Sep 17, 2022
ASHLAND, Va. – The Yellow Jackets scored the final 21 points of the contest as No.19 Randolph-Macon registered a 47-20 victory over Southern Virginia on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics:
Score: Randolph-Macon 47, Southern Virginia 20
Location/Venue: Ashland, Va./Day Field
Records: Randolph-Macon 3-0, Southern Virginia 0-3
How it Happened:
- The Knights took the opening kickoff and drove 58 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 36-yard field goal to go up 3-0 midway through the period.
- The Yellow Jackets answered with a 90-yard drive in 14 plays, as junior quarterback Drew Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) found senior JoJo Marinella (Franklin, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) in the end zone from seven yards out on the first play of the second quarter. R-MC took a 7-3 advantage.
- The R-MC defense held SVU to a three-and-out, but the punt was muffed and the Knights took over on the RMC 31. Facing a second fourth-and-one, SVU used a 39-yard field goal to pull within one at 7-6.
- The Yellow Jackets struck quickly on their second drive. After a one-yard run by junior Kwesi Clarke (Reigelwood, N.C./North Brunswick), Campanale hit senior receiver David Wallis (Cedar Point, N.C./Croatan) on a 49-yard completion to the SVU 20. Clarke then took it to the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, giving R-MC a 13-6 edge.
- Following a Knight punt to the RMC 20, the Yellow Jackets moved 80 yards in seven plays, with Clarke scoring from 19-yards out. Another blocked extra point gave the home team a 19-6 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
- SVU used four plays to go 75 yards and score a touchdown to pull within six at 19-13 with one minute remaining in the period. R-MC would drive to the SVU 3, but the drive stalled there as the half ended with the Yellow Jackets nursing a six-point advantage.
- R-MC took the second-half kickoff and drove 69 yards in 12 plays, with senior quarterback Andrew Ihle (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) muscling in from one-yard out as the Yellow Jackets increased their lead to 26-13 with 8:15 left in the third period.
- The Knights used a long pass play for a touchdown to again pull within six at 26-20 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter.
- The Yellow Jackets put together a 69-yard scoring drive, as sophomore DJ Cone (Hampton, Va./Kecoughtan) sprinted 25 yards for a TD on his first collegiate carry to push the advantage to 33-20 with 2:25 left in the period.
- The biggest play of the game came two minutes later. SVU faced 3rd-and-10 from its own 15. Junior Brandon Onestak (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble. Senior Jacob Hutchinson (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) recovered in the end zone as R-MC went up 40-20 with 29 seconds remaining in the period.
- Freshman Cameron Chatmon (Wake, N.C./Green Level) scored his first collegiate touchdown from two yards out with 9:39 left in the contest to make the final 47-20.
By The Numbers:
- R-MC was two yards away from 500 yards of total offense. The Yellow Jackets had 250 yards on the ground and 248 through the air.
- Clarke paced the ground attack with 78 yards on 13 carries with two scores.
- The Yellow Jackets completed 18 of 24 passes (.750) for 248 yards. R-MC entered the game leading the nation in team completion percentage at .816.
- R-MC converted eight of 11 third-down plays for 73%. Coming into the contest, the Yellow Jackets were first in the ODAC and sixth in the country in third down conversion at .609.
- Junior Jackson Deaver (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford) paced with defense with seven tackles, including six solo stops. He had two tackles for loss and one quarterback sack.
For The Record:
- The Yellow Jackets went 3-0 in non-conference play. Their remaining seven games are all ODAC contests.
Up Next:
- Following its open week, Randolph-Macon will host Guilford on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. on Day Field to kick off conference play on Family Weekend.