W&L Headed to NCAA Division III Tournament
LEXINGTON, Va. --- The Washington and Lee
defense forced five turnovers and sacked the quarterback five times
in posting a 38-27 victory over Hampden-Sydney to win the ODAC
football championship on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
The Generals (7-2, 6-0) won their sixth-straight game en route to
finishing the season with a perfect ODAC record for the first time
in program history. It is also W&L's second conference
title in the last five years and qualifies the Generals for the
NCAA Division III Tournament.
Each team exchanged a pair of scores in the first 20 minutes and
change until the Generals assumed control with 2:44 left in the
half when junior running back Harrison
Hudson (Salem, Va./Salem) finished a 9-play, 67-yard drive
with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 lead. The W&L
defense then stopped the Tigers (8-1, 4-1) on a 4th-and 3 from the
W&L 47-yardline with 1:26 to play and the Generals drove to the
H-SC 19-yardline before junior placekicker Peter
Alston (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Academy) booted a 36-yard
field goal with two seconds remaining for a 24-14 lead at the
break.
Neither team could find paydirt in the third quarter, but the
Generals took a 31-14 lead with 12:37 left in the game on a 2-yard
touchdown run by sophomore running back Brett
Murray (Lookout Mountain, Tenn./Baylor). The Tigers
answered 3:21 later on a 4-yard touchdown pass from junior
quarterback Travis Lane (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) to junior wide
receiver Kyle Vance (Onley, Va./Broadwater Academy) to make it
31-21, but Hudson scored on an 18-yard touchdown reception from
junior quarterback Charlie
Westfal (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) to put the game
away (38-21). Hampden-Sydney tacked on a late score with
seven seconds remaining for the final margin.
The Generals were held under 400 yards rushing for the first time
in six games, but still managed 316 yards on the ground and 375
yards overall. Hudson paced W&L by rushing 18 times for
100 yards and two touchdowns and catching two passes for 27 yards
and another score. Murray tallied 95 yards and two touchdowns
on 16 carries, while sophomore running back Luke
Heinsohn (Charlottesville, Va./Covenant) notched 78 yards
on 23 rushes. Westfal completed 5-of-8 passes for 59 yards
and a score and rushed for 29 yards on eight carries.
Defensively, junior linebacker Rob
Look (Dallas, Texas/Hillcrest) had a team-best seven
tackles, while junior cornerback Mike
Hartford(Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) had six stops and a pair
of interceptions. First-year linebacker Sam
Zimmer (San Diego, Calif./Central Catholic) chipped in
three tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Lane completed 29-of-52 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns,
but was intercepted four times. He also was the team's
leading rusher with 55 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Vance snared 11 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, while senior
wide receiver Andrew Bruckner (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Byrd) added
nine catches for 126 yards and one score. Senior linebacker
Trevor Ikwild (Philomont, Va./Loudoun Valley) led the defense with
14 tackles.
Washington and Lee hits the road for its regular season finale,
playing at Juniata on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee
University sports information department.