LEXINGTON, Va. – Washington and Lee jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and ended a three-game losing streak with a 28-7 victory over Southern Virginia in ODAC football action on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Junior running back
Josh Breece (Lorton, Va. / Stone Bridge) gave W&L (5-4, 4-3) a 7-0 lead with 10:18 left in the first quarter when he finished off a 4-play, 62-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The opening play of the drive was a 50-yard run by senior quarterback
Drew Richardson (Watkinsville, Ga. / Athens Academy), allowing for the Breece touchdown three plays later.
Breece made more news early in the second quarter when back-to-back runs of 11 and 15 yards helped W&L to another scoring drive and secured his place atop the program records for career rushing yards. He finished with 69 rushing yards on the day, eclipsing the career rushing record held by Luke Heinsohn '13. Breece now has 3,559 yards in just 29 career games played.
Richardson finished off the 11-play, 76-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run that gave W&L a 14-0 lead with 10:43 left in the half.
Following an SVU (3-6, 2-6) punt that pinned W&L on its own 3-yardline, the Generals marched 97 yards on 15 plays, taking a 21-0 lead on a 20-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back
Alex Wertz (Sterling, Va. / Dominion) with just 39 seconds left before the intermission.
Richardson added a second touchdown run, this time from 2 yard out, for a 28-0 lead with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Neither team could penetrate the end zone until the Knights scored on a 4th-and-goal from the 12-yardline with just one second remaining. First-year quarterback Colten Shumway found first-year wide receiver Matthew Johansson in the back of the end zone to deny the Generals their first shutout in over eight years.
Washington and Lee finished with 395 yards of total offense led by Richardson, who rushed 13 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Wertz racked up 86 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while Breece amassed 69 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Senior linebacker
Will Corry (Watkinsville, Ga. / Athens Academy) led the defense with seven tackles, three for a loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
Southern Virginia gained 248 yards, 83 of which came on the final drive of the game. Shumway completed 12-of-14 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown, while senior wide receiver Kevin Adams snared eight passes for 81 yards. Senior running back Akiva Wedge added 64 yards on 20 carries, while senior defensive back Neil Davis and junior defensive back Albert Green IV had a game-high 13 tackes each.
Washington and Lee will complete its season on Saturday when it travels to Shenandoah for a 1:00 pm contest.
