LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee University football team fell short, 44-43 in an overtime loss to Hampden-Sydney College on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (4-3, 3-1 ODAC), up 31-17 at the end of the third quarter, survived the Blue and White's (5-2, 3-1 ODAC) 20-point comeback efforts to earn the Old Dominion Athletic Conference win.
Hampden-Sydney forced the overtime period as the clock expired with a successful field goal attempt.
Prior to the deflating 42-yard Quinton Waddy kick, W&L seemed to have pulled off a monumental comeback in the waning moments of regulation. Isaiah Medford picked off the ODAC passing leader, Tyler Bernard, with one second left on the clock. Unfortunately, a defensive pass interference call negated the play and put the ball at the WLU25 to give Waddy a chance to push the game tied at 37-37.
Washington and Lee opened up the extra period with the ball on the 25 per NCAA overtime protocol and Stephen Murrin (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Country Day) capped a 6-play drive with a 4-yard TD run up the center; a miss on the PAT gave H-SC the opportunity to win on the ensuing chance.
Bernard matched Murrin's efforts with his own rush up the middle and the final score was sealed 44-43 as Elijah Swett's kick was good to give the Tigers a road win, the 40th win over W&L in the series history.
The Blue and White lit up the scoreboard first in the opening possession after Murrin and the offense over on a punt return the WLU24. It only took 11 plays, with five different ball carriers, in the no-huddle offense to march down to the redzone. Jacob Romero (Fredericksburg, Va. Massaponax) punched through a hole on the left side and broke out for a 9-yard score.
The Tigers responded with back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter, both drives extended into double-digit plays with 12 and 14 snaps, respectively. The first touchdown drive consumed 75 yards and ended in a touchdown pass from six yards out to David Byler and an extra point for the visitors to take a 14-10 lead.
The Tiger defense then held WLU to just three points and Brice Wilson popped off a 20-yard kick return to set up the second straight touchdown for Hampden-Sydney. The 58-yard possession ate up 6:10 of the game clock.
To end the first half, a Hampden-Sydney picked off Murrin with one second on the clock. Originally, Bernard sent a desperate attempt down the field, the pass was incomplete and broken up by Connor O'Malley (Darien, Conn. / Darien). However, a horse collar tackle penalty gave the Tigers 15 yards and one last snap. The field goal unit came out and Swett tied the game up 17-17 with a 45-yard kick through the uprights to close out the half.
The Tigers got out ahead 14 points in the third stanza off a 96-yard march down to the endzone and followed it up with a defensive touchdown. Max Pickren scooped up a loose fumble at the WLU15 and scored. H-SC was successful on the two-point conversion to negate a missed PAT on the previous touchdown.
The Generals were held scoreless throughout the third quarter, the offense struggled to gain momentum and yardage. Just 19 net yards were tallied after three punts, the fumble and a missed field goal attempt.
Will Mahmud (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown West) forced a fumble on one of those returns and Burke Cigelske (Atlanta, Ga. / Riverwood) recovered the ball at the HSC25, but the Generals were unable to convert the special teams' play into points.
Fortunately for the Blue and White faithful, the offensive woes didn't carry into the final stanza. The Generals were able to score on the next four possessions, stretching into the overtime chance, with rushing touchdowns from Cameron Reed (The Woodlandsm Texas / John Cooper School), Harry Crutcher (Dallas, Texas / Cistercian), Alex Wertz (Sterling, Va. / Dominion) and Murrin.
Wertz' score came on the heels of a Hunter Hawk (Cumming, Ga. / Holy Innocents' Episcopal) forced fumble and recovery on the HSC39.
The Tigers out-gained W&L 427-407 in total offensive yards and had a 10-play advantage despite the home team edging the victors in time of possession during regulation.
The Blue and White rushing attack went for 345 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry.
The W&L defense wrapped up Bernard three times and recorded 5 tackles for a loss. David Onyejekwe (Falls Church, Va. / McLean) led the team's tackling efforts with 11 total. O'Malley recorded seven solo tackles
Bernard's final stat line was 31-of-45 for 313 yards and three touchdowns. David Byler was on the receiving end of two of those passes while Austin Fernandez grabbed the third with 86 yards on the day.
Murrin led all rushers with 137 yards and two touchdowns for a 7.2 average. Wertz ran 91 yards on two touchdowns and Romero and Reed added 67 and 13 yards, respectively in addition to their scores.
Dryden Duggins(Baton Rouge, La. / Episcopal) and Alex Vaught (Roanoke, Va. / Roanoke Catholic) were involved in the air game. Vaught's lone grab was for 25 yards and Duggins caught an 11 and 10 yard pass for the Generals
Noteably, in the 80th matchup between the two programs, today's victory for the Tigers makes Hampden-Sydney head coach Marty Favret the all-time winningest football coach at Hampden-Sydney. Coach Favret has an overall record of 144-84, and surpassed J. Stokeley Fulton's record of 143-99-5 over 25 seasons from 1960-84.
The Blue and White are back in front of the home crowd next Saturday, October 29 for Young Alumni weekend against Randolph-Macon College at 2 p.m. on Wilson Field. The Generals look to build off the 2021 thrilling 25-24 comeback win in Ashland over then-ranked No. 16 Randolph-Macon.
