GAME 9:
W&L (4-4, 3-3) vs. SOUTHERN VIRGINIA (3-5, 2-5)
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Lexington, Va. • 1:00 pm

WASHINGTON AND LEE HEAD COACH GARRETT LeROSE:
Garrett LeRose (W&L '07) is in his second season as the W&L head coach.  He carries a 9-8 overall record across his first 17 games.  LeRose had served as an assistant coach with W&L ever since finishing his playing career with the Generals in 2006.  He has had a hand in five ODAC titles as a player (2006) and coach (2010, 2012, 2015, 2017).

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA HEAD COACH EDWIN MULITALO:
Southern Virginia is led by second-year Head Coach Edwin Mulitalo, who is 6-12 (.333) in his first head coaching opportunity.  Mulitalo arrived at SVU in 2016 as an assistant coach after assisting at Southern Utah University in 2015.  Mulitalo was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 and played 10 seasons in the NFL with Baltimore and Detroit.

THE SERIES:
W&L and Southern Virginia will be meeting for the second time overall.  W&L won the only other meeting by a score of 35-28 during the 2008 season.  The game was the very first contest played in the new version of Wilson Field.

ALL-TIME RECORD:
W&L has a storied tradition that began with the first officially recognized game in the South, an 1873 matchup with neighboring VMI.  The first official season was 1890 and over their 127 seasons, the Generals have compiled a 526-538-39 (.495) overall record.

CHASING HISTORY:
A winning season in 2019 would make five straight for the Generals.  That would be the fourth-longest stretch of consecutive winning seasons in program history and the longest such streak since posting six straight winning campaigns from 1980-85.  W&L also had six straight from 1919-24 and a record 13-straight from 1905-17.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN VIRGINIA:
Southern Virginia snapped a five-game losing skid with a 30-17 victory on Saturday in Buena Vista. The Knights forced four Guilford turnovers and limited the Quakers to just 1-for-5 on fourth down conversions to walk away with the win.  SVU forced Guilford punts on the first three possessions for the Quakers and staked itself to a 23-0 lead before GC hit a 35-yard field goal with one second left in the half.  The Quakers scored the next 14 points to climb within 23-17 with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.  GC had driven to the SVU 7-yardline with under two minutes remaining, but senior defensive back Neil Davis preserved the win with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 1:23 left.  SVU was led on offense by junior quarterback Davis Pinkston, who completed 16-of-28 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.  Senior wide receiver Josh Newman caught five passes for 86 yards and both touchdowns, while senior running back Akiva Wedge tallied 44 yards on 16 carries.  Junior defensive back Albert Green IV had a team-best 12 tackles, while Davis totaled 10 tackles and a pair of interceptions.  For the year, SVU is led by Wedge, who claims 785 yards and six touchdowns on 159 carries.  Pinkston has rushed for 250 yards and two scores on 58 carries, and he has completed 53.5 percent of his passes for 1,444 yards and 14 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.  Senior wide receiver Kevin Adams has been his favorite target, as he has snared 40 passes for 484 yards and six touchdowns.  On defense, Davis has a team-best 61 tackles and three interceptions.

