Week 7 • W&L (5-1, 3-0) at Guilford (1-5, 0-2)
October 22, 2005 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Bridgewater 62, Guilford 46
Randolph-Macon 27, Emory & Henry 3
Catholic 41, LaSalle 34

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Armfield Athletic Center (3,500)
Series: Tied 9-9
Last Meeting: 10/23/04 at W&L (W&L won 41-14)
First Meeting: 10/16/65 at W&L (W&L won 26-20)
Last W&L Win: 10/23/04 at W&L (41-14)
Last GC Win: 10/25/03 at GC (34-7)
Current Series Streak: W&L +1
W&L vs. GC at W&L: 5-5
W&L vs. GC at GC: 4-4

THE SERIES:
W&L and Guilford will be meeting for the 19th time, with the series being tied at 9-9. However, W&L has won four of the last five contests, including a 41-14 win last season at Wilson Field. W&L's last win in Greensboro was a 31-30 victory during the 2002 season -- a game that would become to be known as the fake spike game.

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 52-52-1 (.500) 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. Guilford is led by first-year Head Coach Kevin Kiesel (Gettysburg '81). Kiesel has formerly held head coaching positions at Millersville (2001-04), Fairfield (1996-00) and Albright (1993-95), and he carries a 65-64-1 (.504) overall record.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 436-479-39 (.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 38, H-SC 34; October 15, 2005 - Hampden-Sydney, Va.)
Washington and Lee senior quarterback Greg Tweardy hit junior wide receiver Colton Ward on a 29-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-two with 34 seconds remaining to give the Generals a 38-34 win over Hampden-Sydney. The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter before the Generals cut to a 14-6 halftime score on a pair of field goals by junior placekicker Ben Long. Long connected from 33 yards at 2:26 and from 30 yards as the second quarter expired. Long made the score 14-9 with 9:49 left in the third quarter when he booted a school-record tying 47-yard field goal. W&L then took its first lead of the game just 2:46 later when Tweardy found Ward for a 5-yard touchdown pass and senior wide receiver Clark Kensinger converted the two-point conversion pass from Tweardy to make it 17-14. H-SC retook the lead at 21-17 at the 4:28 mark on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ricca to wide receiver Brian Rolander and, after another H-SC touchdown and two touchdown runs by senior running back Michael Lackett, the score stood at 31-27 in W&L's favor. The Tigers again took the lead back on a 9-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Josh Simpson with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter, but W&L responded with its own seven-play, 50-yard drive that ended with Ward’s game-winning touchdown. The Tigers had one final drive, but Generals’ senior defensive back Adam Turer intercepted Ricca at the W&L 17-yard line with just six seconds left to seal the victory. The Generals finished with 466 yards of total offense and were led by Tweardy, who finished 29-for-38 for a career-high 397 yards and two touchdowns. Lackett carried 15 times for 53 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin caught 12 balls for a career-high 219 yards. Ward finished with six catches for 71 yards and the two scores. Defensively, the Generals were led by senior defensive back Stuart Swann, who totaled eight tackles. Senior defensive lineman Liam Murray and junior outside linebacker Robert Foster each notched seven tackles.

WHEN LAST WE MET:
(W&L 41, GC 14; October 16, 2004 - Lexington, Va.)
Wide receiver Colton Ward totaled 203 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns to propel the Washington and Lee football team to a 41-14 win over Guilford at Wilson Field. Ward caught seven passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, rushed eight times for 34 yards and racked up 108 kick return yards, including an 86-yard touchdown return in the third quarter. The Generals jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Ryan Sullivan and a 17-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Garrett LeRose. W&L added to its lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Greg Tweardy with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter, but Guilford answered as running back Branden Lindsey scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Gammon to cut the lead to 20-7 with 7:20 remaining in the third period. Ward then responded with his 86-yard kickoff return on the ensuing kickoff and, sandwiched around a 1-yard touchdown reception by GC wide receiver Chris Barnette, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tweardy for a 34-14 lead. Running back Will Hatfield capped the scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run with 4:17 remaining in the game. Ward led the Generals offense, while Tweardy completed 17-of-26 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for nine yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Taylor Callaham caught four passes for 81 yards, including a 49-yard reception to set up the game’s opening score. Senior linebacker Lloyd Wilson paced the defense with nine tackles and a sack. Guilford was led by Gammon, who completed a career-high 17 passes (33 att.) for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Micah Rushing caught five passes for 53 yards and defensive back Bryan Cook led the defense with seven tackles and an interception.

