Week 10 • W&L (6-3) vs. Case Western Reserve (3-6)
November 12, 2005 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Guilford 49, Catholic 42
Bridgewater 53, Randolph-Macon 20
Hampden-Sydney 49, Johns Hopkins 20

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Wilson Field (7,000)
Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
First Meeting: 11/12/05 at W&L
Last W&L Win: N/A
Last CWRU Win: N/A
Current Series Streak: N/A
W&L vs. CWRU at W&L: N/A
W&L vs. CWRU at CWRU: N/A

THE SERIES:
W&L and Case Western Reserve will be meeting for the first time ever when the Spartans travel to Wilson Field on Saturday. W&L is 3-7 all-time against teams from the state of Ohio and hasn’t played an Ohio team since a 35-0 loss at Denison during the 1975 season. CWRU replaced Greensboro, who the Generals had played in the season finale over the past four seasons.

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 53-54-1 (.495) overall record and ranks second all-time at W&L in victories. Case Western is led by second-year Head Coach Greg Debeljak (John Caroll '88), who is 8-11 (.421) overall with the Spartans. Debeljak served as the team's offensive coordinator for three seasons before being named head coach in March of 2004. Debeljak also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater for 12 seasons.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 437-481-39 (.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:
(W&L 45, E&H 7; November 5, 2005 - Emory, Va.)
The Washington and Lee football team scored 24 second quarter points and racked up 532 yards of total offense in a 45-7 victory over ODAC-foe Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon at Fullerton Field. For W&L, it was the first victory at E&H since the 1981 season. The Generals took a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game when freshman running back Stuart Sitterson returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The return was Sitterson’s second for a touchdown this season, tying the W&L season record. Sitterson then started the second quarter scoring explosion on a 22-yard touchdown run with 10:43 left in the quarter to make it 14-0. With 3:08 remaining, senior quarterback Greg Tweardy found sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give W&L a 21-0 advantage. After the Wasps fumbled on their next possession, Tweardy and Martin hooked up on a 24-yard scoring strike to make the score 28-0. Junior placekicker Ben Long ended the scoring surge with a 26-yard field goal as the second quarter expired to give the Generals a 31-0 halftime lead. The field goal was the 24th of Long’s career, tying the W&L record held by Bill Devine since the 1982 season. Emory & Henry cut the deficit to 31-7 with 12:01 left in the third quarter on a 70-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Todd Woods to junior wide receiver Brennan Stewart, but W&L closed out the scoring with 14 points in the fourth quarter. Junior wide receiver Colton Ward found paydirt on a 55-yard run with 14:40 remaining and junior quarterback Hunter Dawkins scored on a 5-yard run with 1:45 left in the game for the final margin. Tweardy completed 19-of-27 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. He now has 2,369 passing yards for the season, breaking the former W&L record of 2,273 yards set by Christian Batcheller in 1999. Sitterson totaled 225 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including a season-high 90 yards rushing. Martin caught eight passes for 203 yards and the two scores and Ward amassed 125 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. Defensively, freshman linebacker Bradley McAllister had a team-high eight tackles and one sack. Sophomore defensive back Kyle Luby and freshman defensive lineman Tommy Matteo each notched six tackles.

SCOUTING CASE WESTERN RESERVE:
The Spartans are 3-6 overall following a 14-7 loss at the University of Chicago on Saturday afternoon. CWRU trailed 7-0 at the half, but tied the game at 14-14 with 5:54 left in the third quarter when senior quarterback Alex Harvey hooked up with freshman wide receiver Scott Moyer for a 30-yard touchdown. However, Chicago scored the go-ahead touchdown with 12:13 remaining in the game and Case could not find paydirt for the equalizer. The Spartans gained just 212 yards of total offense in the game and were limited to -9 yards rushing. Harvey completed 15-of-34 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked six times. Junior wide receiver Marshaun Minter snared eight passes for 85 yards, while Moyer hauled in four balls for 61 yards and the lone touchdown. Sophomore defensive end Brian Calderone led the Spartan defense with 15 tackles and three sacks. For the season, Case averages just 228.6 yards of total offense and 15.2 points per game. Junior running back James Rosenbury leads the ground game with 439 yards and one touchdown on 136 carries. Harvey has completed 42.9 percent of his passes for 666 yards and four touchdowns, but has been picked off six times. Sophomore Angelo Mirando has also received a number of snaps under center and has completed 55.0 percent of his passes for 725 yards and seven touchdowns with seven interceptions. He has also rushed for 127 yards and four more scores. Minter has been the team's top receiver with 43 catches for 508 yards and four touchdowns, while Moyer has 27 catches for 325 yards and one touchdown. On defense, Case is led by junior linebacker Nick Decesare with 84 tackles. Calderone claims 72 tackles and a team-best seven sacks.

