GAME 1:
W&L (0-0) vs. DICKINSON (0-0)
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Lexington, Va. • 1:00 pm

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

VIDEO BROADCAST:
https://team1sports.com/generalssports/

LIVE STATS:
http://washingtonlee.sidearmstats.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

WASHINGTON AND LEE HEAD COACH GARRETT LeROSE:
Garrett LeRose (W&L '07) is in his second season as the head coach at Washington and Lee.  His first season resulted in a 5-4 (.556) overall record.  LeRose had served as an assistant coach with W&L ever since finishing his playing career with the Generals in 2006.  He won one ODAC title as a player (2006) and has had a hand in four more (2010, 2012, 2015, 2017) as a coach.

DICKINSON HEAD COACH BRAD FORDYCE:
Dickinson is led by third-year Head Coach Brad Fordyce (Springfield '97), who carries a 7-13 (.350) overall record in his first career head coaching opportunity.  Last season, Fordyce guided the Red Devils to a 4-6 overall mark.

THE SERIES:
Washington and Lee and Dickinson will be meeting for the fifth time, with the Generals holding a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series that began during the 1959 season.  Last season's encounter was the first between the two teams since 1984.

FOR OPENERS:
Since 1900, W&L is 61-57-1 (.517) in season-opening games.  W&L has dropped seven of the last 11 season-openers, but came away with a 16-10 overtime win over the Red Devils in last season's opening contest.  The win snapped a string of 23 consecutive road losses to start a season.

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 126 seasons, the Generals have compiled a 522-534-39 (.495) overall record. 

SCOUTING DICKINSON:
Dickinson completed the 2018 campaign with a 4-6 overall record and a 4-5 mark in the Centennial Conference.  The Red Devils allowed an average of just 306.5 yards per game, but managed just 302.8 yards and 20.5 points per game on the offensive side of the ball.  Dickinson's fairly stout defense is paced by senior linebacker James Turner, who earned First Team All-Centennial Conference and Second Team All-South Region accolades after totaling 100 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions.  He is a D3football.com Preseason Second Team All-America selection.  Junior linebacker Brian Snow also returns after posting honorable mention all-conference laurels a year ago when he notched 78 tackles and three sacks.  The Dickinson offense is led by a pair of all-conference returnees in juniors Phillip Butler and Cuba Birnbaum.  A running back, Butler totaled a team-high 639 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while also catching 14 passes for 68 yards in posting second team all-league honors.  An offensive lineman, Birnbaum also garnered second team recognition after being an honorable mention pick in his rookie campaign.  Junior wide receiver Christopher Longo also returns after registering 37 catches for 395 yards and a team-best six touchdowns in 2018.

LAST TIME OUT:
(SHENANDOAH 27, W&L 24 IN OT - 11/10/18 - LEXINGTON, VA.)
The Shenandoah football team overcame a 21-6 fourth-quarter deficit to post a 27-24 overtime victory over Washington and Lee in the season finale for both teams on Wilson Field.  The Generals grabbed a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on the strength of touchdown runs by running backs Alex Wertz and Josh Breece.  W&L forced a turnover late in the first quarter, setting up a short field for the opening score, a 2-yard run by Wertz.  The Generals stopped the Hornets on downs on the following possession and Breece scored a 1-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead with 7:24 left in the half.  The Hornets got on the board with a 3-yard touchdown pass at the 4:48 mark of the second quarter.  The PAT failed making it 14-6.  However, the Generals got another score before the end of the half, driving 52 yards in just 1:30 to assume a 21-6 lead with 34 seconds left on a 3-yard touchdown run by senior running back Collin Sherman.  W&L gained just 22 yards of offense in the third quarter of play, but maintained the 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter thanks to solid play by the defense.  Shenandoah broke through to make it an 8-point game (21-13) with 9:38 left in the fourth quarter and mounted a final drive from its own 35-yardline with 1:23 remaining.  The Hornets needed just three plays to find paydirt and tied the game with a PAT pass that made it 24-24 with 1:02 left.  W&L missed a 45-yard field goal as time expired and got the ball to start the overtime period.  The drive stalled and resulted in a 22-yard field goal by placekicker Jarrett Wright.  The Hornets then scored on a 6-yard run just three plays into their possession to assume the victory.  The Generals finished with 307 yards of total offense led by Breece, who carried 27 times for 150 yards and one touchdown.  Sherman tallied 58 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Wertz had seven carries for 18 yards and a touchdown.  Senior safety Thomas Freeland notched a team-high 11 tackles.  Shenandoah finished with 424 yards of offense behind senior quarterback Hayden Bauserman, who completed 40-of-59 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS:
Since the begining of the 2010 season, W&L has produced a 60-33 (.645) overall record and a 42-18 (.700) mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Generals have also claimed four ODAC titles during that stretch.

HOME SWEET HOME:
Since the turn of the century (2000), Washington and Lee is a combined 65-26 (.714) in games played at Wilson Field.  The Generals have won 33 of their last 44 (.750) home contests dating back to the 2010 season.  That being said, the Blue & White was just 1-3 at home last season.

