GAME 8
W&L (5-2, 4-0) at CATHOLIC (3-4, 1-2)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Washington, D.C. • 7:00 pm

PDF Version of Notes

GAME INFO:
DATE: October 29, 2010
TIME: 7:00 pm
STADIUM: Cardinal Stadium (3,500)
TV/INTERNET: Live @ CUA (http://live.cua.edu/)
RADIO: WLUR 91.5 FM (http://wlur.wlu.edu)
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS: W&L leads 11-3
CURRENT SERIES STREAK: W&L +1
RECORD VS. CUA AT HOME: 8-0
RECORD VS. CUA ON THE ROAD: 3-3
RECORD VS. CUA AT NEUTRAL LOCATION: 0-0
LAST MEETING: 10/10/09 at W&L (28-14 W&L)
FIRST MEETING: 11/7/81 at W&L (24-10 W&L)
LAST W&L WIN: 10/10/09 at W&L (28-14)
LAST CUA WIN: 10/11/08 at CUA (48-29)

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Catholic will be meeting for the 15th time, with the Generals holding an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series that began during the 1981 season.  The Generals have won six of the last seven encounters, including a 28-14 win last season in Lexington.  Catholic won the last meeting between the two in Washington, D.C., by a 48-29 count in 2008.  The W&L offense has experienced a tremendous amount of success against the Cardinals over the last six meetings, averaging 405.3 yards and 27.0 points per game over that stretch.  The Generals have also run the ball well against CUA, averaging 204.8 rushing yards per game over the last six contests.

HEAD COACH FRANK MIRIELLO:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his 16th season as the head coach at W&L and his 43rd year of coaching.  He has led W&L to 11 non-losing campaigns, including the 2006 season when W&L went 7-4 overall, won the ODAC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.  Miriello is the winningest coach in program history, having surpassed Gary Fallon for that honor earlier this season.  Since taking over following Fallon's death in the spring of 1995, Miriello is 80-75-1 overall.

CATHOLIC HEAD COACH MIKE CLARK:
Catholic is led by fifth-year Head Coach Dave Dunn (San Diego '89), who is 21-27 (.438) overall with the Cardinals.  He helped lead CUA to a share of the ODAC title in 2008 and a berth to the ECAC Southeast Bowl against Johns Hopkins.  It was Catholic's first postseason win in 73 years.  Dunn has also held assistant coaching stints at San Diego, Indiana State, Harvard and Florida Atlantic.  He has also been a head coach at three high schools: Masuk High School in Connecticut and Christopher Columbus and Pope John Paul High Schools in Florida.

W&L'S ALL-TIME RECORD:
Washington and Lee has played 1,009 games in the entire history of the program, compiling a 467-503-39 (.481) overall record.  Only five other schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia have played more games than W&L, which played the first intercollegiate football game in the South, an 1873 matchup with neighboring VMI.

W&L AGAINST THE OLD DOMINION ATHLETIC CONFERENCE:
Washington and Lee has posted a 78-100-1 all-time record against ODAC opponents and is 44-46 all-time against conference opponents under Frank Miriello.

W&L'S LAST OUTING:
(W&L 35, Bridgewater 34 • 10/23/10 • Bridgewater, Va.)
Washington and Lee rushed for 438 yards and five touchdowns in posting a 35-34 victory over Bridgewater at Jopson Field. The game was tied four times and the lead changed hands six times, including a 35-34 W&L lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Charlie Westfal with 8:31 remaining in the game.  The Eagles proceeded to march 49 yards on 13 plays and attempted a potential game-winning 39-yard field goal by junior Will Davis with 1:37 remaining, but the ball sailed wide left and the Generals ran out the clock for their fourth-straight win. The teams were tied at 21-21 entering the break and W&L began the second half with the ball.  However, the Generals fumbled on the third play from scrimmage and the Eagles took a 28-21 lead eight plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Darrin McKenzie.  W&L responded with an 8-play drive that covered 48 yards and was finished off with a 7-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Luke Heinsohn to make it 28-28 with 5:21 left in the third quarter. Bridgewater scored again just 3:15 later on a 12-yard run by McKenzie, but the PAT failed making it a 34-28 game with 2:06 left in the third quarter.  W&L strung together another promising drive at the start of the fourth quarter, but a fumble at the BC 24-yardline ended the scoring threat with 12:17 to play.  The Generals forced an Eagle punt with 11:13 remaining and drove 47 yards in six plays for the game-winning score. Junior running back Harrison Hudson led the Generals' ground game with a career-high 204 yards on 18 carries.  Heinsohn rushed 19 times for 99 yards and a career-best three touchdowns.  It was the first time he was held under 100 yards rushing in five games.  Westfal carried 14 times for 62 yards and a touchdown and completed 3-of-6 passes for 36 yards. Sophomore Brett Murray notched 59 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.  Defensively, sophomore linebacker Jesse Jenkins totaled a team-high 10 tackles.

W&L'S LAST MEETING WITH CATHOLIC:
(W&L 28, Catholic 14 • 10/10/09 • Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee rushed for 316 yards and four touchdowns in recording a 28-14 homecoming victory over Catholic University at Wilson Field.  Catholic jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 2:29 into the game as 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 quarterback Charlie Westfal capped a 14-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7. 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 quarterback Matt Cantafio at the 6:24 mark of the third quarter to make it a 21-14 game, but W&L 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 by carrying 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. 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 running back Mike Smith snared six balls for 25 yards. Senior linebacker Joe Mayer had a team-best 10 tackles.

