GAME 7: WASHINGTON AND LEE (2-4, 1-1) at HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (6-0, 3-0)

Saturday, October 17, 2009 • Hampden-Sydney, Va. • 1:00 pm

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SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Everett Stadium (1,825)
Series: H-SC Leads 34-31-2
Last Meeting: 10/18/08 at W&L (H-SC won 39-29)
First Meeting: 11/1899 (W&L won 6-5)
Last W&L Win: 10/14/06 at W&L (28-6)
Last H-SC Win: 10/18/08 at W&L (39-29)
Current Series Streak: H-SC +2
W&L vs. H-SC at W&L: 15-17-2
W&L vs. H-SC at H-SC: 11-14

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Hampden-Sydney will be meeting for the 68th time, with the Tigers holding a 34-31-2 advantage in the all-time series that began during the 1899 season.  W&L has met Hampden-Sydney more than any other opponent in its history and the two teams have played every season since 1955. H-SC has won two-straight in the series, including a 39-29 win last season 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 73-71-1 (.507) overall record and is just four wins away from overtaking Gary Fallon (1978-94) as the winningest coach in program history.  Miriello is 8-6 all-time against Hampen-Sydney.  The Tigers are led by 10th-year Head Coach Marty Favret (Catholic '84), who is 68-29 (.701) overall, 5-4 against W&L.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 460-497-39 (.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:
(W&L 28, Catholic 14; October 10, 2009 - Lexington, Va.)  
W&L rushed for 316 yards and four touchdowns in posting a 28-14 win over Catholic on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field. Catholic jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 2:29 into the game as junior running back Rich Barry ripped off a 36-yard run on the fifth play of the game and then capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run two plays later. W&L retaliated at the 6:00 mark of the first quarter when sophomore quarterback Charlie Westfal ended a 14-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7. Sophomore running back Jonathan Clemo gave W&L a 14-7 advantage at the 12:36 mark of the second quarter when he ended an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Generals marched 65 yards in eight plays to begin the third quarter scoring as sophomore running back Harrison Hudson scored on a 25-yard run for a 21-7 lead just 2:34 into the second half. Catholic responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Matt Cantafio at the 6:24 mark of the third quarter to make it a 21-14 game, but W&L first-year running back Brett Murray scored on a 34-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-3 play with 6:47 remaining to put the game away. Clemo led the Generals’ rushing attack with his second-straight 100-yard performance. He carried 23 times for 137 yards and one touchdown. Hudson rushed five times for 76 yards and one score, while Westfal rushed 15 times for 61 yards and one touchdown. Westfal also completed 5-of-9 passes for 30 yards and Murray added 44 yards and one touchdown on six carries. Sophomore linebacker Rob Look led the defense with 12 tackles, while senior linebacker Gus Cavanaugh posted 10 stops. Barry paced the Cardinals with 57 yards rushing and one touchdown on 10 carries. Cantafio completed 13-of-24 passes for 105 yards and one interception, while junior running back Mike Smith snared six balls for 25 yards. Senior linebacker Joe Mayer had a team-best 10 tackles.

LAST MEETING WITH HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
(H-SC 39, W&L 29; October 18, 2008 - Lexington, Va.)  
Hampden-Sydney outscored Washington and Lee, 18-0, in the final 18:12 of the game en route to a 39-29 victory over the Generals at Wilson Field. The Generals trailed 21-9 late in the second quarter, but three-straight touchdown passes from quarterback Charlie Westfal to wide receiver Cody Smith gave W&L a 29-21 lead with 7:21 left in the third quarter. The Tigers climbed to within 29-27 with 3:12 left in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Josh Simpson. Quarterback Corey Sedlar then found wide receiver Adam Gillette with a two-point conversion pass to knot the game at 29-29. H-SC took the lead on a 24-yard field goal by senior placekicker T.C. Stevens with 5:59 left in the game and added an insured score on a 2-yard touchdown run by Simpson with 3:10 remaining in the contest. Westfal led the W&L offense by completing 25-of-46 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He also rushed 18 times for 63 yards. Smith hauled in 11 passes for 116 yards and tied a school record with three touchdowns receptions (21 yds., 15 yds., 20 yds.). Linebacker Matt Cassilly led the W&L defense with 11 tackles and one interception. Sedlar paced the Tigers by completing 28-of-46 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Gillette caught nine passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while Simpson carried 30 times for 78 yards and three touchdowns. Linebacker Trevor Ikwild led the H-SC defense with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.

