GAME 2: WASHINGTON AND LEE (0-1) at SEWANEE (1-0)

Saturday, September 11, 2010 • Sewanee, Tenn. • 1:00 pm CST

PDF Version of Notes

GAME INFO:
DATE: September 11, 2010
TIME: 1:00 pm CST
STADIUM: Harris Stadium/McGee Field (3,500)
TV/INTERNET: SportsNation360 (http://www.sportsnation360.com/schools/Sewanee-University-of-the-South)
RADIO: WLUR 91.5 FM (http://wlur.wlu.edu)
LAST MEETING: 9/12/09 at W&L (31-13 W&L)
FIRST MEETING: 1892 at W&L (22-16 UOS)
LAST W&L WIN: 9/12/09 at W&L (31-13)
LAST UOS WIN: 9/20/03 at UOS (37-13)
CURRENT SERIES STREAK: W&L +5
RECORD VS. UOS AT HOME: 25-5
RECORD VS. UOS ON THE ROAD: 11-17

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Sewanee will be meeting for the 59th time, with the Generals holding a 36-22 advantage in the all-time series.  W&L has won five-straight in the series, including a 31-13 victory last season at Wilson Field.  The series has twice seen a five-game winning streak for one of the teams, as W&L also carried a five-game streak between 1998-2002.  In fact, if not for a 37-13 Tigers’ win in 2003, W&L would be carrying an 11-game winning streak into this week’s battle. To take things a step further, W&L is 13-2 in the last 15 games between the two teams.  The home team has enjoyed tremendous success in the history of the series, but despite the Tigers holding a 17-11 advantage against the Generals at McGee Field, W&L has won five of the last seven games played between the two teams on the mountain in Sewanee, Tenn.

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 10 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 currently just one win away from tying his mentor, Gary Fallon (1978-94), as the winningest coach in program history.  Since taking over following Fallon’s death in the spring of 1995, Miriello is 75-74-1 (.503) overall.  Fallon was enshrined in the W&L Athletic Hall of Fame after notching a 76-85-1 (.472) record over 17 seasons.

SEWANEE HEAD COACH ROBERT BLACK:
Sewanee is led by fourth-year Head Coach Robert Black (Sewanee ‘89), who has posted a 4-25 (.138) record with the Tigers.  Black was the 1989 Sewanee Athlete of the Year as a member of the football and baseball teams and he served as Sewanee’s head baseball coach and as assistant football coach from 1990-96.

W&L’S ALL-TIME RECORD:
Washington and Lee has played 1,003 games in the entire history of the program, compiling a 462-502-39 (.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’S LAST OUTING:
(Franklin & Marshall 35, W&L 7 • 9/4/10 • Lancaster, Pa.)
Franklin & Marshall racked up 406 yards of total offense and forced four W&L turnovers in posting a 35-7 victory over the Generals at Sponaugle-Williamson Field. The Diplomats opened the scoring just 4:16 into the game when junior running back John Kaschak capped a 7-play, 79-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.  A kickoff and two plays later, W&L junior quarterback Charlie Westfal fumbled in the Generals’ backfield and F&M senior linebacker Shane Gray scooped up the ball and scampered 25 yards to give the Diplomats a 14-0 lead just 4:59 into the contest. F&M added a 28-yard field goal by first-year kicker Chris Bennett with 45 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to push its lead to 17-0.  The Diplomats then tallied two more touchdowns in the second quarter, including an 18-yard strike from junior quarterback John Harrison to senior wide-out Jay Ridinger with nine seconds remaining in the first half, for a 29-0 lead at the break. W&L dented the scoreboard with 10:29 remaining in the game, when junior running back Harrison Hudson ended an 8-play, 63-yard scoring drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 35-7. The Generals managed just 207 yards of total offense led by Hudson, who rushed seven times for 31 yards and one touchdown and caught one pass for 27 yards.  Westfal finished 3-of-10 passing for 58 yards with one interception and rushed nine times for 23 yards.  Sophomore linebacker Jesse Jenkins led the W&L defense with nine tackles.  Sophomore defensive back Jake Pelton and sophomore linebacker Doug Fraser each notched eight tackles.