SCOUTING CATHOLIC:
Catholic is 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the ODAC following a 33-31 victory over Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon in Emory, Va.  The Cardinals amassed 412 yards of total offense in the game led by first-year running back Mike Pitsenberger, who carried 23 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore quarterback Greg Cordivari completed 19-of-29 passes for 246 yards and one touchdown and rushed for seven yards and another score.  Sophomore wide receiver Alonzo Cooke led the receiving corps with five catches for 73 yards and one touchdown.  First-year linebacker Conor Stueckler and junior defensive back Cole McDonough paced the defense with eight tackles each.  For the year, Pitsenberger has gained 755 yards and has scored four touchdowns on 169 carries.  Cordivari has completed 57.3 percent of his tosses for 1,738 yards and 17 touchdowns with just six interceptions, while Cooke is the leading receiver with 40 catches for 801 yards and nine scores.  Senior linebacker Christian Pavik has a team-best 39 tackles and 1.5 sacks, while McDonough has posted 30 stops.

QB TALK:
Junior quarterback Charlie Westfal ranks fifth on the school's career total offense list with 4,195 yards and is the school's all-time leading rusher from the quarterback position with 1,310 career rushing yards (12th-best overall). For his career, Westfal has rushed for 15 touchdowns and has completed completed nearly 53 percent (247-467,. 529) of his passes for 2,885 yards and 25 touchdowns.  He currently ranks sixth all-time at W&L in career touchdown passes and is ninth in career passing yards.

A TRIBUTE TO THE GUYS IN THE TRENCHES:
The Washington and Lee offense has been vitually unstoppable on the ground this season.  The Generals are averaging 434.7 yards per game, including 358.9 yards per game on the ground (6th in Division III).  They are also averaging 34.6 points per game, including a whopping 44.3 points per game in conference games.  A major reason for this success has been the play of W&L's offensive line, which consists of senior center Greg Kurkis, junior right guard John Fitzgibbons, sophomore left guard Mike Stefanelli, first-year left tackle Connor Hollenbeck and first-year right tackle Bobby Jones.  Kurkis is the leader of the group having earned Second Team All-ODAC honors in each of his first three seasons.  As a group, they average 6-3 and 257 pounds across the front.

HUDSON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Junior running back Harrison Hudson garnered the ODAC Offensive Player of the Week award after rushing for a career-high 204 yards on just 18 carries in Saturday's 35-34 win over BC.  Hudson has rushed for a career-high 548 yards this season on just 62 carries and his 8.8 yards per carry are on pace to shatter the school record of 7.1 ypc.

MORE RUSHING SPEAK:
Sophomore running back Luke Heinsohn has been the Generals most productive rusher this season and he leads the ODAC and ranks 14th in Division III with an average of 129.4 yards per game.  Heinsohn, who averages 7.4 yards per carry, has amassed 906 yards and nine touchdowns on 123 carries.  He had a string of five-straight 100-yard rushing games ended on Saturday at Bridgewater (rushed for 99 yards and 3 TD's) and he rushed for 223 yards (4th-best in W&L history) in a game earlier this season at Guilford. The grandson of former W&L Head Coach Lee McLaughlin (1957-67), Heinsohn rushed for more than 4,700 yards and 70 touchdowns during his high school career at the Covenant School in Charlottesville.

CHATTANOOGA CHOO-CHOO:
Hudson leads W&L in yards per carry and Heinsohn leads the team in yards per game.  The team leader in touchdowns and scoring is actually sophomore running back Brett Murray.  A native of Lookout Mountain, Tenn. (a suburb of Chattanooga), Murray has rushed for 437 yards and seven touchdowns on just 57 carries (7.7 ypc).  He also has 10 catches for 116 yards and three more scores for a team-best 10 touchdowns.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
To put things into perspective, the Generals' rushing numbers are on the verge of becoming historic within the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Generals have rushed for five of the league's top eight yardage totals in a game this season (467, 463, 438, 427, 425) and they can set a new season rushing record with 228 more yards.  W&L's 28 rushing touchdowns in 2010 are also just five away from setting a new conference mark for season rushing touchdowns.

CONFERENCE DOMINATION:
The W&L offense has been downright dominating in its four conference games this season.  In those games, W&L is averaging 501.2 yards per game, including 438.2 yards per game on the ground.  The Generals are also averaging 7.0 yards per carry in conference contests and junior quarterback Charlie Westfal has completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions across the four games.

BREAK OUT THE ABACUS:
W&L has recorded four games of 40+ points this season, the first time in program history that the Generals have had four games of 40 or more points.  W&L has already bested its point production from all of last season (242 in 2010, 238 in 2009) and is just 77 points from breaking the school record for season scoring (318) set in 1950.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING:
W&L is on a four-game winning streak for the first time since the 2008 campaign.  The Generals have not won five in a row since posting six-straight wins during the ODAC Championship season in 2006.

EVERY POINT MATTERS:
Saturday's win over Bridgewater truly proved that every point matters, especially the sometimes understated point after touchdown.  It was a missed PAT by Bridgewater that proved fatal for the Eagles.  W&L junior placekicker Peter Alston has already set a W&L record by making 30 PAT's this season (30-31).  Senior Martin Prichard is 2-of-3 on the season giving the Generals a school record 32 made PAT's as a team. 

 -- GENERALS --