GAME 9:
W&L (7-1, 4-0) vs. FERRUM (6-2, 3-2)
Saturday, November 6, 2021
Lexington, Va. • 1:00 pm

WASHINGTON AND LEE HEAD COACH GARRETT LeROSE:
Garrett LeRose (W&L '07) is in his fourth year as the head coach at Washington and Lee.  His first three seasons have resulted in an 18-9 (.667) overall record.  During his first season in 2018, the Generals posted a 5-4 record.  His second in 2019 produced a 6-4 mark.  Prior to becoming head coach, 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.

FERRUM HEAD COACH CLEIVE ADAMS:
Ferrum is led by Cleive Adams (Ferrum '02), who is in his second season with the Panthers.  He carries a 38-34 career record in eight seasons as a head coach and is 8-5 at Ferrum.  Prior to taking over the Panthers, he was the head coach at Averett for six seasons.  Adams served as an assistant coach at Washington and Lee for two seasons, helping lead the Generals to the 2006 ODAC title. 

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 the Generals have compiled a 535-539-39 (.498) overall record. 

SUSTAINED SUCCESS:
Since the beginning of the 2010 season, W&L has produced a 73-38 (.658) overall record and a 51-21 (.708) mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Generals have also claimed four ODAC titles during that stretch. 

THE SERIES:
W&L and Ferrum will be meeting for the third time, with the Generals holding a 2-0 series lead.  The Blue & White defeated the Panthers by a score of 38-35 on the road in 2018 and then posted a 30-10 win on Wilson Field in 2019.

SCOUTING FERRUM:
Ferrum is 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play following a 57-35 home victory over Guilford on Saturday.  After Guilford took a 7-0 lead on the opening possession, Ferrum tallied three touchdowns before the end of the quarter and never looked back.  The Panthers totaled 528 yards of total offense led by senior quarterback Titus Jones, who earned ODAC Offensive Player of the Week honors by completing 16-of-23 passes for 239 yards and six touchdowns.  He also rushed nine times for 89 yards.  Sophomore running back Joshua Ellerbe contributed 102 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries, while six different receivers each hauled in one touchdown pass.  On defense, senior linebacker Billy Higgins recorded a team-best 10 tackles and a half sack.  For the season, the Panthers average 398.0 yards and 28.9 points per game on offense, while the defense gives up an average of 392.3 yards and 28.1 points per outing.  Jones leads the ODAC in both completion percentage (63.4%) and passing touchdowns (20), while his 2,000 passing yards are second overall.  He has also thrown just four interceptions and he is the team's leading rusher with 309 yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries.  Jones' favorite target, sophomore wide-out Tmahdae Penn, leads the ODAC in receiving touchdowns (10) and ranks second in receiving yards (740). Higgins is the team's leading tackler with 78 stops and junior linebacker Drew Hill has registered 57 tackles as well.

LAST TIME OUT:
(W&L 30, E&H 28 - 10/30/21 - EMORY, VA.) 
Sophomore placekicker Arturo Ramirez booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Washington and Lee a 30-28 road win over Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon.  The Wasps took a 28-27 lead with 4:59 remaining when sophomore quarterback Kyle Short hit senior wide receiver Kashawn Cosey for a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown.  The Generals went 3-and-out on the next series and punted the ball back to the Wasps.  The W&L defense forced a 3-and-out of its own and took over on its own 22-yardline after an E&H punt.  The final drive began with 2:50 remaining.  On second down, sophomore quarterback Stephen Murrin hit sophomore wide receiver Gabriel Stulce for a 26-yard gain to the 49-yardline.  The Blue & White picked up one more first down, eventually driving to the E&H 36-yardline for a 4th-and-7 with 39 seconds remaining.  Ramirez lined up for a 53-yard field goal attempt, which fell short.  However, the Wasps were called for running into the kicker, setting up a 4th-and-2 from the 31-yardline.  Senior running back Coby Kirkland picked up the first down with a 4-yard rush, keeping the drive alive.  The Generals picked up another six yards on a rush by senior running back Josh Breece and W&L ran the clock down to one second before calling its final timeout.  Ramirez made good on his second attempt, extending the Generals' winning streak to seven in a row.  Breece gave W&L a 7-0 lead with 4:00 left in the first quarter, but the Wasps responded with two straight scores for a 14-7 edge with 10:51 left in the second period.  Kirkland scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:10 left to tie the game at 14-14.  The play was set up by a 46-yard interception return by senior safety Dean Johnson.  E&H assumed a 21-14 lead heading into the half when senior running back Devontae Jordan capped a 93-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run.  Jordan rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 first-half carries.  The Generals took the second half kickoff and marched 71 yards on just five plays to tie the game at 21-21 with 12:29 left in the third period.  First-year running back Jacob Romero finished off the drive with a 34-yard touchdown run.  W&L limited Jordan to just 35 yards on 11 second-half carries, forcing the Wasps to punt three times after the intermission.  The lead grew to 24-21 with a 29-yard Ramirez field goal with 8:39 left in the penultimate quarter, and a 39-yarder with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter gave W&L a 27-21 lead, setting up the exciting finish.  Murrin led the W&L offense with 195 rushing yards on 16 carries, including an 82-yard run when the Generals were backed up on their own goal line on the second series of the third quarter.  Breece rushed 19 times for 74 yards and one touchdown, while Romero tallied 57 yards and a score on four carries.  First-year linebacker Jalen Todd led the defense with eight tackles and a sack.  Johnson finished with six tackles and an interception.  Jordan completed the game with 198 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries to lead the Wasps.  Short completed 14-of-21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.  Cosey finished with six catches for 80 yards and one score.  Senior linebacker Ivan Phillips had a team-best 12 tackles.

