiver, will sometimes line up in the slot, will also lineup in the backfield, and will be set in motion as a running back/wide receiver. In this position, Ward has racked up 154 rushing yards and 413 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He has been picking up steam as of late, averaging 112.3 rushing/receiving yards and one touchdown over the past three weeks. Ward earned First Team All-ODAC honors last season after leading the team with nine total touchdowns.

VERSATILE BACK - PART TWO:
O'Neal has also been taking advantage of the talents of another player, freshman Stuart Sitterson. A defensive back and return man at the start of the season, Sitterson has been worked into the offense as a reserve running back. Since running plays with the offense in week three against Centre, Sitterson has rushed 40 times for 122 yards and three touchdowns, and caught three passes for 19 yards. He also tossed a halfback pass in a win over Catholic.

RETURN TO SENDER:
The combination of Sitterson and Ward are also a potent combination in the return game. The Generals average 148.0 return yards per game and lead the ODAC in both kickoff return average (28.8 ypr.) and punt return average (13.0 ypr.). Sitterson has already returned one kickoff and one punt for a touchdown this season, while Ward has returned a school-record three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, including an 88-yarder last week against Guilford. On kickoffs, Ward leads the conference with a 37.2 average and Sitterson is third with a 33.1 average. On punts, Sitterson averages 13.0 yards per return and he leads the ODAC in that category.

MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Senior punter Donny Banks may rank last in the ODAC in punt average (34.2 ypp.), but his effectiveness through seven games has played a major factor in the Generals' 5-2 season. Banks has pinned the opponent inside its 20 yardline 16 times with just one touchback.

THE END RESULT:
The end result of the previous two notes is excellent field position. Through seven games, the Generals' average starting field position is on its' own 40 yardline.

EVEN MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Junior placekicker Ben Long has been having a terrific 2005 season and leads the ODAC with eight made field goals (8-of-11). Long has booted five field goals the last three weeks, including a school-record tying 47-yarder against Hampden-Sydney. With three field goals against the Tigers, Long moved into a tie for second place all-time at W&L with 23 made field goals, just one field goal from equaling the record set by Bill Devine '83. For his career, Long has made 23-of-38 (60.5) field goals.

ON THE OFFENSIVE:
W&L's success in 2004 was buoyed by its defense which ranked second nationally against the run. Though the Generals' defense continues to be solid in 2005, the Generals' successes can be attributed mainly to the offense which has produced an average of 380.1 yards and 29.6 points per game. The total offense number is the best since 1999 (384.7), while the points average is the best since the 1962 team averaged 29.7 points per outing.

ON THE DEFENSIVE:
The Generals have been posting gaudy offensive numbers, but they also still feature one of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's best defenses. W&L ranks second in the conference in total defense (363.9 ypg.), second in rushing defense (107.0 ypg.), and second in passing efficiency defense (111.9 rating). Additionally, the Generals have forced a league-best 25 turnovers by their opponents.

THE INTERCEPTOR:
Sophomore cornerback Mark Snoddy has a nose for the football. He currently leads the ODAC with five interceptions and he claims eight interceptions in just 17 career games.

TALE OF TWO HALVES:
The Generals' 2005 season has been a tale of two halves. W&L has been outscored in the first half of games by a score of 70-67, but has returned in the second half to outscore its opponents 140-87.

-- GENERALS --