GAME 10: WASHINGTON AND LEE (3-6, 2-3) at EMORY & HENRY (5-2, 1-3)

Saturday, November 7, 2009 • Emory, Va. • 1:00 pm

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SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Fullerton Field (5,500)
Series: E&H leads 27-11
Last Meeting: 11/8/08 at W&L (E&H won 17-14 in OT)
First Meeting: 10/8/21 at W&L (W&L won 27-0)
Last W&L Win: 11/3/07 at E&H (17-14)
Last E&H Win: 11/8/08 at W&L (17-14 in OT)
Current Series Streak: E&H +1
W&L vs. E&H at W&L: 8-13
W&L vs. E&H at E&H: 3-14

THE SERIES:
W&L and Emory & Henry will be meeting for the 39th time, with the Wasps holding a 27-11 advantage in the all-time series. W&L has won five of the last seven meetings in the series, but the Wasps claimed a 17-14 overtime win last season at Wilson Field.  Over the last four meetings, the Generals have limited the Wasps to an average of just 11.0 points per game.

THE HEAD COACHES:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his 15th season as the head coach at W&L and his 42nd year of coaching.  He claims a 74-73-1 (.503) overall record and is just three wins away from overtaking Gary Fallon (1978-94) as the winningest coach in program history.  Miriello is 5-9 all-time against Emory & Henry.  The Wasps are led by fifth-year Head Coach Don Montgomery (Mount Union '77), who is 22-26 (.458) at Emory & Henry, 1-3 against W&L.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
Last week's game was the 1,001st in the 117-year history of the Washington and Lee football program.  Only five other schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia have played more games than W&L, which has posted a 462-500-39 (.481) overall record.  The Generals have been linked to the first intercollegiate football game played in the South, an 1873 matchup with neighboring VMI, though the University officially recognized football as a varsity sport beginning in 1890.

LAST TIME OUT:
(Bridgewater 35, W&L 34 in OT; October 31, 2009 - Lexington, Va.)  
The Generals missed a potential game-winning 24-yard field goal with four seconds remaining and fell in overtime to Bridgewater by a score of 35-34 on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field. Trailing 28-20, the Eagles knotted the game with 5:33 remaining on a 73-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Hagan Driskell to junior wide receiver Tyler Beiler. Driskell then found junior wide receiver Leigh Bradley for the two-point conversion to make it 28-28. After each team exchanged turnovers around midfield, the Generals were driving in Bridgewater territory just over a minute remaining when sophomore running back Jonathan Clemo broke off a 20-yard run and intentionally slid down on the 6-yardline. The Generals ran three plays to center the ball for the field goal attempt with seven seconds remaining, but junior placekicker Martin Prichard was wide left and the game went to overtime. In the extra session, Bridgewater scored three plays in when Driskell again hooked up with Beiler, this time from 20 yards out, for the 35-28 lead. The Generals found paydirt just two plays into their possession on a 1-yard touchdown run by Clemo and then went for two points and the win. However, sophomore quarterback Charlie Westfal’s pass was knocked away in the end zone and the Eagles escaped with the win. Westfal paced the Generals’ offense by completing 10-of-16 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 16 times for 79 yards and a touchdown. Clemo carried 23 times for 93 yards and one touchdown, while sophomore running back Harrison Hudson rushed for 71 yards on eight carries. Senior wide receiver Ryan Welsh caught three passes for 55 yards and one touchdown. Senior linebacker Matt Cassilly paced the defense with six tackles, five for a loss, three sacks and a forced fumble.

LAST MEETING WITH EMORY & HENRY:
(E&H 17, W&L 14 in OT; November 8, 2008 - Lexington, Va.)  
Emory & Henry senior placekicker Luke Hawk hit a 35-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Wasps to a 17-14 win over W&L at Wilson Field. The Generals began the scoring just 2:54 into the game following an Emory & Henry fumble on its own 28 yardline. Three plays later, senior running back Stuart Sitterson scored on a 4-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead. W&L opened a 14-0 advantage with 8:43 left in the first half on another Sitterson touchdown run, this time scoring from 1-yard out to cap a 6-play drive that began on the E&H 19 yardline following a blocked punt by W&L running back Jonathan Clemo. The Wasps capitalized on the first play following a fumble by W&L quarterback Charlie Westfal as running back Caleb Jennings scored on a 25-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the first half to make the score 14-7. After a scoreless third quarter, the Wasps knotted the score at 14-14 just seven seconds into the fourth quarter as quarterback Brent McDonald found wide receiver Jonathan Hawkins on a 25-yard scoring strike. E&H had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Hawk’s 38-yard field goal attempt as time expired sailed wide. W&L received the ball first in overtime, but Westfal was intercepted in the end zone on the first play of the extra session. After three plays and seven yards gained, Hawk then kicked the game-winner for E&H. Washington and Lee was paced by Sitterson, who tallied 182 all-purpose yards.  He rushed 25 times for 70 yards and two touchdowns, had two catches for 41 yards and notched 71 return yards. Westfal rushed 13 times for 34 yards and completed 7-of-15 passes for 89 yards and one interception. Senior defensive lineman Tommy Matteo led the Generals’ defense with 10 tackles and a pair of sacks. Senior defensive back Chris Prugar had four tackles and two interceptions. The Wasps were led by Jennings, who totaled 304 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. He rushed 39 times for 203 yards and had 82 punt return yards. Hawkins added three catches for 51 yards and one touchdown, while McDonald was 9-of-25 passing for 69 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted twice. Senior defensive end Matt Baldwin led the E&H defense with 10 tackles and a forced fumble.

