BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Washington and Lee football team raced out to a 14-point first-quarter lead and never looked back, as the Generals defeated Bridgewater, 23-7, on the road on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Generals picked off Bridgewater quarterback Jaicere Bateman on the game's opening drive and turned it into points on a one-yard run by Ty Collins. Bateman's pass was picked off at midfield by Gabe Joyner, who returned the pick back to the Eagles' 10-yard line to setup the short drive.
- Bridgewater then punted after five plays on their following drive, and the Generals marched the ball 82 yards down field on 14 plays for another touchdown. Collins completed a short pass to Ayden Boyd to pick up a 4th-and-6 conversion mid-drive, which came two plays ahead of an 18-yard scamper from Michael Schoenberg down to the Eagles' two. Senior Jacob Romero completed the drive with a two-yard TD run.
- After another Bridgewater punt with 1:14 left in the opening period, W&L put together a 12-play, 67-yard drive, which ended in a 27-yard field goal by Michael Fernandes with 10:54 left before the half. The drive was led by a 25-yard dash from Boyd on a 3rd-and-6 at the W&L 25, followed by another 22-yard rush from Boyd later in the drive.
- Bridgewater's struggles continued as Jalen Todd forced a fumble on a run play, which was recovered by Jack Johnson. On the ensuing possession, the Generals picked up 16 yards from Collins on 2nd-and-8 from the Bridgewater 43, before converting a 4th-and-15 with a Collins-to-Andrew Bland connection for 23 yards. Collins later finished the drive himself with an eight-yard touchdown run.
- The next six drives of the game did not result in points, until the Eagles managed a 10-play, 59-yard drive to get on the board. Bateman hit Brendan Robinson for a 14-yard pass on the drive, plus Cedric Drumgoole for 12- and 14-yard gains to move the ball down the field. The drive ended with a Jamel Johnson seven-yard touchdown reception.
- Bridgewater forced punts on the next two W&L drives, but threw an interception to Charlie Fleming with 1:56 remaining in the game in what was the Eagles' final possession.
W&L GAME NOTES
- The Generals improve to 6-3 overall on the season with the win and 5-1 in conference play.
- W&L ran the ball for 240 yards on 4.4 yards per carry, while picking up 329 yards of total offense. The Generals also picked up 17 first downs, 12 by rush, and held the ball for 34:46. Despite only going 3-for-14 on third downs, the Blue and White converted on 4-of-5 fourth down attempts.
BRIDGEWATER GAME NOTES
- The loss drops the Eagles' record to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
- Bridgewater totaled 240 yards of offense and only 46 on the ground on 1.9 yards per tote. The Eagles gained 194 yards through the air, picked up 13 first downs and went 5-of-13 on third downs.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- Collins ran the ball for 44 yards on 10 carries with two rushing touchdowns, while Romero totaled 80 yards on the ground and his score. Bland led the W&L receivers with 70 yards on four catches.
- Todd finished the game with nine total tackles, four solo, to cross the 100-tackle milestone for the season. Senior Uno Christopher tallied eight tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss, which included 1.5 sacks for 10 yards.
- Will Mahmud had a sack for 13 yards, while Joyner led the defensive backs with his interception, 40-yard return and three pass breakups. The interception was Joyner's first of his collegiate career.
- Bateman completed 20-of-34 passes for 194 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Drumgoole had a team-high 76 receiving yards on seven catches and Johnson hauled in six receptions for 64 yards and a score.
- The BC defense was led by Aaron Moore who had six solo tackles and eight total. Elijah Choy came up with six tackles, including 2.0 for loss, with Jalen Cunningham and Eli Rucker both notching seven total stops.
UP NEXT:
- The Generals will return to the gridiron next Saturday, November 16, in the regular season finale against Shenandoah at 1:00 p.m. at Wilson Field. Prior to opening kick-off, the team's 23-player senior class with be honored as part of Senior Day.