LAST TIME OUT:
(R-MC 36, W&L 35 - 11/2/19 - ASHLAND, VA)
Randolph-Macon scored 10 points in the final 39 seconds to pull off a 36-35 win over Washington and Lee at Day Field.  A 21-16 defensive battle opened up abruptly in the last seven minutes of the game, with the two teams combining for 34 points in the final 6:47 of the contest.  Junior running back Josh Breece broke out for a pair of 75-yard touchdown runs in the final 6:34, with the second giving W&L a 35-26 lead with 3:06 left in the game.  W&L appeared to have picked off a pass on the second play of the next series, but the Generals were called for offsides and the Yellow Jackets pressed on, driving 88 yards on 11 plays to pull within 35-33.  First-year quarterback Presley Egbers found junior wide receiver Mike Avent with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds remaining to bring Macon within two points.  R-MC lined up for an onside kick and recovered the ball on its own 46-yardline.  The Yellow Jackets gained 33 yards before stopping the clock to set up a 38-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.  Junior placekicker Chris Vidal drilled the kick to give R-MC the improbable victory.  Randolph-Macon led 13-7 at halftime, as the Generals struggled to move the ball.  However, W&L scored on big plays in the second half, starting with a 66-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Mongtomery Owen in the third quarter for a 14-13 lead.  Owen also hauled in a 75-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback Jack Pollard early in the fourth quarter, and Breece registered the two 75-yard touchdown runs on back-to-back offensive plays.  All told, W&L finished with 450 yards of total offense, led by Breece who recorded a season-high 195 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.  The game vaulted Breece into second-place on the school's career rushing list with 3,490 yards.  He can surpass Luke Heinsohn '13 for first-place with just 28 more yards.  Owen caught three passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while Pollard completed 5-of-10 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.  Senior linebacker Will Corry led the W&L defense with 12 tackles. Randolph-Macon finished with 502 offensive yards led by senior running back Tre Frederick, who gained 154 yards on 32 carries.  Egbers rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries, and he completed 23-of-35 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior linebacker Tyler DeBerry totaled nine tackles and a half sack to pace the R-MC defense.

LAST MEETING WITH SOUTHERN VIRGINIA:
(W&L 35, SVU 28 - 9/20/08 - LEXINGTON, VA)
Running back Stuart Sitterson scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 5:57 of the game to lift the Washington and Lee football team to a thrilling 35-28 victory over Southern Virginia at Wilson Field.  The Knights knotted the game at 21-21 with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter on a 39-yard touchdown run by running back Marcus McCollum that occurred on a 4th-and-2 play. SVU then took a 28-21 lead with 6:14 remaining on a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Trulock to wide receiver Tye Hiatt.  The Generals responded on the ensuing kickoff, as Sitterson fielded the kick on his own 6-yardline and weaved his way 94 yards for the tying score with 5:57 remaining.  Each team had a failed possession and SVU had started a drive on its own 28-yardline with 1:59 remaining.  The Knights fumbled on the second play of the series and W&L defensive back David Love fell on the ball at the SVU 31-yardline.  Sitterson then scored the game-winner on a 31-yard touchdown run one play later with 1:10 remaining.  The Knights then drove to the W&L 29-yardline in the final seconds, but W&L defensive back Donavon Sawyer intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve the Generals' first win at the New Wilson Field.  Sitterson paced the W&L offense by rushing 33 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 20 yards and totaled 122 yards on returns for 311 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns on the day. Quarterback Charlie Westfal rushed 13 times for 47 yards and one touchdown, and also completed 14-of-22 passes for 118 yards.  Tailback Tom Pacicco added 24 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, while wide receiver Ryan Welsh snared seven passes for 61 yards. Linebacker Bradley McAllister led the Generals' defense with 10 tackles.  Trulock paced the Knights by completing 14-of-25 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown. McCollum carried the ball nine times for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Hiatt caught six balls for 109 yards and one touchdown. Defensive back Nick Deniz led the SVU defense with 15 tackles.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS:
Since the begining of the 2010 season, W&L has produced a 64-37 (.634) overall record and a 45-21 (.682) mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Generals have also claimed four ODAC titles during that stretch.

THE MAGIC NUMBER:
The magic number for success for W&L is 400.  The Blue & White has managed 400 rushing yards in a game 41 times since 2010 (101 games).  In those games, the Generals are 38-3, scoring an average of 44.5 points per game with a scoring margin of +20.4 points per game.  To contrast this point, when W&L fails to rush for 400 yards during the same span, it is just 26-34 with an average of 24.0 points per game and a scoring margin of -1.76 points per game.

