Washington and Lee University
SERIES INFO:
Time: 1:00 pm
Site: Everett Stadium (1,825)
Series: H-SC Leads 32-31-2
Last Meeting: 10/14/06 at W&L (W&L won 28-6)
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: 10/16/04 at W&L (31-28)
Current Series Streak: W&L +2
W&L vs. H-SC at W&L: 15-16-2
W&L vs. H-SC at H-SC: 11-13
THE SERIES:
W&L and Hampden-Sydney will be meeting for the 66th time, with the Tigers holding a 32-31-2 advantage in the all-time series that began during the 1899 season. The Generals have won two-straight over the Tigers, including a 28-6 victory last season in Lexington. The six points allowed by W&L was the lowest scoring output by a H-SC team during the Marty Favret era. W&L and Hampden-Sydney have met every season since 1955 and the Generals' 65 total games against the Tigers are the most against any opponent in the history of the program.
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 64-59-1 (.520) overall record and ranks second all-time at W&L in career victories, just 13 wins shy of tying Gary Fallon (1978-94) for the top spot. The Tigers are led by eighth-year Head Coach Marty Favret (Catholic '84), who has a 50-26 (.658) record at Hampden-Sydney.
ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has compiled a 451-485-39 (.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 28, Catholic 21; October 6, 2007 - Lexington, Va.)
Junior tailback Tom Pacicco rushed for a career-high 195 yards and two touchdowns as Washington and Lee recorded a 28-21 win over Catholic at Wilson Field. Pacicco gave the Generals a 28-14 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run with 11:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinals sliced it to a 28-21 game on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Keith Ricca to Miles Sabrick with five seconds remaining in the game. Catholic recovered an onside kick on its own 46-yardline with three seconds remaining and had a hail mary pass batted away at the goal line as time expired. However, the Generals were whistled for late hit on the quarterback on the play, which gave the Cardinals one more untimed down. This time, Ricca was sacked by W&L senior linebacker Britt Jamison, which ended the Catholic rally. The Generals opened the scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback R.J. Varner to sophomore tight end Jason Bacaj at the 9:31 mark of the first quarter. W&L extended to a 10-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by junior placekicker Andrew Wilbourn with 4:37 left in the opening period, but the Cardinals struck with a pair of touchdowns in the final 1:20 of the second quarter for a 14-13 halftime lead. The touchdowns followed back-to-back interceptions thrown by Varner. The first touchdown occurred on a 12-yard strike from Ricca to Sabrick with 1:20 remaining and the second was a 13-yard pass from Ricca to Stevie Hendley with 13 seconds left before the break. W&L sliced it to a 14-13 game on a 28-yard field goal by senior cornerback Mark Snoddy at the 11:52 mark of the third quarter and took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Pacicco on the first play of the fourth quarter (14:56). The two-point conversion pass from Varner to junior wide receiver Ty Parrino was good, giving the Generals a 21-14 lead. Pacicco carried the ball 35 times en route to his career day (195 yds., 2 TD's). Varner completed 7-of-19 passes for 104 yards and one touchdown, while senior wide receiver Jack Martin snared three balls for 63 yards. Senior linebacker Bryant Fulk and junior defensive end Scott Russell led the Generals' defense with nine tackles each. Russell added one sack.
LAST MEETING WITH HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
(W&L 28, H-SC 6; October 14, 2006 - Lexington, Va.)
The W&L football team won its fifth-straight game of the 2006 season with a 28-6 victory over Hampden-Sydney. The six points allowed by the Generals' defense were the fewest scored by the Tigers during the Marty Favret era. W&L jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 5:56 remaining in the first quarter as quarterback R.J. Varner found wide receiver Jack Martin with a 58-yard scoring strike. Running back Stuart Sitterson capped the first half scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 6:50 left in the half. The Generals opened the second half with a 7-play, 52-yard drive that resulted in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Varner to Martin to up the lead to 21-0 with 11:36 left in the third quarter. Running back Tom Pacicco then gave W&L a 28-0 lead when he scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 5:19 left in the third quarter. The Tigers found the end zone with 7:43 remaining in the game as tight end Connor Oliver hauled in a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bobby Owens. The ensuing PAT was wide, producing the final margin. Martin led the Generals with two catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Varner completed 8-of-13 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, while Pacicco rushed 19 times for 76 yards and one touchdown. Sitterson gained 47 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. The Generals' defense was paced by linebacker Kyle Harvey, who totaled eight tackles. W&L picked off H-SC quarterbacks four times, including a pair of interceptions by safety Kyle Luby. Hampden-Sydney was led offensively by wide receiver Drew Smith's five catches for 89 yards. Quarterback Craig Warnement completed 10-of-28 passes for 90 yards, but was intercepted three times. Owens completed 2-of-3 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown, but was also intercepted once. Running back Josh Simpson carried eight times for 54 yards. Defensive end Quintin Kelly led the Tigers' defense with five tackles and one sack.
