LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior placekicker Ben Long (Frankford, W.Va./Hargrave Military) booted three field goals and the Washington and Lee defense limited Randolph-Macon to just 178 yards of total offense as the Generals downed the Yellow Jackets, 33-10, in ODAC football action on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Randolph-Macon (2-3, 0-2) struck first as senior placekicker Reggie Moore (Seaford, Va./York) capped a 14-play, 61-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
W&L (3-1, 1-0) got on the board with 13:31 left in the second quarter as senior quarterback Hunter Dawkins (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day) scored on a 5-yard touchdown run for a 7-3 lead. The Generals added to the lead on the ensuing kickoff as R-MC senior wide receiver Khalil Shareef (Hampton, Va./Bethel) stepped out of the end zone then kneeled back in the end zone for a safety.
The Generals capped the first half scoring with just 19 seconds remaining as Long kicked his first field goal of the day, a 39-yarder that gave W&L a 12-3 lead at the break.
Following a dropped punt snap and subsequent tackle at the W&L 6-yardline, Randolph-Macon sliced the W&L advantage to 12-10 with 7:00 left in the third quarter as junior quarterback Tyler Ball (Rosedale, Va./Honaker) scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
W&L added to its lead on another 39-yard field goal by Long with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter and extended its advantage on a 25-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback R.J. Varner (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park) to senior wide receiver D.J. Hackett (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy) with 27 seconds left in the quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion pass from Varner to sophomore running back Stuart Sitterson (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) was good, giving W&L a 23-10 lead.
Long booted a 30-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter for a 26-10 lead and junior cornerback Jimmy Gift (Richmond, Va./Collegiate) returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown with 2:33 left in the game to produce the final margin.
Sitterson led the Generals' offense with 14 carries for 65 yards and two catches for 48 yards. Senior wide receiver Colton Ward (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day) rushed nine times for 48 yards and caught five balls for 37 yards. Dawkins completed 6-of-12 passes for 93 yards, but was injured late in the second quarter. He was relieved by Varner, who completed 7-of-11 passes for 71 yards and the touchdown strike to Hackett. Senior linebacker Chris Joseph (Houston, Texas/Episcopal) and junior linebacker Bryant Fulk (Oceanside, Calif./St. Augustine) led the defense with nine tackles each. Fulk added a sack and Gift totaled seven stops to go along with his fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Randolph-Macon was paced by freshman running back Zak Thornton (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), who carried 20 times for 70 yards. Ball was 13-of-26 passing for 115 yards, while Shareef snared six passes for 59 yards. Sophomore Elk Johnson (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) led the R-MC defense with six tackles and a pass breakup.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Catholic University for a 1:00 pm contest.
-- GENERALS --