W&L’S LAST MEETING WITH SEWANEE:
(W&L 31, Sewanee 13 • 9/12/09 • Lexington, Va.)
Washington and Lee scored 31 first-half points to post a 31-13 victory over Sewanee at Wilson Field. W&L running back Brett Murray returned the opening kickoff 61 yards and running back Jonathan Clemo gave the Generals a 7-0 lead seven plays later when he scored on a 2-yard touchdown run just 3:09 into the game. After a fumble recovery by W&L senior defensive end Matt Cassilly, Clemo scored his second touchdown with a 20-yard run on the next play for a 14-0 lead with 1:56 left in the opening quarter. The Tigers got on the board with a 13-yard scoring strike from quarterback Patrick Shelton to senior tight end Roscoe Dean with 14:11 left in the second quarter to make the score 14-7 in favor of W&L.  Cassilly gave the Generals a 21-7 lead at the 13:04 mark of the second quarter when he picked off a pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Westfal stretched it to a 28-7 lead when he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with just 32 seconds left in the half and W&L made it a 31-7 game at the break following a 26-yard field goal from placekicker Martin Prichard.  Neither team could find paydirt in the second half until quarterback Robert Ratliff found wide receiver Chalankis Brown with a 28-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring. Westfal led the W&L offense by rushing 17 times for 69 yards and one touchdown and completing 8-of-15 passes for 74 yards and one interception.  Clemo rushed 13 times for 52 yards and two touchdowns and Murray carried five times for 36 yards.  He also totaled 169 return yards for 205 all-purpose yards on the day.  Defensively, Cassilly notched four tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and picked off two passes. Ratliff completed 12-of-22 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown with one pick, while running back Michael Poarch toted the ball 24 times for 62 yards.  Brown snared four passes for 62 yards and one touchdown and linebacker Alfonza Knight led the defense with 11 tackles, one interception and one sack.

SCOUTING SEWANEE:
The Tigers snapped a 17-game losing streak with a 33-14 win at Earlham College on Saturday afternoon in Richmond, Ind.  Sewanee’s offense rolled up 420 offensive yards and used 24-straight points scored during the second and third quarters to pull out to their first win since the second week of the 2008 season against Colorado College.  The Tigers rushed for 277 yards in the game buoyed by first-year Chad Morehead, who carried twice for 80 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the game.  Junior running back Zeke Wilson rushed 15 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns, while first-year quarterback Lee Schurlknight rushed 22 times for 46 yards and completed 8-of-12 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown.  His favorite target was senior wide receiver Chalankis Brown, who snared three balls for 72 yards and a 30-yard touchdown reception.  Junior defensive back Alfonza Knight led a defense that allowed Earlham just 249 yards of total offense by totaling 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.  First-year linebacker Curtis Tucker chipped in seven tackles and a pair of sacks.
 
SPYING THE QUARTERBACK:
Junior quarterback Charlie Westfal is etching his name in the W&L record books despite only having played in 20 games to date.  The 2008 ODAC Rookie of the Year, Westfal has rushed for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns over his first two seasons and can become the school’s all-time leading rusher from the quarterback position with 71 more yards.  Former legend Gil Bocetti currently holds the record with 1,109 yards.  Westfal has also completed just over 50 percent of his passes for 2,466 yards and 19 touchdowns over his first two seasons and change.

BRAINS AND BRAWN:
Senior Greg Kurkis returns for his final season with the Generals’ offensive line as the team’s most accomplished player.  The quintessential student-athlete, Kurkis is a team captain and three-year starter, who has maintained one of the top grade-point averages in his class while majoring in biochemistry.  The 2007 ODAC Rookie of the Year, Kurkis received the ODAC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award last season.  He has received Second Team All-ODAC honors all three seasons to date and he was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-America squad last fall.

ON THE REBOUND:
Though Saturday’s loss extended W&L’s losing streak in season-opening round games, the Generals do have a history of rebounding.  Since 2000, W&L is 9-1 in the second game of the season, outscoring its opposition 235-139 in those contests.  The Generals have won six-straight in the second game and have allowed an average of just 10.0 points per contest across those games played against Sewanee, Averett and Guilford.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING:
Several Generals recorded firsts during Saturday’s loss at Franklin & Marshall.  On offense, sophomore quarterback Russell Stewart recorded the first statistics of his career, rushing six times for 25 yards and completing 3-of-7 passes for 35 yards.  First-year quarterback Nick Lombardo also saw his first action, rushing twice for one yard.  Additionally, first-year tight end Alex Evans recorded his first career catch, snaring two passes for 24 yards.  Defensively, junior defensive back Jon Kavanagh tallied his first career interception, while junior defensive lineman William Patton notched the first sack of his career.  Sophomore linebacker Doug Fraser also recorded the first fumble recovery of his career.

IT’S ALL A NUMBERS GAME:
Since Frank Miriello took over as head coach in 1995, the Generals are 64-28 (.696) when scoring 20 or more points and 52-8-1 (.861) when allowing fewer than 20 points. Furthermore, W&L is 28-3 (.903) under Miriello when scoring 30 or more points and 23-1-1 (.940) when allowing fewer than 10 points.  The flip side is that the Generals are just 2-20-1 (.109) when scoring less than 10 points and 3-39 (.071) when allowing 30 or more points.  So, the object is to keep the opponents to less than 10 points or to score more than 30 points.  If either happens, the W&L should win 92 percent of the time.

-- GENERALS --