GAME 5:
W&L (3-1, 1-0) vs. EMORY & HENRY (3-1, 0-1)
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Lexington, Va. • 1:30 pm

PDF Version of Notes
 

GAME INFO:
DATE: October 6, 2012
TIME: 1:30 pm
STADIUM: Wilson Field (4,000)
TV/INTERNET: First Team Broadcasting (http://www.firstteambroadcasting.com/organizations/washington-lee-university/)
RADIO: WLUR 91.5 (http://www.wlu.edu/x37490.xml)
SERIES RECORD: E&H Leads  28-13
CURRENT SERIES STREAK: W&L +2
RECORD VS. E&H AT E&H: 4-15
RECORD VS. E&H AT W&L: 9-13
LAST MEETING: 10/8/11 at E&H (17-14 W&L)
FIRST MEETING: 10/8/21 at W&L (27-0 W&L)
LAST E&H WIN: 11/7/09 at E&H (23-16)

BREAKING DOWN THE 2012 SCHEDULE:

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Emory & Henry will be meeting for the 42nd time, with the Wasps holding a 28-13 advantage in the all-time series that began during the 1921 season.  E&H won 19-straight meetings between 1983-2001, but the Generals have recovered to win six of the last eight encounters, including each of the last two.  Last season, W&L claimed a 17-14 win in Emory on a 40-yard field goal as time expired.  Aside from a 45-point explosion in 2010, the Wasps have held the Generals’ offense in check as W&L has averaged just 16.0 points per game in the other four contests over the last five years.

HEAD COACH SCOTT ABELL:
Scott Abell (Longwood ‘92) is in his first season as the Generals’ head coach, having replaced Frank Miriello, who retired after 17 seasons.  Abell had served as W&L’s offensive coordinator for the past four seasons, setting records for total offense and scoring each of the past two seasons.  As head coach, Abell is 3-1 overall.

EMORY & HENRY HEAD COACH DON MONTGOMERY:
Emory & Henry is led by eighth-year Head Coach Don Montgomery (Mount Union ‘77), who is 36-37 (.493) with the Wasps.  Prior to joining E&H, Montgomery was the defensive coordinator at Mount Union, helping guide the Purple Raiders to seven national championships and 104-straight regular season wins. As defensive coordinator, his teams led the nation in scoring defense and total defense numerous times.  In 1999, he was named the AFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year.

W&L’S ALL-TIME RECORD:
Washington and Lee has played 1,027 games in the entire history of the program, compiling a 481-507-39 (.487) 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.

HOME SWEET HOME:
After playing three of its first four games on the round and traveling a combined 1,785 miles roundtrip in the process, the Generals return home for four of the last six contests, including each of the next two weeks.  W&L is 10-1 at home over the last three seasons and the Generals will travel just 494 miles roundtrip for the remainder of the regular season.

LAST TIME OUT:
(W&L 42, Guilford 21 • 9/29/12 • Greensboro, N.C.)
Senior running back Luke Heinsohn rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns and became the school’s all-time scoring leader as Washington and Lee produced a 42-21 victory over Guilford on Saturday evening at the Armfield Athletic Center.  Neither team found the end zone in the opening quarter, but the Generals scored three times in the second period for a 21-0 lead at the break.  Junior quarterback Nick Lombardo capped a 16-play, 89-yard drive when he scored from 1-yard out to give W&L a 7-0 lead at the 13:43 mark.  Senior running back Sasha Vandalov made it 14-0 when he scored on a 4-yard run at 8:44 and Heinsohn scored from 13-yards out with 3:43 left for a 21-0 lead at halftime. W&L stopped Guilford on a 4th-and-1 on its own 37-yardline on the opening possession of the third quarter and Heinsohn increased the W&L lead to 28-0 just 2:13 into the period when he scored on a 13-yard scamper.  Heinsohn ended a 12-play, 65-yard drive with 0:36 left in the third quarter when he found paydirt from 1-yard out for a 35-0 lead. Guilford scored its first points against W&L in over seven quarters (W&L won 63-0 in 2011) when sophomore running back Josh Williams scored from 1-yard out with 10:12 left in the game.  Junior quarterback Luke Terna scored on a 45-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-2 with 6:35 left to make it 42-7. The Quakers tacked on a pair of late touchdowns, including one with two seconds remaining for the final margin. Washington and Lee racked up 505 yards of total offense and held the ball for 35:51 of the game’s 60 minutes.  The Generals gained 426 yards on the ground led by Heinsohn’s effort.  Senior running back Brett Murray rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries, while Terna gained 70 yards and one touchdown on four carries.  Lombardo completed 4-of-6 passes for 79 yards and rushed 16 times for 31 yards and one score.  Senior safety Jake Pelton led the defense with eight tackles.  Senior safety Russell Stewart added four tackles and an interception.