SCOUTING EMORY & HENRY:
Emory & Henry is 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the ODAC following a 13-10 victory over Catholic on Saturday in Washington, D.C.  The Wasps trailed 10-6 at halftime, but held the Cardinals scoreless in the second half and added a 2-yard touchdown run from junior running back Caleb Jennings early in the third quarter to eke out the win.  E&H was held to just 214 yards of total offense, including just 46 yards passing.  Jennings rushed 23 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Drew Piscopo rushed 17 times for 60 yards.  He also was 5-of-8 passing for 46 yards.  Defensively, junior linebacker C.J. Hodges led the team with 13 tackles and one pass breakup.  For the year, Jennings leads the ODAC in rushing with 944 yards and 13 touchdowns on 164 carries.  Piscopo has rushed for 245 yards and two scores on 88 carries, and has also completed 54.0 percent of his passes for 794 yards and four touchdowns (3 INT's).  Junior wide receiver Fred George had been his favorite target, hauling in 13 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown.  On defense, sophomore linebacker Shane Wicks leads the team with 82 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for a loss.  Junior linebacker Ed Smith is not far behind with 65 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR:
The Generals may be just 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the ODAC, but the record could be a bit deceiving.  W&L's six losses are by a combined 28 points for an average of 4.7 points per game.  The largest margin was an 8-point loss to Randolph-Macon that ended with three straight passes to the end zone in an attempt to get the tying score as time expired.  The Generals also had a chance for the tying score with under three minutes left at Hampden-Sydney, fell to Greensboro in overtime, were stopped on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt in the final minutes against F&M, and missed the winning field goal in the final seconds of the overtime loss last week.

OVERTIME BLUES:
Since the NCAA instituted overtime in 1996, the Generals have played in seven overtime contests, including two this year.  W&L is 1-6 in those games.  After winning their first-ever overtime affair, a 44-38 victory over Bridgewater in 1999, W&L has dropped each of the last six overtime games, including a 35-34 setback against Bridgewater on Saturday.

GROUND GAINERS:
Washington and Lee boasts the top rushing offense and rushing defense in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this season.  The Generals are averaging 4.3 yards per carry and 210.6 yards per game on the ground.  Defensively, the Generals are allowing just 90.0 yards per game and 2.7 yards per rush this season.

THE SALEM CONNECTION:
Sophomore running backs Jonathan Clemo and Harrison Hudson have both been solid in the W&L offensive backfield this season.  However, playing together in the same backfield is nothing new as they both attended Salem High School near Roanoke, Va.  Through nine games, the duo has accounted for 1,370 of the team's 2,865 offensive yards -- 47.8 percent of the team's offensive production.  They have also produced 15 of the team's 31 touchdowns thus far.  Clemo currently leads the team and ranks third in the ODAC in rushing yards (827), leads the team in scoring (60 pts.) and is fourth in receiving (10 rec., 69 yds.).  Hudson has rushed for 329 yards and two touchdowns and his 7.7 yards per carry lead the team.  He is also tied for the team-lead in receiving with 19 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns.  His five total touchdowns are tied for third-most on the team.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS:
Sophomore quarterback Charlie Westfal is already moving up several all-time statistical lists at W&L.  Westfal currently has 1,015 career rushing yards, just 95 yards from eclipsing W&L Hall of Famer Gil Bocetti '52, '54L for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in school history.  Westfal also has 2,280 career passing yards and 3,295 career total offensive yards.  He currently ranks 12th all-time at W&L in passing yards and is within 1,000 yards of cracking the Top 5 all-time in total offense.

SILLY GOOD:
Senior defensive end Matt Cassilly is continuing to have a career-best season after moving to defensive line after playing linebacker during his first three seasons.  For the year, Cassilly has totaled 55 tackles and he is second in the ODAC with 10.0 sacks.  He also has a league-leading 17.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Cassilly's 10 sacks this season are tied for second on the school's season record list, while his 15 career sacks are 11th all-time.  Against Bridgewater, Cassilly notched six tackles, including five tackles for a loss, and three sacks.

RETURN TO SENDER:
The Generals have consistently led the ODAC in kickoff return average and this season is no different, with the Generals averaging 25.5 yards per return.  That total leads the conference and ranks among the Division III leaders.  A big reason for the Generals' success has been the play of sophomore John Kavanagh, who is averaging a whopping 34.5 yards per return.  That total also ranks among the best in Division III.  Kavanagh had a 99-yard return for a touchdown against Guilford, W&L's 11th kickoff return touchdown since 2000.  He is the fifth different player to post a kickoff return TD during that stretch and his 99-yarder was the longest of any return over the past 10 seasons.  Not to be outdone, first-year Brett Murray is averaging 26.4 yards per return this season, the second-best average in the conference.  Together they have produced six returns of greater than 40 yards this year.

-- GENERALS --