Emory & Henry Football

Eagles defeat Wasps on last second Field Goal

Emory, VA - Sunday, October 21, 2007
Beach Bums Out Wasps With Last-Second Field Goal For Bridgewater Win

EMORY – Kyle Beach booted a 24-yard field as time expired to lift Bridgewater College to a 17-14 Old Dominion Athletic Conference win over Emory & Henry on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Fullerton Field.

The loss dropped the Wasps to 1-2 in the ODAC and 4-3 overall.

The place kicker Beach will get most of the headlines and accolades for his game-winning field goal, but he certainly owes thanks for the opportunity to Phillip Carter and the Eagles offensive line, which opened a huge hole for Carter to gallop through for a 56-yard run to the E&H 13 yard line with just more than a minute to play. After a 10-yard holding penalty set Bridgewater back 10 yards, quarterback Jeff Highfill passed 11 yards to Andy Ropp to the Wasps 10 and then Carter ran to the 7 yard-line, getting within chip shot range for Beach.

Moments before the Eagles’ game-winning five-play, 62-yard drive, E&H, dressed in its monochrome home blue uniforms with yellow helmets, had tied the score for the first time since early in the 3rd Quarter. The game clock showed 1:59 to play when sophomore quarterback Daniel Booher hit Jonathan Hawkins for a 26-yard touchdown that evened the game at 14-14 and boosted the Fullerton faithful to their feet.

The scoring toss was Booher’s second to Hawkins in the game. Earlier in the quarter, the duo hooked up for a 21-yarder to cut the Bridgewater advantage to 14-7. Booher completed nine of his 25 passes for 142 yards, but tossed three interceptions. In addition to the two touchdown passes hauled by Hawkins, Caleb Jenkins caught three passes for 31 yards.

E&H’s running game continued to power through opponents. The Wasps’ ground attack tallied 166 yards, with Matt Gillespie getting 97 of those on just 15 carries.

However, it was Bridgewater’s runners who continually churned yardage while eating precious seconds off the big, blue scoreboard’s game clock and frustrating the majority of the 4,200 spectators.

The Eagles easily won the time-of-possession battle, holding the ball nearly 11 minutes longer than E&H. The third quarter was particularly lopsided with the stingy Bridgewater offense hogging the pigskin for almost 11 of the quarter’s 15 minutes.

Carter led the gold, burgundy and white-clad Eagles with a bruising 161 yards on 27 carries. On average, Bridgewater could count on Carter to gain about six yards each time he touched the ball.

Carter also was a hot target for Highfill out of the backfield. The senior caught five passes for 45 yards.

Highfill completed 18 of 31 passes for 170 yards, including a four-yard touchdown toss to Chris Tichacek that broke a scoreless tie with 6:43 to play in the third frame. That play followed an E&H fumble on the Wasps’ 25-yard line. The miscue was one of four E&H turnovers during the afternoon contest.

The Wasps’ defense forced Bridgewater into a couple of turnovers. Anthony Huggins intercepted a pass, and Dustin Rexrode recovered an Eagles fumble. Kevin Worley tallied a whopping 21 tackles for E&H, and Evin O’Sullivan had 10.

E&H will get a chance to snap its two-game losing winning streak next Saturday when visiting Washington D.C. for a date with Catholic University of America. Kickoff for the ODAC game is scheduled for noon.

Catholic dropped a tough 49-39 decision to Hampden-Sydney College Saturday and fell to 4-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

E&H defeated Catholic 31-27 a year ago in Emory.

Macon defeats the Wasps 28-25.

Saturday, October 13, 2007
Wasps Buzzed By Yellow Jackets, Remain in ODAC Chase

ASHLAND - Emory & Henry's bid to claim sole possession of first place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference hit a snag when the Wasps dropped a slim 28-25 road decision to conference rival Randolph Macon College Saturday at Day Field.

The loss slides E&H to 1-1 in the ODAC and 4-2 overall. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets sit alone atop the conference standings with a 3-0 record. RMC has six wins against only one defeat this season.

Randolph Macon's defense clamped down on the Wasps' stellar running game, allowing E&H runners to gain less than three yards per carry. Matt Gillespie, the ODAC's No. 2 rusher going into the game, gained 34 yards on just 13 carries to pace the E&H runners.

Darrin Richardson made the most of his six carries, averaging nearly four yards per run. Richardson scored the Wasps' only rushing touchdown, a one-yard plunge that gave E&H a brief 17-14 lead early in the third quarter.

