ASHLAND, Va. -- The Washington and Lee football team dropped to (1-3 overall, 1-2 ODAC) on the season with a 30-23 loss against the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon.
The game proved to be an offensive explosion featuring the two high powered passing attacks. For the game, the Yellow Jackets outgained the Generals by a count of 458-448. Most of the yards came through the air, as Randolph-Macon quarterback Brian Partlow shattered the ODAC record for passing yards with 405. W&L senior signal-caller Christian Batcheller (Stuart, Va./Patrick County) finished the game completing 30 of 48 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns. The 322 passing yards for Batcheller is a new career high. He also tied the W&L school record for career touchdown passes (33).
Senior wide receiver J.T. Malatesta (Washington D.C./Landon) opened the scoring just 1:50 into the game when he hauled in a 15 yard pass from Batcheller. Sophomore placekicker Brad Wiginton (Plano, Texas/Plano) added the extra point to give the Generals a 7-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets retaliated with a 30 yard field goal by Kevin Cherwa with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Randolph-Macon tallied their first touchdown just :19 into the second quarter on an 80 yard touchdown pass from Partlow to Michael Becker. With 2:37 left in the half, Sean Eaton took a six yard pass from Partlow into the end-zone giving the Yellow Jackets a 16-7 lead. The Generals cut the score to 16-14 just before halftime when Batcheller hit Malatesta from five yards out with just :32 on the clock.
W&L regained the lead at the onset of the second half when freshman tight-end Davis White (Birmingham, Ala./Episcopal) took a Batcheller pass 41 yards into the endzone for a 20-16 General lead. Macon once again had the answer, this time a 19 yard pass from Partlow to Derrick Jacks with :04 left in the third. The Yellow Jackets added one more touchdown, a seven yard reception by Tom Bush, making the score 30-20 with 9:06 remaining. Junior placekicker Andy Vendig (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) capped the scoring for W&L on a 25 yard field goal with 4:00 left in the game. Following the field goal, the Yellow Jackets were able to run out the clock for their first ODAC victory of the season.
Malatesta totaled 11 receptions on the day for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman tailback Chris Sullivan (San Antonio, Texas/ Alamo Heights) led the Generals on the ground with 18 rushes for 88 yards. Sophomore defensive back Christopher Shortall (San Anselmo, Calif./Marin Catholic) had a stellar game on defense for W&L, collecting nine tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
The Generals return to action next week against Davidson College in Lexington. The homecoming game will take place at 1:30 PM.
--GENERALS--