LAST MEETING WITH FERRUM:
(W&L 30, FERRUM 10 - 10/5/19 - LEXINGTON, VA.) 
Washington and Lee scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and held Ferrum to just 177 total yards in registering a 30-10 victory over the Panthers at Wilson Field.  The Generals limited Ferrum to just 50 yards rushing in the contest, with 58 yards coming on the Panthers' final drive of the game against W&L's second team defense.  W&L opened the scoring with 9:58 left in the second quarter when running back Alex Wertz scored on a 7-yard touchdown run.  The Generals made it a 14-0 game with 2:30 left in the first half when running back Coby Kirkland took an option pitch on the second play of the drive and rumbled 76 yards for a touchdown.  Senior linebacker Will Corry then picked off Ferrum senior quarterback Zack Clifford on the fourth play of the next series, returning the ball 18 yards to the Ferrum 35-yardline.  Three plays later, quarterback Jack Pollard found wide receiver Montgomery Owen with a 29-yard touchdown pass with just 49 seconds left in the half for a 21-0 lead at the break.  Ferrum got on the board with a 37-yard field goal by placekicker Brad Green at 10:32 of the third quarter, but W&L responded with a 9-play, 78-yard drive to take a 27-3 lead with 5:38 left in the period.  Quarterback Trey Laughlin hooked up with Owen for another touchdown pass, this time from 32 yards out.  Placekicker Jarrett Wright knocked a 31-yard field goal through the uprights with just 42 seconds left in the third quarter for a 30-3 lead and the Generals substituted often for the remainder of the game in posting the 20-point win.  W&L finished with 490 yards of total offense, including 320 yards on the ground.  Despite the ground success, Owen led the Generals' offense with seven catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns.  Kirkland tallied 93 yards rushing and one touchdown on just three carries, while Pollard rushed for 57 yards on nine carries and completed 5-of-7 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.  Laughlin amassed 52 rushing yards on eight carries and he also completed 6-of-8 passes for 73 yards and one score.  Wertz finished with eight carries for 42 yards and one touchdown.  On defense, Corry had five tackles and his first career interception.  Senior defensive end Oak Mize added three tackles, all for a loss (-11), one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Ferrum finished the game 0-for-11 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.  Running back Joe Burris III led the way with 58 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries.  Clifford completed 11-of-22 passes for 127 yards and one interception, and defensive back Niccolas Helvy paced the defense with nine tackles.

THE MAGIC NUMBER:
The magic number for success for W&L is 400.  The Blue & White has managed 400 rushing yards in a game 43 times since 2010 (110 games).  In those games, the Generals are 40-3, scoring an average of 45.1 points per game with a scoring margin of +21.9 points per game.  To contrast this point, when W&L fails to rush for 400 yards during the same span, it is just 33-35 with an average of 24.6 points per game and a scoring margin of -0.5 points per game.  Remarkably, W&L is 5-1 this season when it fails to reach the 400 mark.

HISTORY MADE:
Washington and Lee has already registered a winning season for the 2021 campaign, making the sixth straight winning season.  This is tied for the second-longest stretch of winning seasons in program history.  W&L also posted six straight winning campaigns from 1980-85 and from 1919-24.  The current record is 13-straight winning seasons from 1905-17.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING:
After starting the season with a loss at Christopher Newport, the Generals have rebounded to win seven straight contests.  This is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in program history.  The record is 15 straight across the 1960-61-62 seasons.  Recently, the 2014 and 2015 teams combined to win 11 in a row.

RE-WRITING THE RECORDS:
Senior running back Josh Breece has been re-writing the Washington and Lee record book from the moment he slipped on the Blue & White uniform.  Breece totaled 74 rushing yards and one touchown last week to increase his career rushing totals to 4,362 yards and 45 touchdowns on 678 carries.  His rushing total is already a school record and ranks second all-time in ODAC history.  In fact, it is also the second-most rushing yards of any active player in Division III and the fifth-most of any NCAA player regardless of division.  Only Jaleel McLaughlin of Youngstown State (6,219), Mount Union's Josh Petruccelli (4,737), Al McKeller of Northwest Missouri State (4,586) and Cole Chancey of Harding (4,582) have more rushing yards than Breece.  He is currently just three touchdowns behind Luke Heinsohn '13 for the most career touchdowns in program history.

GOLDEN BOOT:
Sophomore placekicker Arturo Ramirez has had a significant impact on the Generals' season, especially after knocking home a career-best three field goals, including the game-winner, in the victory over Emory & Henry.  Ramirez is currently the team's second-leading scorer with 53 points on 7-of-10 field goals and 32-for-32 on PATs.  His next made field goal would represent the fifth-most field goals made in a season in program history, while his 32 consecutive made PATs are already the fourth-most in the program annals.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MIDDLE:
Washington and Lee has fared well this season, out-scoring its opposition, 285-130, for the year.  Impressive numbers, but consider the tally for the middle two quarters.  Across the second and third quarters of games this season, W&L holds a 161-55 advantage over its opponents.  This includes scoring a high of 99 points in the second quarter and holding opponents to a low of 17 points in the third quarter.

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK:
Washington and Lee (4-0) has a one game lead in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference standings with two games remaining.  Given that W&L has defeated both Randolph-Macon (4-1) and Hampden-Sydney (3-1), the only two conference teams with one loss, the Generals hold the head-to-head tie-breaker against both teams.  Due to this, W&L needs to win just one of its last two ODAC contests in order to claim the conference title and the accompanying automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.  Since 2010, the Generals have won more conference titles (4) than any other school in the conference.  Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon have each won three, while Bridgewater won the last traditional title in 2019.  Randolph-Macon seized the non-traditional crown last spring.

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