ODAC Football Report | Week 8

Photos courtesy of Sydney Anderson and Emily Heck

Posted: Oct 27, 2019

FOREST, Va. --- Nationally 25th-ranked Bridgewater stayed red hot in week eight as the Eagles won for the seventh time in as many games and joined idle Randolph-Macon at 5-0 in league play atop the ODAC standings. Emory & Henry captured its fifth straight win and sits along in third at 4-1 in the conference table. Ferrum picked up its second win the season, and Guilford snapped a four-game skid with its first ODAC win the year.

This week's ODAC Offensive and Defense Players of the Week are Guilford receiver and return man Jermaine Russell and Emory & Henry defensive back Ryan Gibson.

THE GAMES | WEEK 8

FERRUM 31, SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 28 | Box Score
Ferrum built a 31-7 lead early in the third quarter, but Southern Virginia nearly pulled an unlikely comeback with 21 unanswered points throughout the remainder of the contest only to see their effort come up short in the Panthers' 38-21 home victory. Quarterback Zack Clifford led Ferrum's offense with three TD passes and 217 yards thru the air. He hit Ryan Beidleman, Dakota Crouse, and Tyler English with scoring throws. Beidleman also ran in a short-yardage touchdown. Defensively, Roshun Patterson led with nine tackles and two interceptions, including the takeaway that left SVU three points tie of tying the game with 0:44 to play. Dustin Swaine and Jacquice Sydnor also intercepted passes. For Southern Virginia, Akiva Wedge and McKendrick Johnson posted rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Davis Pinkston tried to recover from four interceptions with a pair of TD passes to Kevin Adams. Pinkston threw for 236 yards, while Adams registered game-highs of eight catches and 96 receiving yards. Neil Davis led the Knights' defense with 10 tackles, while Michael Benjamin had five stops including a sack.

GUILFORD 37, HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 27 | Box Score
Guilford receiver Jermaine Russell registered 210 all-purpose yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns to help lead Guilford to its first victory over Hampden-Sydney since 2015 and only the Quakers second win over the Tigers since 1999. Guilford jumped out to a 24-6 lead by the 12:40 mark of the third quarter, but Hampden-Sydney started to claw back and narrowed the margin before the Quakers secured a 37-27 win. Russell caught two TD passes among his six grabs for 82 yards. His two biggest plays came in the fourth quarter when he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and capped the game's scoring with a 50-yard TD catch-and-run. GC had three players throw TD passes, with Teddy Gassert tossing a pair, Derrien Phillips connecting on one, and Deven Williams registering one scoring throw. Tre Alexander caught two scores. Desmond McDowell led the ground game with 96 yards on 16 carries. Defensively, Khayree Lundy led with 12 stops and one of five Quakers' sacks. Josh Hayward intercepted a pass. For Hampden-Sydney, running back Cole Becker led all ODAC rushers in week eight with 172 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. His second score with 7:44 to play pulled Guilford to within three points. Austin Murphy threw for 192 yards and a touchdown to Major Morgan. Dillon Costello led H-SC's receivers with nine grabs for 58 yards. Defensively, Brendan Weinberg led with 10 tackles, while Griffin Davis made nine stops and intercepted a pass. Stephen Cash had one of H-SC's two total sacks.

EMORY & HENRY 41, SHENANDOAH 31 | Box Score
Emory & Henry burst out a 24-0 lead and led 31-10 at the break, but Shenandoah righted the ship on both sides of the ball to make a run at a favorable home result only to see their comeback attempt fall short in a 41-31 loss to E&H. Quarterback Hunter Taylor toss all three of his TD passes in the first half. Twice he hit last week's Hail Mary hero, Max Yates, with scoring throws while he and Gunner Griffith combined for the remaining TD pass. Yates finished with five grabs for 141 yards. Taylor led the ground game with 92 yards on 11 carries. T.J. Tester ran for 69 yards on 19 carries. The Wasps got a pair of non-offensive touchdowns. Da'Von Keith corralled a loose ball off a bad snap on a punt and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Linebacker Gunner Griffith effectively sealed the game with an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown. However, leading the way in the interception game was Ryan Gibson, who picked off an ODAC season-high three passes along with three other pass breakups. He added five tackles. Overstreet led the unit with 12 stops, while Dalton Wilson registered 11 tackles and Zyquis Law 10 stops. For Shenandoah, first-year quarterback helped lead the comeback charge despite four interceptions. He threw for 340 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first extended game time of the season. He was 34-of-62 passing. Jake Wallace and Brant Butler caught TD passes, while Samuel Adams and Mario Wisdom ran for scores. Adams finished with 95 yards on 12 carries, while 59 of Wisdom's 75 yards came on his second quarter TD run. Defensively, Randy Oliver led with 12 tackles including a sack. Nate Hill intercepted a pass for the fifth straight game, increasing his ODAC-leading total to six picks.

