Week 5 • W&L (3-1, 1-0) vs. Catholic (1-3, 1-0)
October 8, 2005 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Bridgewater 31, Hampden-Sydney 24
Guilford 36, Greensboro 35
Methodist 55, Emory & Henry 21

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Wilson Field (7,000)
Series: W&L Leads, 7-2
Last Meeting: 10/9/04 at CUA (W&L won 22-0)
First Meeting: 11/7/81 at CUA (W&L won 24-10)
Last W&L Win: 10/9/04 at CUA (22-0)
Last CUA Win: 10/12/02 at CUA (39-20)
Current Series Streak: W&L +2
W&L vs. CUA at W&L: 5-0
W&L vs. CUA at CUA: 2-2

THE SERIES:
W&L and Catholic will be meeting for the 10th time, with the Generals holding a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series which began during the 1981 season.  W&L has won each of the past two meetings, including a 22-0 win last season in Washington, D.C.  In that contest, the Generals held the Cardinals to just 116 yards of total offense, while quarterback Greg Tweardy completed 27-of-42 passes for 246 yards.  The Cardinals will be looking for their first-ever win in Lexington after five tries.

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 50-52-1 (.490) overall record and ranks second all-time at W&L in victories, surpassing Lee McLaughlin (1957-67) earlier this season. Gary Fallon holds down the top spot after claiming a 77-84-1 record from 1978-94. Catholic is led by second-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 57-27-1 (.677) overall record.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 434-479-39 (.476) 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 44, R-MC 7; October 1, 2005 - Ashland, Va.)
The Washington and Lee football jumped out to a 31-0 lead early in the third quarter en route to a 44-7 victory over Randolph-Macon on Saturday afternoon at Day Field. It was the Generals’ first win over the Yellow Jackets in Ashland since the 1989 season. The Generals took a 7-0 lead with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by senior running back Michael Lackett. The score remained 7-0 until W&L freshman defensive back Stuart Sitterson found paydirt on a 46-yard punt return with 4:28 left in the second quarter. It was W&L’s first punt return for a touchdown since the 1979 season. The Generals would score 10 more points in the last two minutes of the half to take a 24-0 lead into halftime. Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy hit junior wide receiver Colton Ward for a 23-yard touchdown pass at the 1:58 mark and junior placekicker Ben Long nailed a 30-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining in the half. W&L pushed its lead to 31-0 with 11:09 remaining in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Lackett. Randolph-Macon got on the board at the 6:19 mark of the quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Steven Ahonen, but the Generals tallied the final 13 points to give head coach Frank Mirello his 50th career win. Tweardy finished 15-for-18 for 188 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Lackett carried nine times for 49 yards and the two touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin caught three passes for 109 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Hunter Dawkins. Sitterson returned four punts for 77 yards and the one touchdown. He also rushed eight times for 48 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Generals were led by junior defensive back Rob Rain, who totaled seven tackles. Senior linebacker Ryan Hoover and freshman linebacker Bradley McAllister each posted six tackles, while McAllister also had an interception.

WHEN LAST WE MET:
(W&L 22, CUA 0; October 9, 2004 - Washington, D.C.)
The Washington and Lee football team recorded a 22-0 win over Catholic in Washington, D.C. The Generals took a 3-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal by placekicker Ben Long with 8:44 remaining in the first quarter. Long then connected from 26 yards out with 12:14 left in the second quarter to give W&L a 6-0 lead which it would take into halftime. The Generals broke the game open by scoring 16 points in the third quarter. Wide receiver Colton Ward started the scoring spree on a 19-yard touchdown run with 8:43 left in the quarter. Ward would finish the game with four carries for 35 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 11 passes for 84 yards. W&L extended its advantage to 16-0 with 4:35 remaining in the quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Long. Catholic fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Generals recovered the ball on the Cardinals’ 29 yard line. On the very next play, running back Michael Lackett hit senior wide receiver John Barnwell on a 29-yard strike to give the Generals a 22-0 lead. The two-point conversion failed producing the final score. The W&L defense recorded five sacks and held the Cardinals to just 116 yards of total offense. Offensively, W&L was led by quarterback Greg Tweardy, who completed 27-of-42 passes for 246 yards. Lackett rushed 17 times for 51 yards and senior wide receiver Taylor Callaham caught eight balls for 115 yards. Defensive back Kyle Luby notched a team-high 11 tackles and defensive end Liam Murray had eight tackles. Catholic was paced by running back Ed Smith, who rushed for 54 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Anthony Durham completed 15-of-25 passes for 84 yards and wide receiver Frank Lynch caught six passes for 65 yards. Anthony DelBorrell made 10 tackles and Ryan Parrish chipped in with nine tackles.