W&L’S LAST MEETING WITH EMORY & HENRY:
(W&L 17, E&H 14 • 10/8/11 • Emory, Va.)
Senior placekicker Peter Alston booted a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift W&L to a 17-14 win over Emory & Henry at Fred Selfe Stadium. The Generals took a 14-7 lead with 10:36 left in the game when senior quarterback Charlie Westfal hooked up with running back Russell Stewart for a 55-yard touchdown.  However, the Wasps responded with a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Boden to senior wide receiver Adrian Jordan with 5:48 left to tie the game at 14-14.  Stewart fumbled the ensuing kickoff on the W&L 27-yardline, but the Generals forced a fumble by Boden just two plays later and safety Mitchell Thompson recovered on the W&L 21-yardline with 4:47 remaining.  W&L proceeded to march 56 yards over 12 plays, setting up Alston’s game-winning attempt with four seconds remaining. The Generals carried a 7-0 lead into the halftime break following a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Brett Murray with 12:08 left in the second quarter.  The Wasps tied it with a 2-yard touchdown run by running back William Pearl with 12:26 left in the game, setting up the late game flurry. Washington and Lee, which had an average starting field position of the 15-yardline, gained 506 yards led by Westfal, who completed 13-of-18 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown.  Westfal also gained 121 yards on the ground, carrying 20 times.  Senior running back Luke Heinsohn rushed 18 times for 77 yards and Murray carried 13 times for 61 yards and one touchdown.  He also snared five passes for 40 yards.  Stewart had two catches for 58 yards and one touchdown, while tight end Alex Evans caught three balls for 69 yards.  Senior linebacker Rob Look and safety Jake Pelton paced the defense with 11 tackles each.  E&H gained 470 offensive yards led by Boden, who completed 18-of-28 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown (1 INT).  Jordan caught five passes for 160 yards and one touchdown, and Pearl rushed 13 times for 108 yards and one score. Defensive back Tyler Houk led the Emory & Henry defense with a game-high 15 tackles and one interception.

SCOUTING EMORY & HENRY:
Emory & Henry is 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the ODAC following a 22-10 setback against Randolph-Macon at home on Saturday.  The Wasps moved the ball well, totaling 366 total yards, but could not cross the goal line until just 5:12 remained in the game.  Junior quarterback Kyle Boden led the offense by completing 31-of-55 passes for 359 yards and one touchdown with one interception.  He spread the ball to nine different receivers paced by senior wide receiver Corey Ware, who snared six passes for 65 yards.  First-year wide-out Deion George recorded five catches for 63 yards and sophomore running back Kasey Jones rushed nine times for 29 yards as E&H gained just seven yards on the ground.  Senior linebacker Devan Sproles notched a team-best 11 tackles.  For the year, E&H averages 384.5 yards per game, including 300.2 yards per game through the air.  Boden has completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns with just four interceptions.  Junior wide receiver Chad Williams is his favorite target, hauling in 26 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Lucas Kirby has 15 catches for 161 yards, and senior wide receiver Davon Ross has 14 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown.  On the ground, the Wasps are led by sophomore running back Joe Vaughn, who has gained 187 yards on 47 carries.  Jones has added 169 yards and four touchdowns on 50 carries.  Defensively, E&H allows just 310.8 yards per game and is led by Sproles, who is a preseason First Team All-America selection.  He has recorded 32 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for a loss.  The Wasps have 11 sacks through four games led by junior nose tackle Cole Beyeler’s 2.5 sacks.