SUCCESSFUL START:
W&L's 5-1 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 now won seven of its last eight games, also the best eight-game stretch since 1985.

SCOUTING GUILFORD:
The Quakers are 1-5 overall, 0-2 in the ODAC following a 62-46 loss at Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles jumped out to a 48-12 lead midway through the third quarter, but Guilford came storming back to score five touchdowns in the final 16:03 to close the gap. The Quakers were led by freshman quarterback Josh Vogelbach, who completed 37-of-58 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown in the game. Junior wide receiver Chris Barnette hauled in 12 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while junior wide receiver Micah Rushing added 11 catches for 97 yards and one score. Sophomore defensive back Taylor Baker led the Quaker defense with 11 tackles. For the season, Guilford is averaging 383.0 yards of total offense and 30.0 points per game, but is allowing 468.3 yards and 42.5 points per game. Vogelbach has completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 1,787 yards and 21 touchdowns (10 INT), while Barnette has caught 51 passes for 649 yards and seven touchdowns. Rushing has snared 39 balls for 504 yards and five scores, while sophomore wide receiver Joe Joyner has posted 32 catches for 476 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Demetrius Snead has led the ground game with 34 carries for 135 yards and one touchdown. On defense, junior linebacker Mario Paylor has led the way with 49 tackles and one sack.

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 387.8 yards and 30.2 points per game. The total offense number currently bests the school record of 384.7 set in 1999, while the points average is the best since the 1961 team averaged 33.0 points per outing.

TWEARDY TALK:
Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy is having his best season as a General. He has completed 138-of-204 (.657) passes for 1,686 yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns with eight 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 continues to close in on some more records. He has 14 touchdown passes already and the season record is 16, set by Christian Batcheller '00 during the 1997 season. For his career, Tweardy has completed 417-of-694 passes for 4,423 yards and 33 touchdowns. His 33 touchdowns are tied for second all-time, while he is ranked third in completions and fourth in yards. His career completion percentage of 60.1 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 51 passes for 974 yards and a school-record nine touchdowns, and he is currently ranked among the best in Division III in each category. 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 last week. 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 162.3 receiving yards per game rank second in Division III and his 974 receiving yards for the season are just 37 yards away from breaking the W&L season record of 1,010 held by Craig Irons since 1989.Martin currently ranks second in the ODAC in receiving yards (162.3 ypg.) and receptions per game (8.50 rpg.), and is third in scoring (9.0 ppg.).

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 158 rushing yards and 275 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He has been picking up steam as of late, averaging 101.5 rushing/receiving yards and one touchdown over the past two 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 31 times for 105 yards and two 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 141.8 return yards per game and lead the ODAC in both kickoff return average (26.9 ypr.) and punt return average (13.0 ypr.). Sitterson has already returned one kickoff and one punt for a touchdown this season, while Ward returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season. On kickoffs, Sitterson averages 34.8 yards per return, while Ward averages 33.6 yards per return. 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 (33.3 ypp.), but his effectiveness through six games has played a major factor in the Generals' 5-1 start. Banks has pinned the opponent inside its 20 yardline 15 times with just one touchback.

THE END RESULT:
The end result of the previous two notes is excellent field position. Through six games, the Generals' average starting field position is on its' own 41 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-10). Long has booted five field goals the last two weeks, including a school-record tying 47-yarder against Hampden-Sydney last week. 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-37 (62.2) field goals.

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 (342.8 ypg.), second in rushing defense (110.8 ypg.) and leads the conference in passing efficiency defense (111.5 rating). Additionally, the Generals have forced a league-best 18 turnovers by their opponents.

THE INTERCEPTOR:
Sophomore cornerback Mark Snoddy has a nose for the football. He currently leads the ODAC with four interceptions and he claims seven interceptions in 16 career games.

-- GENERALS --