GAME 8: WASHINGTON AND LEE (2-5, 1-2) at GUILFORD (1-5, 0-2)

Saturday, October 24, 2009 • Greensboro, N.C. • 1:00 pm

PDF Version of Notes

SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Armfield Athletic Center (2,200)
Series: Series tied 11-11
Last Meeting: 10/25/08 at W&L (GC won 34-27)
First Meeting: 10/16/1965 (W&L won 26-20)
Last W&L Win: 10/20/07 at GC (24-13)
Last GC Win: 10/25/08 at W&L (34-27)
Current Series Streak: GC +1
W&L vs. GC at W&L: 6-6
W&L vs. GC at GC: 5-5

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Guilford will be meeting for the 23rd time, with the all-time series knotted at 11 games apiece.  The Generals have won two of the last three encounters, but the Quakers won last season's meeting by a score of 34-27 at Wilson Field.

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 73-72-1 (.503) overall record and is just four wins away from overtaking Gary Fallon (1978-94) as the winningest coach in program history.  Miriello is 7-7 all-time against Guilford.  The Quakers are led by fourth-year Head Coach Kevin Kiesel (Gettysburg '81), who is 16-20 (.444) overall and 1-2 against W&L.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 460-498-39 (.481) all-time record over 116 seasons of football.  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:
(H-SC 38, W&L 31; October 17, 2009 - Hampden-Sydney, Va.)  
Washington and Lee recovered from a 28-3 deficit late in the second quarter, but 21st-ranked Hampden-Sydney held off the Generals for a 38-31 win on Saturday afternoon at Everett Stadium. The Generals assumed a 3-0 lead at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter as junior placekicker Martin Prichard capped a 12-play, 69-yard game-opening drive with a 26-yard field goal. However, the Tigers responded with four-straight touchdown drives, including a pair of touchdown runs by halfback Kirk Rohle, for a 28-3 lead with 4:52 left in the first half. W&L ended the first half scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Jonathan Clemo with 1:28 remaining in the second quarter. The Generals then opened the third quarter with a 5-play, 65-yard drive that sliced it to a 28-17 game on a 33-yard touchdown strike from sophomore quarterback Charlie Westfal to senior wide receiver Ryan Welsh at the 10:27 mark. Westfal and Welsh hooked up again just 5:26 later for a 15-yard touchdown to make it a 28-24 game at 5:01 of the third. W&L then took an intentional safety to make the score 30-24 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter and Rohle scored his third touchdown of the day on the ensuing possession at 11:36 of the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. The Generals climbed to within 38-31 on a 7-yard touchdown reception by Welsh, his third of the day, but could get no closer. The Generals got the ball back and drove to the H-SC 27-yardline with just under three minutes remaining, but were stopped on four-straight plays and the Tigers ran out the clock for their third-straight win in the series. Welsh led W&L with nine catches for 156 yards and a school-record-tying three touchdowns. Westfal completed 13-of-26 passes for 206 yards and three scores (1 INT), and he also rushed 17 times for 66 yards. Clemo toted the ball 23 times for 88 yards and one touchdown. Senior defensive back Donavon Sawyer led the defense with seven tackles and a pair of interceptions. Rohle carried 25 times for 86 yards and three touchdowns for H-SC, while quarterback Corey Sedlar completed 18-of-36 attempts for 298 yards and two touchdowns (3 INT’s). Wide receiver Anthony Mancini snared four passes for 83 yards and one touchdown and linebacker Andrew Sellers and defensive lineman Will Riggenbach paced the defense with eight tackles and one sack apiece.