SCOUTING CATHOLIC:
Catholic is 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC following a bye week. The Cardinals defeated Randolph-Macon 28-24 in their last outing on Sept. 24. Catholic trailed that game 24-7 late in the third quarter, but scored three touchdowns in the final 15:35 of the game for the victory. Senior wide receiver Nick Bublavi scored three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 55 seconds remaining. Bublavi recorded 13 catches for 171 yards in the game, while freshman quarterback Keith Ricca completed 34-of-57 passes for 407 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Charles Brown also snared seven passes for 78 yards in the game. Freshman defensive back Nick Olivero paced the Cardinals' defense with 11 tackles. On the season, Bublavi leads the ODAC in receiving with 39 catches for 574 yards and six touchdowns. Brown has caught 17 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown, while Ricca has completed 88-of-164 passes for 1,118 yards and 11 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The Cardinals have struggled running the ball and average just 29.0 yards per game on the ground. Brown leads the way with 80 yards on 11 carries. Senior linebacker Bobby Stutz has paced the defense with 36 tackles and a pair of sacks.

TWEARDY TALK:
Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy is having his best season as a General, completing 86-of-128 (.672) passes for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Tweardy has set new school records this season for passing touchdowns in a game (5) and completion percentage in a game (.833). He tossed the five touchdowns in a season-opening win over Alfred and set the completion percentage record (15-of-18) against Randolph-Macon on Saturday. Tweardy continues to close in on some more records. He has 10 touchdown passes already and the season record is 16, set by Christian Batcheller '00 during the 1997 season. For his career, Tweardy has completed 365-of-618 passes for 3,631 yards and 29 touchdowns. His 29 touchdowns rank fourth all-time at W&L, while he is also ranked fifth in completions and fifth in passing yards. His career completion percentage of 59.1 percent also currently ranks as a W&L record.

JACK BE NIMBLE, JACK BE QUICK:
Tweardy's favorite target this season has been sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin. Martin has caught 30 passes for 538 yards and seven touchdowns, and he is currently ranked among the best in Division III in each category. Martin had one of the best game's ever by a W&L wide receiver against Centre, catching 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. His 206 yards rank second all-time at W&L and marked the first time a W&L receiver posted over 200 yards receiving since the 1970 season. 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, while his 159 receiving yards are tied for the 10th-best in school history. Martin's 36.3 yards per catch average against Macon last week also established a new school record. Additionally, Martin can break the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season (8) with two more touchdown grabs. Martin currently ranks second in the ODAC in receiving yards (134.5 ypg.) and scoring (10.5 ppg.), and is third in receptions per game (7.50 rpg.).

HOLDING THE LINE:
Though the Generals' have had their struggles in establishing the run in 2005, the offensive line has had no trouble protecting the quarterback. Through four games, the offensive line has allowed just one sack.

ON THE OFFENSIVE:
The W&L offense continued to produce numbers against Randolph-Macon, scoring its most points in a game since a 45-7 win over Centre during the 2000 season. Through four games, W&L is averaging 29.0 points and 339.0 yards per game, both totals representing the Generals' highest production since the 1999 season.

TAKEAWAY TIDBITS:
A major factor in W&L's success over the past two seasons has been the ability to force turnovers. The Generals lead the ODAC in turnover margin (+1.50) this season after forcing 13 turnovers in four games.

RETURN TO SENDER:
The Generals have excelled in the return game through the first three games. W&L compiled 215 return yards against Alfred, 79 yards against Sewanee, 141 yards against Centre and 108 yards against Randolph-Macon for an average of 135.8 yards per game. W&L leads the ODAC in punt return average (12.6 ypg.) due, in large part, to the play of freshman Stuart Sitterson. Sitterson has already tallied touchdowns on a kickoff return (79 yds.) and a punt return (46 yds.) this season. His punt return touchdown against Macon on Saturday was the first by a Generals since the 1979 season. Sitterson is flanked on kick returns by junior Colton Ward, who is averaging 31.3 yards over three returns this season. Teams have avoided kicking to Ward after he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season.

MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Senior punter Donny Banks may rank last in the ODAC in punt average (32.9 ypp.), but his effectiveness through four games has played a major factor in the Generals' 3-1 start. Banks has pinned the opponent inside its 20 yardline 10 times with just one touchback. In a win over Sewanee, Banks pinned the Tigers inside their 20 on four occasions, including twice inside the five yardline. A 29-yard Banks' punt with 1:33 remaining in the game pinned the Tigers on their three yardline and provided the catalyst for the Generals' defense to hold on Sewanee's final possession.

-- GENERALS --