Week 6 • W&L (4-1, 2-0) at Hampden-Sydney (4-1, 2-1)
October 15, 2005 • 1:00 pm

LAST WEEK'S ODAC SCORES:
Hampden-Sydney 44, Emory & Henry 6

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Fulton Field (3,000)
Series: H-SC Leads, 32-29-2
Last Meeting: 10/16/04 at W&L (H-SC won 31-28)
First Meeting: 11/1899 at Unknown (W&L won 6-5)
Last W&L Win: 10/13/01 at H-SC (39-12)
Last H-SC Win: 10/16/04 at W&L (31-28)
Current Series Streak: H-SC +3
W&L vs. H-SC at W&L: 14-16-2
W&L vs. H-SC at H-SC: 10-13

THE SERIES:
W&L and Hampden-Sydney will be meeting for the 64th time, with the Tigers holding a 32-29-2 lead in the all-time series which began during the 1899 season. Hampden-Sydney has won each of the past three meetings, including a 31-28 win last season in Lexington. The Tigers claimed the last contest played on Fulton Field (45-17) during the 2003 season, but the Generals had won each of the previous four meetings held in Hampden-Sydney, Va. W&L and H-SC have met every season since 1955 and the Generals' 63 meetings with the Tigers are the most of any opponent.

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 51-52-1 (.495) 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. Hampden-Sydney is led by sixth-year Head Coach Marty Favret (Catholic ‘84), who is 38-17 (.691) overall. After starting his career with a 4-6 and a 5-5 season, Favret has led the Tigers to a 29-6 mark over the last four seasons.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 435-479-39 (.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 27, CUA 24; October 8, 2005 - Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee senior quarterback Greg Tweardy found sophomore wide receiver Jack Martin with a 2-yard touchdown pass with five seconds remaining to lift the Generals to a 27-24 win over Catholic on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field. The Generals tallied the game’s first score when junior placekicker Ben Long booted a 23-yard field goal with 12:28 remaining in the second quarter. However, Catholic responded with a pair of touchdowns and carried a 14-3 lead into halftime. Freshman quarterback Keith Ricca found senior wide receiver Nick Bublavi from five yards out for the first score and Ricca then hit junior wide receiver Max Perkins with a 4-yard strike with 58 seconds remaining in the half. Catholic surged to a 17-3 lead midway through the third quarter as freshman placekicker Sam Weaver connected for a 21-yard field goal, but the Generals answered with a 68-yard touchdown strike from Tweardy to Martin to cut it to a 17-10 game with 4:18 left in the third quarter. Following a Ricca fumble on the ensuing possession, freshman running back Stuart Sitterson scored on a 3-yard run to tie the game at 17-17 with 1:13 remaining in the quarter. Not to be outdone, Ricca found Bublavi for a 60-yard gain on the first play of the next possession and then hit Bublavi with a 5-yard TD pass on the next play as the Cardinals reassumed the lead at 24-17. The Generals cut their deficit to 24-20 with a 39-yard field goal by Long with 6:13 remaining in the game and the defense stopped Catholic on the next possession, setting up a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Martin’s game-winning catch. Martin hauled in nine passes for a career-high 217 yards and two touchdowns. Tweardy completed 23-of-38 passes for a career-high 395 yards and two touchdowns (3 INT’s), while Sitterson tallied 181 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. Junior wide receiver Colton Ward caught eight passes for 99 yards and senior defensive lineman Liam Murray led the defense with nine tackles and one sack.