NUMERO UNO:
Junior running back Josh Breece broke out in a big way against Randolph-Macon last week, tallying 195 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.  It was his first 100-yard game of the season and the 16th of his career, tying him with Marc Watson '01 and Chris Sullivan '03 for the second-most in program history.  His 24.4 average per carry in the game is second-best in program annals, boosted by a pair of 75-yard touchdown runs on back-to-back offensive plays.  With his big day, Breece now leads the team in rushing this season with 546 yards and six touchdowns on 82 carries.  Breece also moved up the career rushing list, surpassing Marshall Hollerith '17 for second-place with 3,490 yards.  He is now just 28 yards away from supplanting Luke Heinsohn '13 as the program's all-time leading rusher.  As a footnote, Breece's 33 career rushing touchdowns also rank third all-time at W&L.

THE FULL MONTY:
Junior wide receiver Montgomery Owen is having the best season of his Washington and Lee career.  Owen currently has a career-high 28 catches for a career-high 794 yards and a team-best eight touchdowns.  That is already the most season receiving yards by a W&L player since Jack Martin '08 tallied 893 yards during the 2007 season.  Owen has recorded 100 or more yards receiving in five of the last six games, including three catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns (all in the second half) against Randolph-Macon last week.  Owen has caught a touchdown pass in four straight games and his eight receiving touchdowns are tied for the third-most in a season in program history.  Owen's 28.36 average per catch currently ranks No. 1 in Division III.

BIG PLAYS:
The W&L offense has been producing big plays all season.  This was never more evident than last week against Randolph-Macon, when the Generals scored on plays of 75 yards, 75 yards, 75 yards and 66 yards.  A fourth touchdown was scored from 22 yards out and a 74-yard touchdown pass was wiped out by penalty.  W&L has produced 22 plays of 30 or more yards across its last six games, many of which resulted in long touchdowns.  Listed below are all of W&L's scoring plays this season from beyond 30 yards:

Guilford - Josh Breece 46-yard touchdown run
Guilford - Montgomery Owen 39-yard touchdown reception
Guilford - Montgomery Owen 71-yard touchdown reception
Guilford - R.J. Milligan 65-yard touchdown run
Hampden-Sydney - Coby Kirkland 80-yard touchdown reception
Ferrum - Coby Kirkland 76-yard touchdown run
Ferrum - Montgomery Owen 32-yard touchdown reception
Emory & Henry - Montgomery Owen 75-yard touchdown reception
Emory & Henry - Coby Kirkland 67-yard touchdown run
Bridgewater - Jack Pollard 56-yard touchdown run
Bridgewater - Montgomery Owen 38-yard touchdown reception
Randolph-Macon - Montgomery Owen 66-yard touchdown reception
Randolph-Macon - Montgomery Owen 75-yard touchdown reception
Randolph-Macon - Josh Breece 75-yard touchdown run
Randolph-Macon - Josh Breece 75-yard touchdown run

TALKING OFFENSE:
W&L's offense, on the strength of its big-play ability, continues to lead the ODAC with an average of 450.4 yards per game.  That total also ranks 24th in Division III.  Additionally, the Generals rank fifth nationally in rushing offense (305.8 ypg), third in passing yards per completion (19.61 ypc) and fifth in yards per carry (5.98 ypc).  Interestingly enough, despite being a primarily rushing offense, the Generals rank in the bottom third (179th) of Division III in time of possession (28:50), due in large part to scoring so quickly on big plays.  This was never more evident than during the R-MC game when the W&L offense possessed the ball for just 17:30 of the game's 60 minutes.

BETTER AS WE GO:
W&L's offense has progressively gotten better throughout the course of the game all season.  On the year, the Generals have totaled 48 points in the first quarter, 58 points in the second quarter, 77 points in the third quarter and 89 points in the fourth quarter.  On the flip side, W&L's defense has allowed almost twice as many points in the fourth quarter as any quarter throughout the year.  W&L is allowing 44 points in the first, 43 in the second, 32 in the third and 77 points in the fourth quarter.

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