THE MAGIC NUMBER:
Prior to the 2010 season, you could count the number of 400-yard rushing performances during the ODAC’s history on one hand.  While this number continues to be a lofty goal, the Generals have begun to set it as the magic number.  W&L has managed 400 rushing yards in a game 11 times over its last three seasons (25 games).  In those games, the Generals are 11-0, scoring an average of 48.1 points per game with an average margin of victory of 24.1 points per game.  To contrast this point, when W&L fails to rush for 400 yards during the same span, it is just 8-6 with an average of 27.1 points per game and a scoring margin of just +3.1 points per game.

CHASING NUMBER 7:
The Generals will be chasing their seventh winning season in the last nine years during the 2012 season.  Since going 3-7 in 2003, W&L has produced a 52-33 (.612) overall record and a 32-17 (.653) mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  Those numbers improve to 19-6 (.760) overall and 12-1 (.923) in the ODAC over the last three years.
 

COOL HAND LUKE:
Senior running back Luke Heinsohn was named the ODAC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Guilford last week when he rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.  He also booted six PATs to finish with 24 points and break the W&L career scoring record that had been held by Marc Watson since 2001.  He also broke Watson’s record for career rushing touchdowns and pulled to within one touchdown of Watson’s career TD record.  Heinsohn, who is tied for the top scoring average in Division III (18.0 ppg), now has 35 touchdowns (all rushing) and 228 career points.  He is averaging 121.5 yards per game on the ground (25th in DIII) this season and his 2,750 career rushing yards are just 391 shy of Chris Sullivan’s ‘02 school record.

EAT, DRINK AND BE MURRAY:
Senior slotback Brett Murray is also having a fantastic senior season, totaling 387 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries (7.0 avg.).  He also leads the ODAC with an average of 133.5 all-purpose yards per game.  Like Heinsohn, Murray is also moving up several career lists at W&L.  He is fourth all-time in all-purpose yards (4,277), and eighth all-time in rushing (2,195), and scoring (174).  A tremendous student, Murray was named the 2011 ODAC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a Capital One Second Team Academic All-America selection.

FROM THE “OH THAT’S INTERESTING” FILES:
Junior tight end Alex Evans is tied for sixth all-time at W&L with 11 career receiving touchdowns.  Evans has notched just 40 catches (720 yds.) over his career, meaning that nearly 28 percent of his catches go for scores.

JACK OF ALL TRADES:
When perusing the stats from the Guilford game on Saturday you may have noticed that senior Russell Stewart recorded his first career interception in the game.  Nothing out of the ordinary unless you consider that Stewart was a starting slotback for the Generals last season, totaling 511 yards rushing and receiving and scoring five touchdowns.  His role this season is as W&L’s starting free safety.  The two years prior, Stewart was the team’s backup quarterback.  As a sophomore, Stewart rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown and completed 4-of-12 passes for 36 yards.  Against E&H last season, Stewart totaled 65 yards and scored on a 55-yard touchdown reception.

USING THE BELL CURVE:
You may remember the Bell Curve as a grading function but the Generals’ football team is using it with regard to their season scoring.  W&L is outscoring its opponents just 63-57 in the first and third periods, but holds a 69-21 advantage over the second and third periods.  The Generals have scored a high of 49 points in the second quarter and have allowed a low of seven points in the third quarter.

STICKING WITH THE SCORING THEME:
W&L’s defense is allowing an average of just 19.5 points per game, a total which ranks third in the conference.  Last season, the Generals allowed an average of 38.9 points per contest, a total which ranked among the worst in the ODAC.  As for yards per game, W&L ranks fifth overall with an average of 361.5 yards allowed per game.  Last year, that total was 387.9, also fifth in the league.  So what provides the big difference in scoring?  Perhaps it is a bend but don’t break mentality that the Generals have executed much better this season.

-- GENERALS --