THE MAGIC NUMBER:
The magic number for success for W&L is 400.  The Blue & White has managed 400 rushing yards in a game 39 times since 2010 (93 games).  In those games, the Generals are 36-3, scoring an average of 44.4 points per game with a scoring margin of +19.5 points per game.  To contrast this point, when W&L fails to rush for 400 yards during the same span, it is just 24-30 with an average of 23.4 points per game and a scoring margin of -2.0 points per game.

NUMERO UNO:
Any talk of the Washington and Lee offense has to begin with its numero uno, junior running back Josh Breece.  Despite being largely forgotten in the 2019 preseason All-America hype, Breece is among the top returning tailbacks in Division III football.  A 2018 AP Second Team All-American and 2019 Preseason First Team All-America selection, Breece enters his junior campaign already ranked sixth on the school's career rushing list with 2,944 yards in just 20 games.  His career average of 147.2 yards per game ranks second among active Division III players, trailing only Brian Mann of Ferrum (153.8 ypg).  Breece is  tied for sixth all-time at W&L in rushing touchdowns (27) and he has averaged 6.6 yards per rush across 442 carries.  Breece had another fantastic season last fall, finishing with 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns.  He rushed for 100 or more yards in six games, bringing his career total to 15 games of 100 or more yards (out of 20 career contests).  Breece rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in last year's season-opening win over Dickinson, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard plunge in the overtime session.

WHAT ELSE RETURNS ON OFFENSE?:
The Generals return plenty of firepower in addition to Breece's gaudy numbers.  Seven starters return led by senior tackle Sean Clark, who is back after garnering all-conference laurels each of the past two seasons.  Last season, he was named to the All-ODAC Second Team after helping W&L rank fifth in Division III in rushing offense (296.0).  A stable of quarterbacks return led by the duo of senior Drew Richardson and junior Trey Laughlin.  Richardson has played in 20 games across the last two seasons, rushing for 676 yards and four touchdowns and completing 39.1 percent (25-64) of his passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns (2 INT).  Laughlin has seen action in 18 contests over his first two seasons, rushing for 478 yards and three touchdowns, and completing 50.0 percent (16-32) of his tosses for 233 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions.  Sophomore running back Alex Wertz is back after totaling 213 yards and five touchdowns last season, while senior running back Jimmie Johnson returns after posting 371 career rushing yards (3 TDs) and 146 career receiving yards (1 TD).  Junior wide receiver Montgomery Owen is also back after leading the team in receiving with 14 catches for 287 yards and three scores.

HOW ABOUT THE DEFENSE?:
The strength of the Generals, at least early in the season, should reside on the defensive side of the ball, where W&L returns nine starters and three all-conference players from last season's squad that led the ODAC in scoring defense (24.7 ppg).  Headlining the group is senior linebacker Will Corry, who earned Second Team All-ODAC honors in 2018 after leading the team with 63 tackles.  He also led the ODAC in tackles for a loss (15 for -60) and was second in the conference with seven sacks (-45).  Junior defensive lineman Andrew Frailer and senior defensive lineman Phil Davis are also back as all-conference picks.  Frailer garnered Second Team All-ODAC laurels for the second consecutive year, finishing with a career-best 26 tackles and four sacks (-23).  Davis was also an all-conference selection for the second time after being named to the third team in 2017 as well.  Last year, he tallied 26 tackles and 0.5 sacks (-4).  Though they didn't earn all-conference recognition, W&L also welcomes back its second- and third-leading tacklers from 2018 in senior safety Davis Waldrop and junior linebacker Sam Murphy.  Waldrop posted 51 tackes, while Murphy made 49 stops. 

AND THE SPECIALISTS?:
W&L also returns talent and experience among its specialists as well.  Both the starting punter and placekicker return, and both earned all-conference status last fall.  Senior Bo Sheridan returns to handle the punting duties after garnering First Team All-ODAC laurels last season.  He became W&L's first punter named to the All-ODAC First Team since 1992, averaging 39.2 yards per punt in 2018.  He placed 11 punts inside the 20-yardline with just three touchbacks, and forced 10 fair catches.  Junior placekicker Jarrett Wright garnered Third Team All-ODAC accolades last season after he finished as the team's second-leading scorer with 45 points.  He drilled 7-of-9 field goals and made good on 24-of-28 PAT's.

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.

IN A RUSH:
W&L has consistently possessed the most potent rushing offense in the country in recent seasons and finished fifth in Division III with an average of 296.0 rushing yards per game last season.  The Generals led all of college football in rushing in 2016 and 2015, and they have ranked no lower than sixth in DIII in rushing offense since 2010.  

Below is a look at the W&L national ranking in recent years.

2018: 5th - 296.0 ypg
2017: 2nd - 403.2 ypg
2016: 1st - 390.3 ypg
2015: 1st - 433.9 ypg
2014: 6th - 300.4 ypg
2013: 2nd - 346.7 ypg
2012: 1st - 363.7 ypg
2011: 4th - 331.8 ypg
2010: 5th - 359.5 ypg

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