ODAC Football Report | Week 3

Posted: Sep 22, 2019

FOREST, Va. --- All nine ODAC squads were in action as conference play kicked off in week three. Bridgewater and Southern Virginia highlight the week as they both remained unbeaten on the season thanks to league victories. The Knights' win marked their first triumph since joining the ODAC as an associate member prior to this season. Randolph-Macon and Washington and Lee also earned conference wins, while Ferrum played in the lone non-league outing and fell to Averett.

This week's ODAC Offensive and Defense Players of the Week are Southern Virginia running back Akiva Wedge and Washignton and Lee defensive back Dean Johnson.

THE GAMES | WEEK 3

BRIDGEWATER 35, SHENANDOAH 17 | Box Score
Bridgewater built up a 35-0 lead thru three quarters on the way to a 35-17 win at Shenandoah to improve to 3-0 on the season. Quarterback Jay Scroggins was very efficient in the passing game, going 19-of-22 for 208 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Viante Tucker and Trey Stephens. Scroggins also ran in a score. Demetreus Jalepes carried the ball 13 times for 125 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Chase Rosenthal and Re'Shaun Myers led with eight tackles each. Rosenthal broke up three passes. Da'Sean Davis post 1.5 quarterback sacks. For Shenandoah, quarterback Ben Agostino threw for 238 yards and a touchdown. Ben Rhodenizer threw for 87 yards and a touchdown. Casey Stewart caught both TD passes, finishing with seven catches for 115 yards. Jake Wallace hauled in seven passes for 106 yards. Bernie Hayes led the defense with eight stops plus a forced and recovered fumble.

RANDOLPH-MACON 20, EMORY & HENRY 17 | Box Score
For the second straight week, Randolph-Macon used a late score to propel itself to victory. This time it was a 53-yard touchdown pass from Burke Estes to Justin DeLeon with 7:51 to play. Estes finished with two TD passes and 211 yards thru the air, firing the other scoring pass to running back Tre Frederick. Frederick, who last week became the ODAC's all-time leading rusher, now holds the record for career carries with 800. He went for 107 yards on 24 carries versus Emory & Henry. Defensively, Calvin Whitehead made seven stops including a pair for a loss, while Matthew Vergara also made seven tackles and added an interception. For E&H, quarterback Hunter Taylor threw a touchdown pass to Gunner Griffith and ran one in as part of a 56-yard rushing day. T.J. Tester ran for 76 yards on 10 carries. Defensively, Grayson Overstreet led with eight tackles, whle Donovan Pinnix registered 1.5 quarterback sacks.

AVERETT 35, FERRUM 12 | Box Score
Ferrum trailed 28-9 at the half and while the Panthers slowed down Averett in the second half, the mustered only three points themselves in a 35-12 non-conference loss to the Cougars. Kicker Brad Green account for all of Ferrum's points as he buried all four of his field goal attempts, converting from 21, 39, 29, and 33 yards, sequentially. Running back Brian Mann ran for 74 yards on 15 carries, while quarterback Zack Clifford added another 56 yards on the ground and 162 yards thru the air. Billy Higgins led the defense with eight stops and a fumble recovery. AJ Camp registered a sack and forced a fumble.

WASHINGTON AND LEE 52, GUILFORD 14 | Box Score
Washignton and Lee racked 662 yards of offense in its win over Guilford, the most for the Generals since posting 629 yards against Sewanee in 2017. The Generals ran for 426 yards against GC, marking their second straight game with more than 400 yards on the ground. They are now 38-3 in games in which they run for 400 or more yards. Quarterback Jack Pollard rank for 110 yards and one of five W&L rushing scores. He also threw a pair of TD passes to Montgomery Owen, who caught three passes for 129 yards. Josh Breece ran for 72 yards to give him 3,167 for his career, third all-time at W&L. Defensive back Dean Johnson led with nine tackles, a forced fumble inside the Generals' 5-yard line, and an interception. For Guilford, receiver Jermaine Russell finished with a career-best 234 all-purpose yards, including 181 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions. He has crossed 100 yards receiving in all three games this season and now has 11 100-yard receiving games in his career. Tre Alexander had eight grabs for 76 yards and a score. Alex Manley threw for 326 yards and both touchdowns. Defensive back Jeremiah Hedrick led with nine stops, all solo, and recovered a W&L fumble.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 29, HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 17 | Box Score
Southern Virginia came back from a 17-7 deficit after three quarters to claim victory in its first-ever ODAC contest with a 29-17 home win over Hampden-Sydney. The Knights got a monster effort from running back Akiva Wedge, who set program records with 237 rushing yards at a 12.5 per-carry clip. He set a personal record with three touchdown runs, all of which covered 41 or more yards. He scored on runs of 41, 75, and 53 yards, with the latter two given SVU the lead and then sealing the victory. Quarterback Davis Pinkston threw for 167 yards and a touchdown to Kevin Adams. That touchdown was the third of three SVU scored in the fourth quarter. Defensive back Jacob Taloa led a defense that post five interceptions. He made 15 stops, including 4.0 for a loss, and intercepted a pass. Albert Green IV picked off two passes. For H-SC, Kaleb Smith led the offense with 110 yards and touchdown on 23 carries Dillon Costello caught Clay Vick's touchdown pass, while Major Morgan hauled in seven passes for 81 yards. Brendan Weinberg led the defense with 12 tackles with 3.0 for a loss including a sack. Jameel Siler intercepted a pass.

