WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sophomore running back Stuart Sitterson (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) tallied 187 all-purpose yards and tossed a pair of touchdown passes to help lead Washington and Lee to a 28-0 shutout victory over Catholic in ODAC football action on Saturday afternoon at DuFour Field.
The Generals (4-1, 2-0) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their opening possession of the game as Sitterson capped off an 8-play, 57-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to freshman quarterback R.J. Varner (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park) with 9:27 left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals (3-2, 1-1) drove to the W&L 9-yardline late in the second quarter, but a pair of sacks on successive plays by Generals' junior linebacker Bryant Fulk (Oceanside, Calif./St. Augustine) pushed CUA back to their 25-yardline and Thomas Breslin's 42-yard field goal was short, preserving a 7-0 W&L lead at the half.
W&L again drove into CUA territory with its first possession of the third period, but senior placekicker Ben Long's (Frankford, W.Va./Hargrave Military) 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked and recovered by the Cardinals at their own 3-yardline. Three plays later, W&L junior cornerback Mark Snoddy (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) intercepted CUA quarterback Keith Ricca and returned the ball back to the 3-yardline, setting up Sitterson's second touchdown pass of the game, this time a 3-yard strike to junior wide receiver Jack Martin (Clayton, Mo./Hun School) with 9:37 left in the third quarter.
The Generals upped their lead to 21-0 on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior wide receiver Colton Ward (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day) with 12:24 left in the fourth quarter and capped the scoring on a 10-yard fumble return for a touchdown by freshman linebacker Matt Cassilly (Gambrills, Md./Archbishop Spaulding) with 3:00 left in the game.
The W&L defense limited Catholic to just 100 yards of total offense in producing their first shutout since a 2004 game against the Cardinals. Snoddy totaled two tackles to go with his two interceptions, while senior defensive end Walker Williams (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) totaled nine tackles. Fulk added three tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Offensively, Sitterson rushed 21 times for 90 yards, caught eight passes for 79 yards, returned two punts for 18 yards and completed two passes for 20 yards. Ward notched seven catches for 75 yards and rushed 12 times for 34 yards and one touchdown, while Varner completed 17-of-28 passes for 177 yards with one interception.
Ricca led the Cardinals with 128 yards passing, but was picked off twice. Bill Gross paced the CUA defense with 12 tackles and one sack.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it hosts Hampden-Sydney for a 1:00 pm contest.
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