LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee defense tied a school record with seven sacks and came back from a 10-0 second quarter deficit to defeat Centre College, 23-17, in Lexington, Va., on Saturday afternoon.

The Colonels (2-1) began the scoring with 13:27 remaining in the second quarter as senior placekicker Jason Engel (Erlanger, Ky./Lloyd) booted a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Centre would then take a 10-0 lead as senior quarterback Drew Mildren (Oklahoma City, Okla./Casady) hit senior wide receiver Josh Elliott (Limestone, Tenn./Daniel Boone) on an eight-yard touchdown strike with 6:54 remaining in the opening half.

W&L (1-2, 1-1) countered with a four-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Christian Batcheller (Stuart, Va./Patrick County) to freshman tight end Davis White (Birmingham, Ala./Episcopal) with :19 remaining in the half to cut the Colonels lead to 10-7.

W&L assumed a 14-10 lead on its opening possession of the second half as junior running back Marc Watson (Marietta, Ga./Walton) broke off a 53-yard run to begin the series and capped it off with a four-yard scamper with just 1:37 gone-by in the third quarter.

Centre would answer nearly one quarter later as Mildren scored on a quarterback sneak from one-yard out to knot the game at 17-17 with 14:24 remaining.

The Generals answered with 7:42 remaining on the clock as Batcheller scored on an 11-yard run to make the score 23-17 in favor of Washington and Lee. The point after touchdown was missed.

Centre had one last chance to win the game as it began its final possession of the game on its own one-yard line with 1:27 remaining. The Colonels drove the ball to the Washington and Lee 39-yard line with 12 seconds remaining before Mildren was sacked by junior nose tackle Mike Navalkowsky (Mt. Joy, Pa./Donegal) for a 20-yard loss as time expired.

The Washington and Lee offense was led by Watson, who rushed for 118 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. Senior wide receiver J.T. Malatesta (Washington, D.C./Landon) caught six balls for 167 yards and Batcheller completed 14-of-24 attempts for 248 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, senior defensive end Michael Moore (Houston, Texas/Lamar) recorded seven tackles and a career-high four sacks.

Centre was led offensively by senior running back Kevin Chapman (Louisville, Ky./Male), who rushed for 127 yards on 24 carries. Mildren completed 20-of-35 attempts for 219 yards and one touchdown.

Washington and Lee will next compete on Saturday, Oct. 2, as it travels to Randolph-Macon for a 1:00 pm contest.

--GENERALS--