ODAC FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | WEEK 3

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Dean Johnson | Washington and Lee | So. | Defensive Back

Johnson, a sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., helped spearhead a strong defensive effort by the Generals in their 52-14 triumph over Guilford in their ODAC opener. Washington and Lee forced the Quakers into five turnovers and limited them to just 43 yards on the ground. Johnson led the unit with nine tackles including seven solo stops. He was also in on two of the five takeaways. His first came on Guilford's opening drive of the second half. After W&L had taken a 24-7 lead, Guilford drove down the field into Generals' territory. A completed pass pushed GC inside the W&L 5-yard line, but was thwarted when Johnson jarred the ball loose at the three and Owen Roberts recovered the fumble for the Generals at the 1-yard line. W&L scored a touchdown four plays later. Just before the end of the third quarter, Johnson intercepted a Quakers' pass at the GC 49-yard line and returned it nine yards to setup another Generals' touchdown seven plays later. Johnson currently has 19 tackles on the season including 13 solo stops. The forced fumble and interception versus Guilford were his first contributions to the W&L turnover game this season.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Akiva Wedge | Southern Virginia | Sr. | Running Back

Wedge, a senior from Forestville, Md., was a highlight reel of big plays on the way to a career day in the Knights 29-17 victory over Hampden-Sydney in their ODAC debut. Southern Virginia is 2-0 overall for the first time since the program joined NCAA Division III in 2012. Wedge carried the ball 19 times versus Hampden-Sydney, setting career-highs with three touchdowns and 237 yards on the ground. The yardage total, which marks an ODAC season-high, along with his 12.5 yards per carry set new Southern Virginia program records. Wedge put the first points of the game on the scoreboard with a 41-yard touchdown run to cap the Knights' first possession. After SVU trailed 17-7 at the half, Wedge put the Knights' final two touchdowns on the board of three unanswered second-half scores. Both came in the fourth quarter, starting with a 71-yard sprint that gave Southern Virginia the lead for good with 10:52 to play. He put the game out of reach with 4:51 to play with a 53-yard scoring scamper, marking his third TD of 41 or more yards. Wedge added 34 yards on four receptions to finish with 271 all-purpose yards. Wedge currently leads the ODAC with 151.0 rushing yards per game and four rushing touchdowns. He is third with 302 total rushing yards.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

THE COACHES | RECORDS THRU WEEK 3

MIKE CLARK | 25TH SEASON AT BRIDGEWATER
- Overall | 157-100-1 (.610) | ODAC | 85-62-0 (.578)

CURT NEWSOME | 6TH SEASON AT EMORY & HENRY
- Overall | 27-24-0 (.529) | ODAC | 18-17-0 (.514)

ROB GRANDE | 4TH SEASON AT FERRUM
- Overall | 20-12-0 (.625) | ODAC | 3-4-0 (.429)

CHRIS RUSIEWICZ | 9TH SEASON AT GUILFORD
- Overall | 43-39-0 (.524) | ODAC | 27-28-0 (.491)

MARTY FAVRET | 20TH SEASON AT HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
- Overall | 131-68-0 (.658) | ODAC | 83-38-0 (.686)

PEDRO ARRUZA | 16TH SEASON AT RANDOLPH-MACON
- Overall | 92-65-0 (.586) | ODAC | 56-41-0 (.577)

SCOTT YODER | 7TH SEASON AT SHENANDOAH
- Overall | 32-30-0 (.516) | ODAC | 16-26-0 (.381)

ED MULITALO | 2ND SEASON AT SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
- Overall | 5-7-0 (.417) | ODAC | 1-0-0 (1.000)

GARRETT LeROSE | 2ND SEASON AT WASHINGTON AND LEE
- Overall | 7-5-0 (.583) | ODAC | 4-4-0 (.500)

UP NEXT | MATCHUPS FOR WEEK 4

WASHINGTON AND LEE AT HAMPDEN-SYDNEY | SAT., SEPTEMBER 28 | 1:00 PM
Lewis C. Everett Stadium | Hampden-Sydney, Va.
- FIRST MEETING | 1899
- ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD | Hampden-Sydney leads the series, 39-36-2
- LAST MEETING | Hampden-Sydney def. Washington and Lee, 24-20, in Lexington in 2018