GAME 10:
W&L (8-1, 5-0) at SHENANDOAH (6-3, 2-3)
Saturday, November 13, 2021
Winchester, 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 and he carries a 19-9 (.679) overall record.  After going 5-4 in 2018 and 6-4 in 2019, LeRose has led the Generals to an 8-1 mark this season.  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), had a hand in four more (2010, 2012, 2015, 2017) as an assistant coach and claimed his first title as a head coach this season (2021).

SHENANDOAH HEAD COACH SCOTT YODER:
Shenandoah is led by ninth-year Head Coach Scott Yoder (Hobart '01), who is 42-42 (.500) overall with the Hornets.  Yoder came to SU from Hobart, where he was an assistant coach for 12 seasons.  He is 2-5 all-time against W&L.

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 536-539-39 (.499) overall record. 

THE SERIES:
W&L and Shenandoah will be meeting for the ninth time, with the Generals holding a 6-2 edge in the all-time series.  Both losses suffered by the Blue & White occurred in overtime, including a 27-24 setback in 2018.  W&L took the last meeting by a score of 34-31 in 2019.

SCOUTING SHENANDOAH:
Shenandoah is 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference.  The Hornets are coming off a 35-16 victory over the Apprentice School in Winchester last Saturday.  SU jumped out to a 21-0 lead just 20 seconds into the second quarter and were never seriously challenged.  The Hornets rolled up 474 yards of total offense led by first-year quarterback Steven Hugney, who completed 20-of-32 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns.  He also rushed for an additional 19 yards in the contest.  Graduate wide receiver Brant Butler was named the ODAC Offensive Player of the Week after recording nine catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns.  Senior running back Rashadeen Byrd, Jr., was the top ground-gainer with 12 carries for 72 yards and one touchdown.  Senior defensive back David Agyei garnered the ODAC Defensive Player of the Week award after tallying 12 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception.  For the season, the Hornets are led by Butler, who leads the conference in both catches (54) and receiving yards (882).  His seven touchdowns are third-best in the league.  Byrd is the conference's second-leading rusher with 163 carries for 751 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Hugney has completed 55.0 percent of his passes for 1,441 yards and 12 touchdowns.  However, he also leads the ODAC with 11 interceptions thrown.  Senior wide receiver Ethan Bigbee has also been a threat, as he boasts 40 catches for 418 yards and five touchdowns.  Senior linebacker Ben Burgan is the league's leading tackler with 116 tackles, including 12.5 tackles for a loss (-30). 

LAST TIME OUT:
(W&L 28, FERRUM 24 - 11/6/21 - LEXINGTON, VA.) 
Senior running back Josh Breece scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:42 remaining in the game to lift Washington and Lee to a 28-24 win over Ferrum on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.  W&L carried a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter, when each team scored a pair of touchdowns.  The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 14:47 left in the final quarter when senior quarterback Titus Jones hit senior wide receiver Nic Cook with a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap off a 10-play, 51-yard drive.  The score made it a 17-14 game.  The Generals answered on the next series, driving 58 yards on nine plays to take a 21-17 lead with 9:57 left on a 6-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Stephen Murrin.  Ferrum countered on its next possession with an 8-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Jones.  The score made it a 24-21 game with 5:49 left.  The Blue & White began its final offensive possession on the Ferrum 47-yardline after senior running back Alex Wertz returned the kickoff 49 yards.  Eight plays later, Breece plunged over the goal line for the four-point lead that the defense made stand up in the final 1:42.  The game was tight throughout and the Generals held a slim 334-323 edge in yards gained.  W&L produced 308 yards on the ground led by Murrin, who rushed 14 times for 109 yards and one touchdown.  He also completed 3-of-5 passes for 26 yards.  First-year running back Jacob Romero tallied 81 yards on 11 carries and Breece notched 61 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.  Senior running back Coby Kirkland rushed 10 times for 35 yards and two touchdowns, including one on a 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yardline as time expired in the first half.  On defense, W&L was paced by junior linebacker David Onyejekwe, who posted eight tackles.  Senior linebacker Alex Andros added six tackles, 2.5 for a loss, and one sack.  Jones carried the Ferrum offense by completing 23-of-32 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns.  He also rushed 13 times for 11 yards and a score.  Sophomore wide receiver Tmahdae Penn caught six passes for 104 yards and senior linebacker Billy Higgins recorded a game-high 15 tackles.

