Washington and Lee University
SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Day Field (5,000)
Series: R-MC Leads 26-25-3
Last Meeting: 9/30/06 at W&L (W&L won 33-10)
First Meeting: 10/17/1903 at R-MC (W&L won 39-0)
Last W&L Win: 9/30/06 at W&L (33-10)
Last R-MC Win: 10/4/03 at R-MC (15-9 in OT)
Current Series Streak: W&L +3
W&L vs. R-MC at W&L: 15-11-3
W&L vs. R-MC at R-MC: 9-15-0
THE SERIES:
W&L and Randolph-Macon will be meeting for the 55th time, with the Yellow Jackets holding a 26-25-3 edge in the all-time series. The Generals have won each of the last three encounters, including a 33-10 victory last season in Lexington, Va. However, W&L is just 9-16 all-time against the Yellow Jackets in Ashland, Va., and has won just once in the last eight meetings at RMC's Day Field. That one victory was a 44-7 win in the Generals' last trip to Randolph-Macon in 2005.
THE HEAD COACHES:
Frank Miriello (East Stroudsburg '67) is in his 13th season as the head coach at W&L and his 40th year of coaching. He claims a 63-58-1 (.521) overall record and ranks second all-time at W&L in career victories, just 14 wins shy of tying Gary Fallon (1978-94) for the top spot. The Yellow Jackets are led by fourth-year Head Coach Pedro Arruza (Wheaton '95), who carries a 10-24 (.294) record into this week's contest against W&L. Miriello is 5-7 all-time against Randolph-Macon, while Arruza is 0-3 all-time against the Generals.
ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 450-484-39 (.483) all-time record over 114 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 35, Averett 21; September 22, 2007 - Salem, Va.)
The Washington and Lee football team improved to 2-0 with a 35-21 victory over Averett University on Saturday evening at Salem Stadium. The Generals jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 1:00 into the game as senior wide receiver Jack Martin hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback R.J. Varner. Averett evened the score at 7-7 just 5:50 later as junior defensive back John Garcia picked off a Varner pass and rumbled 26-yards to paydirt. A pair of second quarter touchdown runs (5 yds. and 2 yds.) by junior tailback Tom Pacicco and a missed PAT gave the Generals a 20-7 lead with 6:38 left in the first half. However, the Cougars retaliated on a 4-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Shan Fairbanks to junior tight end Nathan Woodruff with 27 seconds left to make it a 20-14 game at the break. Averett took a 21-20 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Brian Daniels with 4:37 remaining in the third period, but the Generals re-took the lead just 2:06 later on a 5-yard touchdown run by junior wide receiver Stuart Sitterson. The ensuing 2-point conversion pass from Varner to Sitterson was good, giving the Generals a 28-21 lead. Martin then added an insurance score when he hauled in a 41-yard touchdown strike from Varner with 12:34 left in the game. Martin caught six passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and set a new W&L record for career receiving yards (2,403), breaking the former mark of 2,312 held by J.T. Malatesta ’99. Pacicco rushed 27 times for a career-high 176 yards and two touchdowns, while Sitterson tallied 218 all-purpose and one score. Varner completed 11-of-23 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The W&L defense was paced by senior safety Kyle Luby, who tallied 14 stops.
LAST MEETING WITH RANDOLPH-MACON:
(W&L 33, R-MC 10; September 30, 2006 - Lexington, Va.)
Senior placekicker Ben Long booted three field goals and the W&L defense limited Randolph-Macon to just 178 yards of total offense as the Generals downed the Yellow Jackets, 33-10, at Wilson Field. Randolph-Macon struck first as senior placekicker Reggie Moore capped a 14-play, 61-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal with 4:40 left in the first quarter. W&L got on the board with 13:31 left in the second quarter as senior quarterback Hunter Dawkins scored on a 5-yard touchdown run for a 7-3 lead. The Generals added to the lead on the ensuing kickoff as R-MC senior wide receiver Khalil Shareef stepped out of the end zone then kneeled back in the end zone for a safety. The Generals capped the first half scoring with just 19 seconds remaining as Long kicked his first field goal of the day, a 39-yarder that gave W&L a 12-3 lead at the break. Following a dropped punt snap and subsequent tackle at the W&L 6-yardline, Randolph-Macon sliced the W&L advantage to 12-10 with 7:00 left in the third quarter as junior quarterback Tyler Ball scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. However, W&L added to its lead on another 39-yard field goal by Long with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter and extended its advantage on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback R.J. Varner to senior wide receiver D.J. Hackett with 27 seconds left in the quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion pass from Varner to running back Stuart Sitterson was good, giving W&L a 23-10 lead. Long booted a 30-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter for a 26-10 lead and cornerback Jimmy Gift returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown with 2:33 left in the game to produce the final margin. Sitterson led the Generals' offense with 14 carries for 65 yards and two catches for 48 yards. Senior wide receiver Colton Ward rushed nine times for 48 yards and caught five balls for 37 yards. Dawkins completed 6-of-12 passes for 93 yards, while Varner completed 7-of-11 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Chris Joseph and linebacker Bryant Fulk led the defense with nine tackles each. Fulk added a sack and Gift totaled seven stops to go along with his fumble recovery for a touchdown. Randolph-Macon was paced by running back Zak Thornton, who carried 20 times for 70 yards. Ball was 13-of-26 passing for 115 yards, while Shareef snared six passes for 59 yards. Cornerback Elk Johnson led the R-MC defense with six tackles and a pass breakup.