SCOUTING HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Hampden-Sydney is 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the ODAC and receiving votes in the D3Football.com Top 25 poll.  The Tigers are coming off a 23-12 win over Emory & Henry on Saturday in Emory, Va.  H-SC jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Corey Sedlar to senior wide receiver Anthony Mancini.  The Wasps climbed to within 14-10 late in the third quarter, but a Sedlar touchdown strike to sophomore running back Kirk Rohle gave the Tigers a 21-10 lead they would not relinquish.  H-SC managed just 24 yards rushing in the game, but Sedlar completed 29-of-42 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns (2 INT's).  Senior halfback Craig Warnement caught a team-best six passes for 72 yards, while senior wide-out Adam Gillette snared five passes for 74 yards.  Mancini had five catches for 55 yards and two scores and Rohle had five catches for 24 yards and one score.  He also rushed 20 times for 37 yards.  Junior linebacker Trevor Ikwild paced the Tiger defense with 11 tackles and a pair of pass breakups.  For the season, H-SC averages 475.7 yards and 37.5 points per game led by Sedlar, who has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,945 yards and 19 touchdowns (7 INT's).  Rohle has rushed 120 times for 557 yards and six touchdowns and has a team-best 30 catches for 175 yards and three scores.  Mancini has 27 catches for 340 yards and seven touchdowns, while sophomore wide receiver Sean Cavanagh has 27 catches for 441 yards and two touchdowns.  Senior linebacker Andrew Sellers has a team-high 46 tackles and four sacks, while junior defensive end Will Riggenbach leads the team with 9.5 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 4.3 yards per carry and 213.2 yards per game on the ground.  Defensively, the Generals are allowing just 78.2 yards per game and 2.3 yards per rush this season.  In Saturday's 28-14 win over Catholic, the Generals allowed an opponent to rush for 100 yards for the first time all season.  W&L surrendered 139 yards to the Cardinals in the win.

GROUND GAINERS II:
W&L racked up 316 rushing yards against Catholic marking the second time this season that W&L has amassed better than 300 yards rushing.  The Generals also went for 322 yards in a 26-20 overtime loss to Greensboro earlier this season.  Those two games represent the highest rushing totals accrued by W&L during the Frank Miriello era (1995-present).

CLEMO GARNERS HONOR:
Sophomore running back Jonathan Clemo has been named the ODAC Player of the Week following his performance in Saturday's 28-14 win over Catholic. Clemo carried the ball 23 times for a career-high 137 yards and one touchdown and caught two passes for nine yards in the win.  He is the first General to be so awarded this season and the first offensive player recognized since Stuart Sitterson '09 earned the award following his performance against Southern Virginia on September 20, 2008.

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 six games, the duo has accounted for 894 of the team's 1,821 offensive yards -- 49.1 percent of the team's offensive production.  They have also produced 11 of the team's 18 touchdowns thus far.  Clemo currently leads the team and ranks third in the ODAC in rushing yards (564), leads the team in scoring (42 pts.) and is second in receiving (9 rec., 51 yds.).  Hudson has rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns and his 7.3 yards per carry leads the team.  He is also the team's leading receiver with 13 catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns.  His four touchdowns are tied for second-most on the team.

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.  Cassilly notched seven tackles and shared a sack against Catholic on Saturday.  For the year, Cassilly has totaled 39 tackles and he is second in the ODAC with 7.0 sacks.  He also has 9.5 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 in Saturday's win over Catholic and he also leads the team in tackles this season with 47 total stops (26 solo).  He's also notched one sack, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

SPEAKING OF THE DEFENSE:
The Generals' defense has continued to improve as the season has progressed and they enter their game with Hampden-Sydney ranked second in the ODAC in total defense, allowing an average of just 304.5 yards per game.  That total is 77 yards better than the average for last season and is currently the lowest season total since allowing just 261.6 yards per game during the 2006 campaign.

CLOSING IN ON 1000:
Sophomore quarterback Charlie Westfal is closing in on the 1,000-yard plateau for career rushing yards.  Westfal currently has 843 rushing yards and 1,852 passing yards for 2,695 yards of career total offense.  Christian Batcheller '99 holds the W&L career total offense record with 6,383 yards.

-- GENERALS --