LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee football team amassed 472 yards, all on the ground, in posting a 52-0 victory over Sewanee on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
 
The shutout was W&L's first since notching a 63-0 victory over Guilford on October 1, 2011 and represents the largest margin of victory for either team in the history of the W&L-Sewanee series that now spans 69 meetings.
 
The Generals opened a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of two first quarter touchdowns and two second quarter scores.  Senior running back Josh Breece (Lorton, Va. / Stone Bridge) got things started with a 51-yard touchdown run on W&L's second series of the game. 
 
Senior running back Coby Kirkland (Duncan, Okla. / Duncan) capped a 7-play, 50-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that gave W&L a 14-0 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter.  Kirkland then made it 21-0 with another 2-yard touchdown run at 4:23 of the second quarter.  The 5-play, 22-yard drive followed the W&L defense stopping Sewanee on downs on the prior possession.  Senior quarterback Jack Pollard (Richmond, Va. / Douglas Freeman) capped the first-half scoring with a 52-yard scamper to paydirt with 1:54 left in the half.
 
Breece opened the second half scoring with his second touchdown run, this time a spectacular 56-yard jaunt that involved a spin move to avoid a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and several cuts along the sideline.  It was the 38th touchdown of his career, moving him into third-place on the W&L career touchdown list and third on the career scoring list (238 pts).
 
W&L tacked on a 44-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker Arturo Ramirez (Providence Village, Texas / Braswell), a 6-yard touchdown run by junior running back Harry Crutcher (Dallas, Texas / Cistercian) and a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Giorgio Antonacci (Waxhaw, N.C. / Providence Day).  One play earlier, Antonacci broke off a 94-yard run and was forced out of bounds at the 1-yardline.  It was the second-longest run in program history and was the longest run without scoring.
 
The Blue & White outgained the Tigers by a count of 472-199, with many of Sewanee's yards coming in the second half against the Generals' bench.  The defense allowed an average of just 2.8 yards per play and limited the Tigers to just 6-of-20 on third-down conversions.  W&L amassed four sacks led by junior defensive end Robert Poindexter (Atlanta, Ga. / Lovett), who registered five tackles and a pair of sacks.  Junior defensive end Robert Harvey (Lenk im Simmental, Switzerland / Gymnasium Thun) added four tackles, including three tackles for a loss (-4).
 
Breece carried 10 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while Antonacci posted 95 yards and one touchdown on two carries.  Pollard totaled 67 yards and one score on six carries, and Kirkland rushed six times for 31 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Sewanee was led by first-year quarterback Jeremiah Young, who rushed for 37 yards on five carries.  Sophomore defensive back Thomas Latimer keyed the defense with 11 tackles.
 
Washington and Lee will be back in action next Saturday when it hosts Guilford for a 1:00 pm contest.