The Wasps held a lead twice during the contest. The team's first advantage came early in the game when quarterback Daniel Booher connected with sophomore receiver Johnathan Hawkins on a 46-yard scoring pass with 9:24 to play in the opening quarter. Hawkins had three catches in the game for an astounding 139 yards.

Booher tossed one other touchdown against RMC, a 13-yarder to Ryan Mettinger late in the game that cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 28-25. Booher completed 10 of 23 passes for 288 yards. The sophomore had one interception in the end zone near the end of the half that ended a potential go-ahead scoring drive by the Wasps.

RMC's Zak Thornton proved to be nearly unstoppable running the ball against an E&H defense that ranked first in the ODAC against the run. The sophomore carried the ball 42 times for 161 yards. Brandon Braner had the Jackets' lone rushing TD, a one-yard quarterback sneak late in the first quarter. Braner threw the pigskin only 17 times, but completed 10 of those for 121 yards, and most importantly, three touchdowns.

However, it was Macon's ability to run the ball and control the clock that made a difference in the game. The Jackets kept the ball on the ground 53 times for nearly 200 yards and held the pigskin more than eight minutes longer than the Wasps.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Wasps next week, but the team will have the comforts of playing on its home turf when ODAC powerhouse Bridgewater College ventures into Fullerton Field. Bridgewater owns a 5-1 season record and is 1-1 in the conference after demolishing Guilford College 76-28 Saturday.

Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Wasps Score Homecoming Victory Before 8,000 Fans

Saturday, October 6, 2007
EMORY – Emory & Henry’s defense created seven turnovers and held high-powered Hampden-Sydney College scoreless in the second half as the Wasps zipped to a 29-19 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over the Tigers in front of nearly 8,000 fans on homecoming Saturday at Fullerton Field.

Hampden-Sydney came into the game averaging 40 points per game, and consistently moved the ball well against the Wasps. However, E&H’s opportunistic defense snatched the ball away from the Tigers at crucial points during the contest, enabling the Wasps to improve its season record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC.

E&H intercepted three passes from the arm of HSC quarterback Corey Sedlar. One of those picks was returned for a Wasps touchdown and two ended what was sure to be scoring drives being engineered by the Tigers.

Defensive linemen Dustin “Dusty” Rexrode had the Wasps’ first interception of the game with a pick at the Tigers’ 31, and the junior turned a lineman’s dream into reality as he strode into the end zone to give his team six points and the lead. Luke Hawk’s extra point gave the Wasps a 10-7 advantage with 7:19 to play in the opening frame.

Bryan Furr came up with two timely interceptions, both of which snuffed out HSC drives that were moving dangerously close to the E&H end zone. The junior defensive back’s second interception came on a HSC third-and-10 play from the Wasps’ 29. Furr stepped in front of Corey Sedlar pass at the E&H 18 and returned the ball 29 yards, giving the Wasps excellent field position near mid-field.

Furr made his first pick in his team’s end zone and from there ran 65 yards to the Tigers’ 35 yard line.
Looking past the three interceptions, Sedlar put together and impressive passing game, completing 27 of his 50 passes for 285 yards and a couple of scores.

Junior linebacker Evin O’Sullivan played his usual stellar game for the Wasps in his team’s conference opener, recording 12 tackles, one of which resulted in negative yardage for the Tigers. O’Sullivan, who recently was the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week and a member of D3football.com’s National Team of the Week, also forced and recovered a fumble for the homestanding Wasps.

Senior linebacker Hank Loutzenhiser recorded 13 tackles for E&H. Matt Sprouse also made ten tackles, forced a fumble and sacked the QB - Sedlar once.

Trent McVey and Steven Brown recovered two of the four balls dropped by the Tigers Saturday.

While turnovers proved to the HSC’s downfall, the Wasps managed to cling tightly to the ball, handing the striped pigskin over just once on a Daniel Booher interception in the first quarter. However, the Tigers gave the ball right back to the Wasps 20 seconds later with an interception of their own.

Booher completed 12 of his 21 pass attempts for 117 yards. The Wasps did have a touchdown pass in the game, but it did not come from the sophomore quarterback Booher. Instead it was delivered by Gavin Haynes when the senior hit Brian Bush from four yards away on a fake field goal. The score broke a 19-19 tie and pushed the Wasps ahead by seven with 7:13 to play the third frame.

The score completed an impressive ball-controlling possession in which the Wasps drove 75 yards in 18 plays. E&H held the ball from the Tigers for 7 minutes and 40 seconds during the possession.

Mid-way through the fourth, Hawk gave the Wasps a 10-point advantage at 29-19 when he booted a 20-yard field goal. Hawk kicked two other fields from 28 and 26 yards.