WHEN LAST WE MET:
(HSC 31, W&L 28; October 16, 2004 - Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee wide receiver Colton Ward recorded 263 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns but it was not enough as the Generals fell to Hampden-Sydney, 31-28, at Wilson Field. W&L fought back from a 31-14 deficit late in the third quarter on a pair of Ward touchdowns, one coming on a 31-yard reception and another on a 6-yard run with 3:51 remaining in the game. W&L forced a Tiger punt on the ensuing possession and took over on the 50-yard line with 50 seconds remaining. However, quarterback Greg Tweardy was intercepted on the first play of the series thus allowing Hampden-Sydney to run out the clock for the victory. The Tigers racked up 467 yards of total offense led by quarterback J.D. Ricca, who completed 17-of-30 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Senior tailback C.W. Clemmons rushed for 118 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries, while wide receiver Brian Rolander caught five passes for 153 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown reception from Ricca. Linebacker Wes Hall paced the Tigers’ defense with five tackles. Ward led the Generals with his career day, which included an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He caught six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, rushed four times for eight yards, and totaled 143 yards on four kickoff returns, just three shy of the school record. Tweardy completed 21-of-37 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. Senior nose tackle Chris Caramore led the defense with nine tackles and 1.5 sacks.

SCOUTING HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Hampden-Sydney is 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the ODAC following a 44-6 win over Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers rolled up 610 yards of total offense behind the arm of senior quarterback J.D. Ricca, who completed 32-of-47 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns (1 INT). Sophomore wide receiver Drew Smith caught 12 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown, while senior wide receiver Brian Rolander snared eight passes for 109 yards. Senior tight end Ben Dull added three catches for 40 yards and two scores. Junior running back Charlie Omick rushed for 56 yards on 12 carries, and caught four passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. For the season, the Tigers average 562.2 yards of total offense and 44.6 points per game. Ricca has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,054 yards and 20 touchdowns (9 INT), while Smith has caught 42 passes for 721 yards and six touchdowns. Rolander has caught 22 passes for 530 yards and three touchdowns, and Dull claims 22 catches for 277 yards and five scores. Freshman Josh Simpson leads the way on the ground with 352 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries. He also has 22 catches for 214 yards and three more scores. Defensively, the Tigers allow 379.6 yards and 25.8 points per game. Senior defensive back Jeff Inman leads the way with 41 tackles and one interception.

SUCCESSFUL START:
W&L's 4-1 start this season is its best since beginning 4-1 during the 2000 season and marks just the second time since 1985 that the Generals have begun 4-1 overall. The 1985 team was W&L's last ODAC Championship squad. That team finished 7-2 overall and began the season 6-1.

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 372.2 yards and 28.6 points per game. The yardage total is the best at W&L since 1999 (384.7), while the point total is the best since the 1962 team averaged 29.7 points per game.

TWEARDY TALK:
Senior quarterback Greg Tweardy is having his best season as a General, having completed 109-of-166 (.657) passes for 1,289 yards and a career-high 12 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). 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 12 touchdown passes already and the season record is 16, set by Christian Batcheller '00 during the 1997 season. For his career, Tweardy has completed 388-of-656 passes for 4,026 yards and 31 touchdowns. His 31 touchdowns rank fourth all-time at W&L, while he is also ranked third in completions and fifth in passing yards. His career completion percentage of 59.2 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 39 passes for 755 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 last week against Catholic. 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 currently ranks second in the ODAC in receiving yards (151.0 ypg.) and scoring (10.8 ppg.), and is third in receptions per game (7.80 rpg.).

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, 108 yards against Randolph-Macon, and 148 yards against Catholic for an average of 138.2 yards per game. W&L leads the ODAC in punt return average (12.9 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 was the first by a General since the 1979 season. Sitterson is flanked on kick returns by junior Colton Ward, who is averaging 28.0 yards over four returns this season. Teams have avoided kicking to Ward after he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season. That's fine by Sitterson, who has averaged 32.7 yards over six returns.

MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Senior punter Donny Banks may rank last in the ODAC in punt average (33.8 ypp.), but his effectiveness through five games has played a major factor in the Generals' 4-1 start. Banks has pinned the opponent inside its 20 yardline 13 times with just one touchback.

EVEN MORE SPECIAL TEAMS TALK:
Junior placekicker Ben Long has been having a solid start to the 2005 season and leads the ODAC with five made field goals (5-of-7). Long booted a pair of field goals against Catholic on Saturday to move into fourth place all-time at W&L with 20 career field goals. Long's only miss against the Cardinals came from 48 yards, and he is currently tied for the longest field goal in school history with a 47-yarder against Bridgewater in 2003.

-- GENERALS --