LAST MEETING WITH SHENANDOAH:
(W&L 34, SHENANDOAH 31 - 11/16/19 - WINCHESTER, VA.) 
Running back Josh Breece rushed for a game-high 151 yards and one touchdown to propel W&L to a 34-31 victory at Shenandoah.  Washington and Lee jumped out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter on a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs by quarterback Jack Pollard and senior quarterback Drew Richardson, and a 9-yard scoring run by Breece.  However, the momentum turned in the second quarter when several miscues stunted the Generals' momentum.  W&L had a punt blocked just a few plays into the second quarter, leading to a Hornets' touchdown just two plays later.  The Generals added a 29-yard field goal by placekicker Jarrett Wright on the next possession, but failed on a 4th-and-goal from the Shenandoah 5-yardline on the ensuing series.  The Hornets proceeded to drive 95 yards in eight plays, cutting it to a 24-21 game on an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Sonnenberg to senior wide receiver Casey Stewart with 1:06 left in the half.  The Generals were driving in the closing seconds, but fumbled the ball on the SU 25-yardline with 16 seconds remaining to end the threat.  W&L looked to assume control of the contest with the opening drive of the third quarter, moving 59 yards in nine plays for a 31-21 lead.  Running back Coby Kirkland ended the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.  But, the Generals couldn't pull away as another turnover set up the Hornets for a 28-yard field goal that was knocked through by placekicker Drew Geyer with 1:17 left in the third.  The Blue & White pushed the lead back to 10 points on another Wright field goal, this time from 39 yards out with 7:02 left, but the Hornets scored on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yardline with 3:12 left to make it a 34-31 game.  Shenandoah went for an onside kick, but W&L recovered and started the series on the SU 43-yardline.  However, a personal foul penalty put the Generals behind the sticks and W&L was forced to punt.  The Hornets took over on their own 13-yardline for a potential game-winning drive, but senior linebacker Will Corry picked off Sonnenberg on his own 33-yardline with 1:28 left.  The Generals kneeled three times, but still had eight seconds remaining on the clock.  Senior quarterback Drew Richardson tried to run out the clock, but gave himself up on the SU 40-yardline with two seconds remaining.  The Hornets attempted a game-winning hail mary on the final play, but cornerback Owen Roberts intercepted a tipped ball at the 15-yardline and the Generals claimed the victory.  W&L finished with 421 yards of total offense led by Breece's effort on a  21 carries.  Running back Alex Wertz carried 10 times for 67 yards, while Pollard tallied 54 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and completed 7-of-11 passes for 78 yards.  Kirkland added 50 yards and a touchdown on 11 rushes as well.  The Generals' defense forced five Shenandoah turnovers and limited the Hornets to just 337 total yards.  Corry led the way with nine tackles and one interception.  Sonnenberg led the Hornet offense by completing 29-of-40 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns, but also four interceptions.  Stewart caught seven passes for 70 yards and three touchdowns, while senior defensive back Nate Hill led the defense with 14 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS:
Since the beginning of the 2010 season, W&L has produced a 74-38 (.661) overall record and a 52-21 (.712) mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  The Generals have also claimed five ODAC titles during that stretch, the most of any team in the conference. 

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 (111 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 34-35 with an average of 24.6 points per game and a scoring margin of -0.4 points per game.  Remarkably, W&L is 6-1 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 eight straight contests.  This is tied for the fifth-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 61 rushing yards and one touchown last week to increase his career rushing totals to 4,423 yards and 46 touchdowns on 697 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 (6,341), Mount Union's Josh Petruccelli (4,806), Al McKeller of Northwest Missouri State (4,726) and Cole Chancey of Harding (4,621) have more rushing yards than Breece.  He is currently just two touchdowns behind Luke Heinsohn '13 for the most career touchdowns in program history.

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK:
Last week's win over Ferrum clinched the 2021 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football title for the Generals.  W&L has now won eight football championships in the 46 seasons that the league has recognized a champion.  That's the fourth-most of any program.  However, since 2010, this is W&L's fifth championship, most of any program in the ODAC.  Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon have three each during that span, while Bridgewater has the remaining title.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MIDDLE:
Washington and Lee has fared well this season, out-scoring its opposition, 313-154, 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 175-58 advantage over its opponents.  This includes scoring a high of 113 points in the second quarter and holding opponents to a low of 20 points in the third quarter.

SACK ATTACK:
Washington and Lee leads the ODAC with 26 total sacks in just nine games (2.89 per game).  This is tied for the ninth-best season total in program history.  The 2004 squad holds the record with 43 total sacks.  W&L posted four more sacks last week against Ferrum and the Generals have 17 players with at least one sack led by junior defensive end Robert Harvey's 4.5 sacks. Other sack leaders include junior defensive end Robert Poindexter with 4.0 sacks and sophomore defensive tackle Nathan Unger with 3.0 sacks.

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