The E&H ground game continued it bruising style of attack Saturday. Matt Gillespie ran for 130 yards, and had one gallop for 27 yards.

The Wasps’ win snapped the Blue and Gold’s five-game losing streak to HSC. E&H has 38 wins against 26 losses in the history of the series versus the Tigers.

Next week the Wasps leave the friendly fans of Fullerton and travel to Ashland to face a tough Yellow Jackets squad that has won three in a row and is so far undefeated in the ODAC (5-1, 2-0). RMC won 21-10 Saturday over non-conference Carnegie-Mellon.

Kickoff for the ODAC contest is scheduled for 1 p.m in Ashland, VA.

E&H defeats Methodist 13-3.

Hawk’s foot helps E&H boot Monarchs

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – A pair of field goals and a timely interception helped propel Emory & Henry to a 13-3 victory over a tough, but so far winless Methodist College squad Saturday at Monarch Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C.
            Kicker Luke Hawk booted a pair of 32-yard field goals in the win; the second proved to be the game winner. Meanwhile, the Wasps defense held the Monarchs, now 0-4, to their lowest point total of the season.
            Trailing by three points late in the game, Methodist tried to stage a late rally, but E&H senior linebacker Hank Loutzenhiser single-handedly put an end to the Monarchs’ victory hopes. Loutzenhiser intercepted a Brandon Parks pass at the Methodist 36-yard-line and ran 25 yards before being stopped at the Monarchs’ 11.
            Four plays later, Matt Gillespie found the end zone on a six-yard run that gave the Wasps a 10-point advantage with just 1:21 to play in the contest. Gillespie led the Wasps ground attack Saturday with 84 yards on 19 carries. Cain Ringstaff chipped in 61 yards and Caleb Moore added 56 in a balanced E&H running attack.
            E&H had less success moving the ball through the air. Daniel Booher completed six of 19 passes for 98 yards.
            The opposite was true for the Monarchs. The E&H defense held Methodist to just 59 yards rushing, with Mike Hill being the team’s leading ground gainer with 45 yards.
            Meanwhile Parks hit his receivers 23 times in 36 pass attempts for 233 yards, but was sacked four times. Evin O’Sullivan had one of those sacks as part of his 20-tackle performance for the Wasps. Matt Sprouse, Daniel Barnes and Donnie Anderson had the other three sacks.
O’Sullivan recorded three other tackles Saturday that resulted in negative yardage for Methodist.
Anthony Higgins also registered a double-digit tackle total – he had 11 – and swatted away four Monarch passes.
The schedule does not get any easier for the Wasps as they enter Old Dominion Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 6) at Fullerton Field against Hampden-Sydney College. The Tigers will come to Emory with two ODAC wins already under their belts, including a 38-31 come-from-behind win Saturday over No. 24 Bridgewater College.
Kickoff for the Homecoming game is scheduled for 1 p.m.

E&H Deconstructs Builders in Home Opener, 35-14

EMORY – Emory & Henry quarterback Daniel Booher did not have the prettiest stats line of the day. He completed only five of his 12 passes and tossed an interception that led to a score for the opposition.
            Not so hot, eh? Well, wait to you read what he did with those passes he did complete.
            Four of the sophomore’s completions landed softly in the hands of E&H receivers and resulted in touchdowns as the Wasps demolished the Builders of the Newport News Apprentice School, 35-14, Saturday in front of 5,100-plus fans at Fullerton Field.
            The non-conference victory improved E&H’s season record to 2-1, and Newport News Apprentice fell to 1-2.
            The Builders put their mark on the board first, scoring midway through the opening quarter when receiver Travis Reed hauled in a 35-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Franklin. The touchdown gave NNA its only lead of the game at 7-0.
            E&H quickly rallied to tie the game at 7-7 on Booher’s 40-yard aerial strike to sophomore receiver Jonathan Hawkins at 3:54 in the first. Hawkins had two touchdown catches in the game. The second score was delivered by Booher from 28 yards out at the 11:55 mark in the second quarter. That touchdown capped a six-play, 47-yard drive and put the Wasps ahead 14-7.
            In addition to Hawkins, Gavin Haynes and Ryan Mettinger also caught touchdown passes for the Wasps from 42 and 37 yards, respectively.
            Not all of E&H’s touchdowns were air delivered. Cain Ringstaff’s two-yard plunge midway through the second quarter gave the Wasps a commanding 21-7 lead. Ringstaff, a sophomore running back, compiled 106 yards for the finely-tuned E&H running game. As impressive as that yardage total is, it was not the most yardage gained by an E&H back. Senior Matt Gillespie lead the runners as he rumbled and roared for 124 yards on just 18 carries. Math majors will tell you that equals 6.9 yards per carry.
            In all, the E&H offense gained an astounding 458 yards against the Builders.
            Meanwhile, the Wasps defense had yet another stellar game of keeping the opposing offense in check. E&H defenders allowed NNA only 148 yards of total offense, including a meager 43 yards rushing. Sam Arnold was the Builders leading ground gainer with 19 yards on 14 carries.
            E&H defensive end Matt Baldwin was a tackling monster Saturday, throwing Builders ball carries to the ground 13 times. The junior recorded two and a half sacks that resulted in minus 17 yards for NNA and an amazing 6 total tackles for loss. Linebacker Evin O’Sullivan had 11 tackles, including one and a half that resulted in negative yardage for the QB.
            Junior defensive back Joey Daniels had an interception against the Builders late in the game.
            While the Wasps played well Saturday, there were a few minor hiccups along the way. One of those came early in the fourth quarter when NNA’s Tony Scott blocked an E&H punt and the Builders’ Joseph Bruce scooped up the pigskin and galloped untouched 41 yards for the score to cut the Wasps’ advantage to 28-14 with 11:58 to play in the contest.

