LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior wide receiver Jack Martin (Clayton, Mo./Hun School) notched 177 yards and one touchdown receiving and junior tailback Tom Pacicco (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) rushed for 116 yards and two more scores to lead the Washington and Lee football team to a 20-0 victory over Franklin & Marshall in the season-opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
The Generals' (1-0) defense held the Diplomats (0-1) to just 122 total yards and 3-for-17 on third-down conversions, while the offense racked up 377 yards of total offense.
W&L opened the scoring at the 14:50 mark of the second quarter as sophomore quarterback R.J. Varner (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park) capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive when he found Martin with a 16-yard scoring strike. The PAT failed, giving the Generals a 6-0 lead.
W&L added to its margin with 7:45 remaining before the half as Pacicco found paydirt with a 7-yard touchdown scamper to make it 13-0.
The Diplomats strung together a 9-play, 50-yard drive just before the end of the first half, but a fumble on the Generals' 39-yardline with 57 seconds remaining ended their best scoring opportunity.
Pacicco added the final score with 11:33 remaining in the game as he capped an 11-play, 68-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
Varner completed 18-of-40 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Martin snared nine passes, while Pacicco rushed 33 times for his career-high yardage total. Senior linebacker Kyle Harvey (Columbia, S.C./Richland Northeast) led the defense with nine tackles, while sophomore defensive lineman Rick Barron (Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson) notched three tackles, including 1.5 sacks.
Senior quarterback Kyle Turner (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) completed just 7-of-24 passes for 59 yards, while freshman running back Lorenzo Daughtry-Chambers (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep) totaled 31 yards on 14 carries. Junior linebacker Zach Romash (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) led the F&M defense with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops.
Washington and Lee returns to action on September 22 as it hosts Averett University at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va. The game, which will be played to benefit Habitat for Humanity, will occur at 7:00 pm.
-- GENERALS --