PUNDITS AND POLLS:
The preseason pundits have had a favorable opinion of Washington and Lee following the Generals' first conference title since 1985. W&L appeared in the Street & Smith's Preseason Division III poll at No. 25, the program's first-ever preseason ranking. The Generals are also picked to finish second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coaches Poll, just behind Bridgewater College. W&L went 5-1 in the ODAC last season, with the lone loss occurring at Bridgewater (27-8).
SCOUTING RANDOLPH-MACON:
Randolph-Macon is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC following a 27-17 win at Catholic on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets opened the scoring with a pair of interception returns for a touchdown in the first quarter -- a 40-yarder by junior defensive tackle Adam Maclaughlan and a 38-yarder by senior linebacker Kyle Wiggins. A 20-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brandon Braner to senior wide receiver Kevin Allen and a 31-yard field goal by freshman Scott Shope gave R-MC a 24-0 halftime lead. Sophomore running back Zak Thornton rushed for 118 yards on 34 carries, while Braner completed 10-of-27 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Allen hauled in three passes for 45 yards and one touchdown and junior defensive back Hassan Shoekan paced a Yellow Jacket defense the notched five interceptions with 11 tackles. For the season, Thornton leads the Macon offense with 527 yards and two touchdowns on 135 carries. Braner has completed just 40.2 percent of his passes for 593 yards and four touchdowns (4 INT's), while junior wide receiver Rod Nelson has snared 10 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Senior defensive end Ray Johnson leads the Yellow Jacket defense with 35 tackles, including nine for a loss, and 2.5 sacks.
TWICE IS NICE, BUT THREE IS BETTER:
W&L's 2-0 start to the season marks just the third time in the last 44 years that the Generals have begun the season with a pair of victories. The other two seasons were 2000, when W&L opened 4-0 only to finish the season 5-5, and in 2005, when the Generals started 2-0 and finished 7-3. W&L has started 3-0 just 14 times in 114 seasons and just once (2000) since the 1961 campaign.
JACK BE NIMBLE, JACK BE QUICK:
Senior wide receiver Jack Martin has returned to the form that he showed during the 2005 season when he tallied 1,353 yards and 15 touchdowns. A 2007 Preseason Second Team All-America selection by D3Football.com, Martin has hauled in 15 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns already this season. He opened with 177 yards and one score against F&M and then tallied 166 yards and two touchdowns against Averett. In the process, Martin eclipsed the W&L record for career receiving yardage that had been held by J.T. Malatesta since 1999. Martin, who already owns the career receiving touchdowns record, now has 126 receptions for 2,403 yards and 28 touchdowns for his career. He is currently just 36 receptions from breaking the career receptions record that was set last season by Colton Ward '07.
THE WORK HORSE:
The Washington and Lee offense is averaging nearly 400 yards per game (396.0 ypg) through its first two games and a large reason for that production has been the play of the Generals' new-found workhorse, junior tailback Tom Pacicco. Pacicco rushed for just 179 yards and one touchdown through his first two seasons, but has emerged to account for 292 yards and four scores this season. He began the year with 116 yards and two touchdowns in a win over F&M in the opener, then rushed for 176 yards and two more TD's in a win over Averett on Saturday. His 176-yard performance was the best rushing day for a General since Chris Sullivan '03 rushed for 181 yards against Guilford during the 2002 campaign.
RETURN TO SENDER:
Junior wide receiver Stuart Sitterson had a tremendous all-around outing against Averett, accounting for 218 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. Sitterson racked up much of his yardage in the return game, totaling 131 kick return yards and 62 punt return yards. The D3Football.com First Team All-America return specialist in 2005, Sitterson is returning to the form that saw him post three return touchdowns as a freshman. He is currently averaging 39.5 yards per kick return and 7.8 yards per punt return. Sitterson already ranks fourth all-time at W&L with 556 career punt return yards and his 32.4 career kick return average tops the W&L chart by nearly seven yards per return. His next kickoff or punt return for a touchdown will set the W&L career record for those categories as well.
ABOUT THE DEFENSE:
W&L's defense continues to rank as the best in the ODAC this season despite forcing just two turnovers through two games. The Generals do claim nine sacks and lead the conference in rushing defense (71.0 ypg.), total defense (208.5 ypg.) and passing efficiency defense (85.9 rating).
-- GENERALS --