E&H quickly regained the 21-point advantage a little more than two minutes later on a pretty 37-yard scoring pass from Booher to Mettinger that successfully ended a 66-yard drive.

            Saturday’s game was the first of only four home games for the E&H squad this season. Next week the Blue and Gold will be on the road again, this time traveling to Fayetteville, N.C., for a non-conference showdown with the Monarchs of Methodist College.

Methodist slid past E&H 16-8 a year ago at Fullerton, but this season the Monarchs have slid into an early-season hole. Methodist lost 50-10 to North Carolina Wesleyan Saturday and dropped to 0-3 for the season. The Monarchs other two losses have been by three points or less.

Kickoff for the game Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m., at Monarch Stadium.

Emory & Henry (1-1) at NC Wesleyan (1-2)

NC Wesleyan defeats E&H 20-16.

NC Wesleyan avenges last seasons 21-24 loss at the hands of the Wasps with a 20-16 victory this season.

The E&H Wasps outgained the NC Wesleyan Bishops 344 to 287 in total offense but the Wasps had 4 turnovers to the Bishops 0.

Defensively for the Wasps they were led by Evin O’Sullivan with 14 tackles whle Matt Baldwin had 10.
Offensively the Wasps had 252 yards rushing. Leading the way on the ground Matt Gillespie rushed for 88 yards on 15 carries, while Caleb Moore rushed for 52 yards on just 8 carries.

Through the air E&H’s Daniel Booher connected on 7 of 18 with 3 INT’s and 1-TD, with 92 total yards passing.

E&H will host Newport News Apprentice next week for its home opener.

Wasps defeat Ferrum 50-7

FERRUM, Va. – Emory & Henry’s much-anticipated start to the 2007 football season turned out to be down right offensive.

It was offensive in the fact that the Wasps playmakers rolled up 436 total yards in a 50-7 rout of Ferrum College Saturday in Ferrum.

Much of the Wasps yardage came via a balanced running attack, led by Caleb Moore’s 82 yards and Matt Gillespies’ 62. Cain Ringstaff ran in two scores for the Wasps.

Sophomore quarterback Daniel Booher passed for 132 on only 16 attempts, and tossed three touchdowns in his first collegiate start. The second TD pass, a 9-yarder to Jonathan Hawkins, gave the Wasps the lead for good at 14-7 with a 12:50 to play in the second quarter. The game had been tied at 7-7 after one quarter.

The Wasps stellar defense held the Panthers to just 78 yards passing and sophomore defensive back Anthony Higgins picked off two passes, both of which led to E&H touchdowns. The Wasps defense forced the Panthers offense into four turnovers.

Senior linebacker Kevin Worley led the Wasps with 13 tackles; two of those resulted in negative yardage for Ferrum.

Such a lopsided win is unique of late for the Wasps in the series with Ferrum. The last time E&H had the scoreboard balances tipped so heavily its favor against the Panthers was a 49-7 first round playoff win in 1987. E&H leads the all-time series 14-9.

The Wasps get a break before lining up for game two of the season. After a Saturday off, the E&H will travel to play North Carolina Wesleyan, the preseason favorite to win the USA South Conference.

Fans will have to wait a few more weeks to see the Wasps play at Fullerton Field. The E&H home opener is Sept. 22 against out-of-conference foe Newport News Apprentice.