TWEARDY TALK:
Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy is having his best season as a General. He has completed 207-of-317 (.653) passes for a school-record 2,369 yards and a school-record 19 touchdowns. 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. As far as season records, Tweardy set new marks for season yards and touchdowns and is closing in on his own school records for completions (210) and attempts (346) set last season. Over his four seasons, Tweardy has completed 486-of-807 passes for 5,106 yards and 38 touchdowns. He ranks second all-time in completions, yards and touchdowns and is just six completions and five touchdowns away from establishing new career records.

JACK BE NIMBLE, JACK BE QUICK:
Tweardy's favorite target this season has been sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin. Martin has caught 66 passes for a school-record 1,288 yards and a school-record 13 touchdowns. Entering the season, it had been 24 years since a W&L receiver had gone over 200 yards receiving in a game and it had only been accomplished once. After posting 203 yards last week against Emory & Henry, Martin now has four 200-yard receiving games this season with a high of 219 yards against Hampden-Sydney. Martin caught three touchdown passes in the season-opener against Alfred, tying the school record. He also averaged 36.3 yards per catch against Randolph-Macon, setting a new school record in that category. Martin currently ranks second in Division III in receiving yards per game (143.1 ypg.) and ranks among the national leaders in catches per game (7.33 rpg.) and scoring (8.67 ppg.). Below are his receiving numbers for each game this season:

Alfred - 10 rec., 159 yds., 3 TD
Sewanee - 6 rec., 64 yds., 1 TD
Centre - 11 rec., 206 yds., 2 TD
Randolph-Macon - 3 rec., 109 yds, 1 TD
Catholic - 9 rec., 217 yds., 2 TD
Hampden-Sydney - 12 rec., 219 yds., 0 TD
Guilford - 4 rec., 54 yds., 2 TD
Bridgewater - 3 rec., 57 yds., 0 TD
Emory & Henry - 8 rec., 203 yds., 2 TD

VERSATILE BACK:
Junior wide receiver Colton Ward has been a versatile member of the Generals' offense and special teams this season. Ward has accounted for 1,164 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns this season -- in a number of different ways. He has rushed for 265 yards and one touchdown, has caught 63 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns, and has returned 10 kickoffs for 374 yards and one touchdown. His 7.0 receptions per game rank among the national leaders, while his 37.4 yards per kickoff return were leading the country entering the Emory & Henry game. Ward has averaged 168.0 all-purpose yards and has scored five of his seven touchdowns over the last five contests and returned his school-record third kickoff for a touchdown three weeks ago at Guilford. Ward currently ranks sixth all-time at W&L with 2,664 all-purpose yards.

VERSATILE BACK - PART TWO:
Freshman running back/defensive back Stuart Sitterson has also been a major factor in the Generals' successes this season. Sitterson has amassed 1,044 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns this season. He amassed a season-best 225 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns last week against Emory & Henry, rushing for 90 yards and a touchdown and returning the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Sitterson averages 34.0 yards per kickoff return, a total which also places him among the nation's best kickoff return men. He has tied the school record for kickoff return touchdowns in a season (2) and also claims a punt return touchdown. Despite touching the ball just 12.6 times per game, Sitterson has posted over 100 all-purpose yards in six of the Generals' nine games this season.

RETURN TO SENDER:
The combination of Sitterson and Ward are also a potent combination in the return game. The Generals average 141.4 return yards per game and rank second in Division III with a 30.3 team kickoff return average. The duo has accounted for four touchdowns this season on kickoff and punt returns, led by Sitterson's three return touchdowns. However, it is Ward that claims the school record for career kickoff returns for a touchdowns (3).

ALL-PURPOSE WATCH:
The trio of Martin (143.3 ypg.), Ward (129.3 ypg.) and Sitterson (116.0 ypg.) are all averaging over 100 all-purpose yards per game. Not only is W&L the only team in the ODAC with three players averaging over 100 yards, but it would be the first time in school history that three players have averaged as many yards per contest.

MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Senior punter Donny Banks may rank last in the ODAC in punt average (33.7 ypp.), but his effectiveness has played a major factor in the Generals' 6-3 season to date. Banks has pinned the opponent inside its 20 yardline 17 times with just one touchback.

THE END RESULT:
The end result of the previous two notes is excellent field position. Through nine 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 nine made field goals (9-of-14). Long ranks among the national leaders in field goals per game and booted a school-record tying 47-yarder against Hampden-Sydney. With one field goal against Emory & Henry last week, Long moved into a first place tie for career field goals at W&L. For his career, Long has made 24-of-41 (58.6) field goals.

TURNOVER TALK:
Washington and Lee ranks among the national leaders in turnover margin and has forced a league-best 31 turnovers, including four last week in the victory over Emory & Henry.

SEVEN SOUNDS GREAT:
Washington and Lee may have narrowly missed out on winning an ODAC title this season, but the season already ranks among the best in recent memory. The win over Emory & Henry gave W&L its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1984-85 and a win over Case Western Reserve would give W&L its first seven-win season since the 1985 campaign.

-- GENERALS --