BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater Eagles football team held visiting Washington and Lee to its lowest points total since the 2010 season and forced four turnovers, including an interception return for a score late in the fourth quarter to secure a 31-14 upset victory over the Generals on Saturday afternoon at Jopson Field.
Bridgewater (5-2, 2-2 ODAC) never trailed the Generals in the contest and ended a two-game skid in the series. The win handed the Generals their first conference loss of the season.
On the opening possession of the game, the Eagles established a solid offensive drive, moving into Washington and Lee territory before a penalty stalled out the drive forcing a Tyler Dawson punt.
Washington and Lee (5-2, 3-1 ODAC) moved into Bridgewater territory on its first series before a stop on third down ended the Generals' drive to give the Eagles the ball with 8:58 to play in the opening frame.
Bridgewater used a methodical 18-play drive to move inside the Washington and Lee five after junior Willie Logan connected with tight end Michael Colee on an 11-yard pitch and catch to push the Eagles to the Generals' three.
Washington and Lee held the Eagles out of the end zone on three straight carries to force a Chandler DeHaven chip shot field goal. DeHaven split the uprights from 19 yards to put the Eagles up 3-0 with 12 ticks remaining in the first quarter. Bridgewater chewed up eight minutes, 46 seconds on the drive to take the first lead of the game. The Generals were limited to just eight plays in the first quarter of the contest.
Following the Bridgewater score, Washington and Lee moved into Bridgewater territory before a fumble on the center-to-quarterback exchange was recovered by defensive tackleDanny Grogg to give the Eagles the ball back.
Bridgewater approached midfield on its ensuing drive but put the ball back in the hands of the Generals off of a Dawson punt.
Washington and Lee responded with a grinding drive to move deep into Bridgewater territory. The Generals pushed inside the red zone before an 11-yard carry from Nick Lombardo pushed W&L inside the Bridgewater 10. Three straight runs put the Generals on the goalline on fourth down, but a pass from Lombardo fell incomplete to keep the Eagles ahead by a 3-0 tally with 4:15 to play in the first half.
Bridgewater made the Generals pay four plays later when Logan hit John Lezcano and the Culpepper, Va. native did the rest, streaking 85 yards to the endzone to push the Eagles up 10-0 after the DeHaven PAT split the uprights. The 99-yard drive was Bridgewater's longest of the season and matches the longest in program history and gave the Eagles a 10-point halftime lead.
Out of the intermission, Washington and Lee used a 12-play, 65 yard drive to cut the score to a 10-7 Bridgewater advantage. Running back Brett Murray stormed in from 13 yards out to put the Generals on the board and cap off the drive.
After the Washington and Lee score, both teams had short drives stall out before the Eagles extended their lead midway through the third quarter. Following an 11-yard burst from sophomore Jacob Wright, Logan connected with Colee and the Bridgewater tight end streaked 66 yards to the endzone to put Bridgewater back up back 10, 17-7.
Washington and Lee again answered the Bridgewater score with one of its own on the next series. The Generals turned to a heavy dose of Sasha Vandalov before Luke Heinsohn punched the ball in from the one to cut the Eagles' lead to 17-14 with 2:54 to play in the third.
Following the Washington and Lee score, the momentum began to shift in the favor of the Generals as Bridgewater came up empty on its next offensive possession.
The Generals used a big run from Heinsohn to get deep into Bridgewater territory before a Vandalov carry pushed Washington and Lee to the Eagles' 11. Lombardo rolled out on an option and the pitch missed the mark and was recovered by Mitchell Parks to turn the tide back in the favor of the Eagles with 10:16 to play.
Bridgewater again used an extensive - clock-eating - drive to move inside the Washington and Lee redzone. Logan hit Lezcano on a 24-yard pattern to push the Eagles deep into Generals' territory before a one-yard run from Logan on fourth down propelled the offense to the W&L 10. Logan hit Wimer for a short gain to the four before back-to-back runs set the Eagles up at the Generals' two on fourth down.
Out of a Washington and Lee timeout, Logan tossed a quick slant to wide receiver Jayme Perry and the sophomore beat the defender to the ball and made the reception to put the Eagles up 24-14 with three minutes left to play. Bridgewater used over seven minutes of the fourth-quarter clock on the drive.
Washington and Lee looked to work quickly, moving across midfield on a Lombardo 20-yard keeper. Following a short gain from the Generals' trigger man, he dropped back to pass and freshman Anthony Moton, II stepped in front of the pass at the Bridgewater 45 and sprinted 55 yards to pay dirt to put the nail in the coffin, extending the Eagles' lead to 31-14.
Lombardo was intercepted by Daniel Brent on Washington and Lee's final drive of the game before the Eagles took a knee to secure a 31-14 victory over the Generals.
Logan was exceptional on the afternoon, throwing for 280 yards on 21-of-26 passing. The Luray, Va. native threw three touchdowns and added 42 yards on 12 carries in the win.
On the ground, Wright rushed for 68 yards on 13 carries to pace the Eagles rushing attack. Bridgewater rolled up 147 yards on the day on 40 total carries.
Junior Shawn Lee was Logan's favorite target on the day, hauling in a game-high eight catches for 48 yards. Lezcano had a career afternoon with three catches for a game-high 118 yards and a score. Colee added in three catches for 78 yards and a score to help lead the way for the Eagles.
Defensively, Sammy Coleman was stellar from his defensive back position, recording a game-high 15 stops on the afternoon.
Washington and Lee's rushing attack was paced by Lombardo's 142-yard effort on 21 carries. Heinsohn added 123 yards on 15 runs, while Murray chipped in 80 yards on the afternoon. The Generals amassed 385 yards on the ground, which is their lowest rushing total against an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rival since a 236-yard effort in last year's season ending loss to Hampden-Sydney.
Lombardo went 2-of-11 through the air for 31 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Linebacker Zach Zoller led the way for the Generals with 11 tackles on the afternoon.
Bridgewater outgained Washington and Lee on the day by a slim 427-to-416 gap.
The Eagles are back in action on October 27 for the regular season home finale against Emory & Henry. Kick off against the Wasps is set for 1 p.m.