MIRIELLO AT HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Washington and Lee is just 11-13 all-time in games played at Hampden-Sydney, but Generals' Head Coach Frank Miriello knows the school well and has enjoyed success there. Miriello served as the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 1982, helping H-SC to an ODAC title. Since taking over as the W&L head coach in 1995, Miriello is 5-1 in games played on the field at newly renovated Everett Stadium. His lone loss was a 45-17 setback during the 2003 season.
SCOUTING HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Hampden-Sydney is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ODAC following a 29-19 loss at Emory & Henry on Saturday. The Tigers could not overcome seven turnovers and fell behind 19-7 only to come back and knot the game at 19-19 heading into halftime. However, the Wasps held H-SC scoreless for the second half en route to the 10-point win. The Tigers rolled up 413 yards of total offense led by sophomore quarterback Corey Sedlar, who completed 27-of-50 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, but was picked three times. Junior running back Josh Simpson carried the ball 24 times for 106 yards and one touchdown and caught nine passes for 110 yards and one score, while senior wide receiver Drew Smith caught 11 balls for 108 yards and one touchdown. Senior linebacker Kyle Booker led the Tiger defense with 11 tackles. For the season, the H-SC offense is averaging 465.7 yards and 36.3 points per game. Simpson has only played in three games, but has already rushed for 451 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 23 passes for 275 yards and three more scores. Smith claims 58 catches for 807 yards and six touchdowns, while Sedlar has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 1,786 yards and 14 touchdowns (9 INT's). Booker has a team-best 51 tackles, while junior linebacker Andrew Sellers has 36 tackles and a team-high 4.0 sacks.
THE WORK HORSE:
Junior tailback Tom Pacicco has been the engine that drives the Generals' offense this season. Through four games, Pacicco has totaled 589 yards and eight touchdowns on 123 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Pacicco enters this week's game with Hampden-Sydney as the ODAC's top rusher and third-leading scorer. He has rushed for 100+ yards in all four games this season, the first time that a W&L running back has totaled four-straight 100-yard games since Chris Sullivan '03 accomplished the feat over the final four games of the 2001 season. The last back to rush for 100 or more in five-straight was Marc Watson '02, who did so over the final five games of the 2000 season. Pacicco's 195 yards against Catholic also marked the most rushing yards by a General since Sullivan rushed for 202 yards against Randolph-Macon in 2001. His eight rushing touchdowns this year are also the most for a season since Sullivan's 10 scores in 2002. Prior to this season, Pacicco's best game for the Blue & White was a 76-yard, one touchdown performance against Hampden-Sydney last season.
ON THE GROUND:
Speaking of the Generals' rushing attack, the 265 rushing yards that W&L racked up against Catholic on Saturday were the most since the Generals accumulated 281 yards against Emory & Henry during the 2001 season.
JACK BE NIMBLE, JACK BE QUICK:
Senior wide receiver Jack Martin leads the Generals receivers this season with 19 catches for 414 yards and three touchdowns. A 2007 Preseason Second Team All-America pick by D3Football.com, Martin claims 130 receptions for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns over his career. He already ranks first all-time at W&L in career receiving yards and career touchdowns and is just 32 catches away from breaking the career catches mark as well. Martin has proved especially effective in his last two games against Hampden-Sydney, totaling 14 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
ON THE DEFENSIVE:
The Washington and Lee defense finished the 2006 season as the top ranked defense in the ODAC and, with nine starters returning, the Generals remain one of the conference's top defensive units. W&L currently ranks tops in the ODAC in total defense (252.5 ypg), second in rushing defense (97.8 ypg) and second in passing efficiency defense (99.6 rating). The main difference from the 2006 season has been the turnover department, where the Generals have forced just four turnovers. W&L forced 31 turnovers last season.
LEAVING HIS MARK:
Senior cornerback Mark Snoddy has left his mark over the W&L record books. A two-time First Team All-ODAC selection, Snoddy claims a W&L-record 18 career interceptions. He picked off his 18th pass in Saturday's win over Catholic, his first interception of the season. For an encore, Snoddy even booted his first career field goal, a 28-yarder in the third quarter. Snoddy was the runner-up for the 2006 Dudley Award, presented to the Virginia Division II-III Player of the Year.
-- GENERALS --