W&L Football Wins a 34-30 Thriller Over Randolph-Macon
ASHLAND, Va. – Washington and Lee drove 69 yards in just four plays and junior running back Luke Heinsohn (Charlottesville, Va./Covenant) scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:09 remaining to give the Generals a 34-30 win over Randolph-Macon on Saturday afternoon at Day Field.
Randolph-Macon (5-2, 1-2) drove to the W&L 2-yardline with just over four minutes remaining, but senior linebacker Rob Look (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) sacked R-MC first-year quarterback Zac Naccarato on 3rd-and-goal, forcing a 29-yard field goal by junior placekicker Josh Storm that made it a 30-27 game with 3:55 remaining.
Senior quarterback Charlie Westfal (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) hit sophomore tight end Alex Evans (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) for a 62-yard catch and run to the Yellow Jacket 6-yardline on the second play of the ensuing series and Heinsohn capped the drive two plays later for a 34-30 W&L (6-1, 3-0) lead.
Randolph-Macon then drove to the 50-yardline on the next possession, but junior safety Jake Pelton (Charlottesville, Va./Monticello) intercepted Naccarato on a 2nd-and-10 with 1:16 to play and the Generals took a knee three times to run out the clock.
Heinsohn gave the Generals a 6-3 lead when he scored on a 77-yard touchdown run with 6:26 left in the first quarter (PAT pass failed), but the Yellow Jackets retaliated with a pair of scores for a 17-6 lead with 6:25 left in the first half. Westfal hit junior running back Brett Murray (Lookout Mountain, Tenn./Baylor) on a long pass play that Murray fumbled on the RMC 27-yardline and kicked to the Randolph-Macon 2-yardline where Evans wrestled the ball away to keep the drive alive. Heinsohn scored one play later and the two-point conversion failed with 2:46 left in the half and the Yellow Jackets carried a 17-12 lead into the break.
The Generals struck first in the third quarter as Westfal found junior running back Russell Stewart (Elkin, N.C./Elkin) with a 50-yard scoring pass for a 19-17 lead just 3:12 into the period. However, Macon wrestled the lead back (20-19) on a 49-yard field goal by Storm at the 6:59 mark, and added to its' advantage (27-19) with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Naccarato to sophomore wide receiver Christian Cook on the last play of the third period.
W&L tied it with 9:26 remaining in the game on a 6-yard touchdown run by Murray and a two-point conversion run by Westfal, setting up the final two drives that determined the outcome.
The Generals gained 462 yards of total offense (231 passing/231 rushing) led by Westfal, who completed 7-of-12 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown and rushed 17 times for 98 yards. Heinsohn gained 99 yards and scored three touchdowns on 11 carries, while Murray tallied 36 yards rushing and 86 receiving, to go along with one touchdown. Evans snared three passes for 99 yards and Stewart had one catch for 50 yards and a score.
On defense, Look posted a career-high 17 tackles and one sack, while Pelton notched 12 tackles and the game-preserving interception.
Randolph-Macon racked up 477 yards, with Naccarato completing 20-of-33 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Cook caught nine balls for 105 yards and one touchdown, while junior running back Vance Hedren caught four passes for 92 yards and a score. Senior running back Thaddeus Scruggs notched 84 yards on 18 carries and first-year cornerback Chris Pace led the defense with eight tackles.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday as it hosts Bridgewater for a 1:00 pm contest.
-- GENERALS --