BRIDGEWATER 31, WASHINGTON AND LEE 14 | Box Score
Bridgewater limited Washington and Lee to a season-low 198 yards from scrimmage as the nationally 25th-ranked Eagles won in Lexington for the first time since 2009 via a 31-14 result. It marks the third straight game BC has held its opponent to less than 200 yards of offense. Quarterback Jay Scroggins, who threw his first interception since November 10, 2018 -- a stretch of 189 pass attempts -- posted 265 yards and a pair of touchdown on 28-of-39 passing. He hit Devonte Smith and Conner Kleffman with scoring throws. Demetreus Jalepes churned out 30 yards on 14 carries including the game's final touchdown. Kicker Logan Weis booted a trio of field goals from 40, 27, and 43 yards out. Defensively, Re'Shaun Myers led with seven stops. Luke Barnum intercepted a pass and Matt Dang recovered a fumble created by Myers. Da'Sean Davis and Joe Caron each registered a sack. For W&L, quarterback Jack Pollard threw a touchdown pass to Montgomery Owen and led all players with 91 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Montgomery finished with 45 yards receiving, snapping his string of 100-plus yard games at four. Defensively, Christopher Elliott, Dean Johnson, and Davis Waldrop led with seven tackles. Johnson intercepted a pass, and Oak Mize post a full quarterback sack.

ODAC FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | WEEK 8

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Ryan Gibson | Emory & Henry | Fy. | Defensive Back

Gibson, a first-year from Bristol, Tenn., had a monster game in his first extended stretch of field time of the season as he helped Emory & Henry win for the fifth straight game and stay within one game of the top of the ODAC table. With Shenandoah trying to work its way back into the game in the second half, Gibson went to work in the defensive backfield as he intercepted three passes, the most by any player in a single game in the ODAC this season. He also broke up three passes and registered five tackles including three solo stops. Gibson's first interception came early in the third quarter two plays after Shenandoah intercepted an E&H pass. He stayed busy in the third quarter, picking off his second pass with 0:30 left in the frame. Gibson's last interception put an end to not only Shenandoah's comeback attempt but the game itself as he high-pointed a deep pass down the near sideline for his third takeaway with the clock showing 0:00. Gibson's interception, tackle, and pass breakup totals are all personal season highs. He is now tied for second in the ODAC in interceptions.

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

FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jermaine Russell | Guilford | Jr. | Receiver/Kick Returner

Russell, a junior from Durham, N.C., registered his fourth game of 200 or more all-purpose yards on the season and posted a career-high three touchdowns as the Quakers defeated Hampden-Sydney for the first time since 2015 and second time since 1999. Russell racked up 210 yards on the day including 82 yards on six catches that featured a pair of touchdowns grabs. His first opened the game's scoring with an 8-yard effort in the first quarter. Before he caught his second TD pass, Russell helped shift the momentum of the second half with the fourth-longest kickoff return in school history. After Hampden-Sydney pulled to within 24-13, Russell returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the first kick return for a score by a Quaker since 2017. Russell saved his most poignant play for the game's final score. With Guilford leading 30-27 late in the fourth quarter, Russell returned a punt 11 yards to midfield to setup his next play. He caught 20-yard pass down the seam and turned it into a 50-yard touchdown catch-and-run with 3:23 showing on the game clock to effectively seal the contest for the Quakers. For the season, Russell is second in the ODAC in receiving yards (779), yards per game (111.3), and touchdowns (6), the latter matching his career-high. He is fourth in receptions (48) and yards per catch (16.2). He has recorded 100 or more receiving yards in four games this season and 12 times in his career. He is sixth on Guilford's receiving yardage list with 2,539 yards in 27 games played.

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

THE COACHES | RECORDS THRU WEEK 8

MIKE CLARK | 25TH SEASON AT BRIDGEWATER
- Overall | 161-100-1 (.616) | ODAC | 89-62-0 (.589)

CURT NEWSOME | 6TH SEASON AT EMORY & HENRY
- Overall | 32-24-0 (.571) | ODAC | 22-17-0 (.564)

ROB GRANDE | 4TH SEASON AT FERRUM
- Overall | 22-15-0 (.595) | ODAC | 5-7-0 (.417)

CHRIS RUSIEWICZ | 9TH SEASON AT GUILFORD
- Overall | 44-42-0 (.512) | ODAC | 28-31-0 (.475)

MARTY FAVRET | 20TH SEASON AT HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
- Overall | 131-73-0 (.643) | ODAC | 83-43-0 (.659)

PEDRO ARRUZA | 16TH SEASON AT RANDOLPH-MACON
- Overall | 96-65-0 (.596) | ODAC | 60-41-0 (.594)

SCOTT YODER | 7TH SEASON AT SHENANDOAH
- Overall | 35-32-0 (.522) | ODAC | 19-28-0 (.404)

ED MULITALO | 2ND SEASON AT SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
- Overall | 5-12-0 (.294) | ODAC | 1-5-0 (.167)

GARRETT LeROSE | 2ND SEASON AT WASHINGTON AND LEE
- Overall | 9-7-0 (.563) | ODAC | 6-6-0 (.500)

UP NEXT | MATCHUPS FOR WEEK 9

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY | BYE
The Tigers are idle in week eight on their scheduled bye