LAST MEETING WITH GUILFORD:
(GC 34, W&L 27; October 25, 2008 - Lexington, Va.)  
Senior running back Stuart Sitterson tallied 323 all-purpose yards and one touchdown, but it was not enough as the Generals dropped a 34-27 decision to Guilford at Wilson Field. The Generals pulled even with the Quakers (27-27) at the 11:41 mark of the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal by placekicker Martin Prichard. However, Guilford took the lead back with 9:06 remaining as running back Justin Parker scored on a 7-yard touchdown run for a 34-27 lead. Washington and Lee drove to the Guilford 4-yardline with 5:16 left in the game, but quarterback Charlie Westfal was stopped short on a 4th-and-1 play and the Quakers ran out the final minutes to preserve the win. Guilford jumped out to a 14-7 advantage early on after a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Josh Vogelbach to senior wide receiver Kevin Vaughn. However, the Generals tied the score at 14-14 on a 22-yard strike from Westfal to wide receiver Cody Smith and took the lead on a 25-yard Prichard field goal that followed a Vogelbach interception with 25 seconds left. Guilford then closed the first half scoring with a 39-yard field goal by placekicker Hunter Chappell as time expired to knot the score at 17-17 entering the break. The Quakers took a 24-17 lead on a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Kenneth Hyman, but Sitterson again tied the score (24-24) on a 48-yard touchdown run with 5:18 left in the third quarter. Sitterson rushed 13 times for 91 yards and one touchdown, caught five passes for 53 yards and totaled 179 yards on kickoff returns. Westfal completed 14-of-20 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while senior defensive lineman Scott Russell and defensive back Frank Dale led the defense with 12 tackles apiece. Vogelbach paced the Guilford offense by competing 29-of-51 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Wide receiver Chad Kastor snared 11 passes for 107 yards and Vaughn caught nine passes for 120 yards and two scores. Parker carried 18 times for 98 yards and one touchdown. Linebacker Richie Paul led the Guilford defense with nine tackles and a shared sack.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR:
The Generals may be just 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the ODAC, but the record could be a bit deceiving.  W&L's five losses are by a combined 27 points for an average of 5.4 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 on Saturday, fell to Greensboro in overtime and were stopped on what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion attempt in the final minutes against F&M.

SCOUTING GUILFORD:
Guilford dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference following a 40-9 loss at Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon.  The Quakers trailed just 20-9 midway through the second quarter but a pair of touchdowns by the Eagles before halftime and another late in the third quarter provided the final margin.  Junior quarterback Billy Watkins paced the GC offense by going 17-of-30 for 184 yards, with six passes going to senior wide receiver Jon McKinney, who gained 74 yards.  First-year running back Earl Womble led the Quakers on the ground with 38 yards on nine carries, while senior linebacker Richie Paul notched a team-high 11 tackles and a half sack for the defense.  For the year, Watkins has completed 69-of-133 passes for 761 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions.  He has also rushed 62 times for 138 yards and four scores.  First-year running back Mike Williams leads the team in rushing with 339 yards and two touchdowns on 58 carries, while junior Justin Parker has carried 74 times for 261 yards and two touchdowns.  Parker is also Watkins' favorite target with 25 catches for 223 yards and two scores.  McKinney has snared 17 passes for 193 yards and Paul leads the defense with 73 tackles and two sacks.

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 4.1 yards per carry and 201.4 yards per game on the ground.  Defensively, the Generals are allowing just 79.7 yards per game and 2.4 yards per rush this season.  In seven games this season, W&L has allowed just one team (Catholic) to rush for more than 100 yards.

THE SALEM CONNECTION:
Clemo and sophomore running back 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 seven games, the duo has accounted for 999 of the team's 2,158 offensive yards -- 46.3 percent of the team's offensive production.  They have also produced 12 of the team's 22 touchdowns thus far.  Clemo currently leads the team and ranks third in the ODAC in rushing yards (564), leads the team in scoring (48 pts.) and is third in receiving (10 rec., 69 yds.).  Hudson has rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns and his 6.6 yards per carry lead the team.  He is also the team's second-leading receiver with 14 catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns.  His four touchdowns are tied for second-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 909 career rushing yards, just 201 yards from eclipsing Hall of Famer Gil Bocetti '52, '54L for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in school history.  Westfal also has 2,058 career passing yards and 2,967 career total offensive yards -- both of which are close to breaking into the Top 15 all-time at W&L.

CAREER DAY:
Senior wide receiver Ryan Welsh had a career day on Saturday against Hampden-Sydney, catching nine passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns.  All totals were career-highs and, entering the game, Welsh had totaled six catches for 57 yards and one touchdown on the season.

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 43 tackles and he is second in the ODAC with 7.0 sacks.  He also has 11.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. With one more sack, Cassilly can climb into a tie for seventh on the school's single season sack list. Robert Hull '96 holds the record with 14 sacks during the 1995 season.  Cassilly is also currently tied for 11th all-time at W&L with 12 career sacks.

DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT..:
Sophomore linebacker Rob Look has quietly put together a pretty good season.  Look notched a career-high 12 tackles two weeks ago against Catholic and he also leads the team in tackles this season with 52 total stops (30 solo).  He's also notched two sacks, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

-- GENERALS --