LEXINGTON, Va. – Junior tailback Tom Pacicco (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) rushed for a career-high 195 yards and two touchdowns as Washington and Lee recorded a 28-21 homecoming victory over Catholic in ODAC football action on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.

Pacicco gave the Generals a 28-14 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run with 11:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinals (4-2, 0-2) sliced it to a 28-21 game on a 27-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Keith Ricca (Poolesville, Md./St. John's Prospect Hall) to junior wide receiver Miles Sabrick (Douglassville, Pa./Reading Catholic) with five seconds remaining in the game.

Catholic recovered an onside kick on its own 46-yardline with three seconds remaining and had a hail mary pass batted away at the goal line as time expired. However, the Generals were whistled for late hit on the quarterback on the play, which gave the Cardinals one more untimed down. This time, Ricca was sacked by W&L senior linebacker Britt Jamison (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill), which ended the Catholic rally.

The Generals (3-1, 1-1) opened the scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback R.J. Varner (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park) to sophomore tight end Jason Bacaj (Morgantown, W.Va./University) at the 9:31 mark of the first quarter. W&L extended to a 10-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by junior placekicker Andrew Wilbourn (Clarksdale, Miss./Lee Academy) with 4:37 left in the opening period, but the Cardinals struck with a pair of touchdowns in the final 1:20 of the second quarter for a 14-13 halftime lead.

The touchdowns followed back-to-back interceptions thrown by Varner. The first touchdown occurred on a 12-yard strike from Ricca to Sabrick with 1:20 remaining and the second was a 13-yard pass from Ricca to senior running back Stevie Hendley (Annandale, Va./Bishop O'Connell) with 13 seconds left before the break.

W&L sliced it to a 14-13 game on a 28-yard field goal by senior cornerback Mark Snoddy (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) at the 11:52 mark of the third quarter and took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Pacicco on the first play of the fourth quarter (14:56). The two-point conversion pass from Varner to junior wide receiver Ty Parrino (Holliston, Mass./Hollison) was good, giving the Generals a 21-14 lead.

Pacicco carried the ball 35 times en route to his career day (195 yds., 2 TD's). Varner completed 7-of-19 passes for 104 yards and one touchdown, while senior wide receiver Jack Martin (Clayton, Mo./Hun School) snared three balls for 63 yards. Senior linebacker Bryant Fulk (Oceanside, Calif./St. Augustine) and junior defensive end Scott Russell (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) led the Generals' defense with nine tackles each. Russell added on sack.

Ricca paced the Cardinals' offense by completing 22-of-38 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Sabrick hauled in five passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman running back Rich Barry (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) rushed eight time for a team-high 34 yards. Senior linebacker Anthony Delborrell (Laurel, Md./DeMatha) led the Catholic defense with 10 tackles and an interception.

Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it travels to Hampden-Sydney for a 1:00 pm contest.

-- GENERALS --