BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College football team held off Washington and Lee for a 13-6 victory on Senior Day at the Jopson Athletic Complex in ODAC action on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Eagles finish the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in home games and move to 8-1 overall with a 5-1 record in league action. Meanwhile, the Generals fall for the third straight week and move to 5-4 on the year behind an even 3-3 record in ODAC play.
Before the game, the senior football players, members of the cheer team and Screamin' Eagles marching band were honored.
The game was a match up of one of the best rushing teams in the nation as the Generals entered averaging nearly 285 yards per game on the ground. The Eagles held WLU to 100 yards under its average as the team finished with 187 yards on the ground. Bridgewater won the yardage battle for the day finishing with 262 yards, including 102 yards rushing and 160 through the air. The Generals passed 11 times and garnered just four catches for 38 yards.
Washington and Lee won the coin toss before deferring to the second half as BC had the first possession of the game and registered a pair of first downs, but stalled out and punted away. The same was true for the first Generals' possession as they moved the ball 13 yards for one first down but were forced to punt.
Bridgewater had the first scoring opportunity as a field goal was attempted from 37 yards. The swirling winds around Jopson Field came into play as the kick was no good and the game went into the second quarter still scoreless.
A methodical 14-play, 80-yard drive down field that cut off over eight minutes of clock for the Generals eventually resulted in a one-yard touchdown run for Harry Crutcher to put WLU in the lead. The PAT attempt was blocked down by the hands of Tucker Harris to keep the score at 6-0.
The Eagles looked like they were about to enter halftime trailing 6-0 as they faced a third down near midfield. Jaylen Wood was forced to scramble around the pocket before running out of the box to his right as he found Dylan Maclachlan downfield who was able to catch-and-turn and eventually found the end zone to tie the game at 6-6. Originally, it looked as if Maclachlan was short, but after a discussion the touchdown was award. The PAT attempt was no good and the game remained tied.
The ensuing kickoff was squibbed but rolled out of bounce to put the Generals on the 35-yard line with a tick under 20 seconds left in the half. WLU gained nine yards on first down and used its final timeout of the half before running a quick pass for a first down. The chains were moved, and the clock ticked away and hit zero before another down was played and the game went into the break tied, 6-6.
Bridgewater forced a punt on the first drive of the second half as the entire 15 minutes were eclipsed by three possessions. BC took over at its own 23 yard line with 11:30 left on the clock. The Eagles converted on four third downs to keep moving the ball and killing clock and the drive ended on a nine-yard touchdown on a Wood-to-Freddie Watkins connection. The following PAT from Jackson Hendren was true and the Eagles took a 13-6 lead. The drive totaled 77 yards on 15 plays to take nearly eight and a half minutes off the game clock.
The fourth quarter saw both teams punt back and forth until the last drive for the Generals that started with 5:32 left in regulation. After three first downs, WLU moved deep into Bridgewater territory before a broken play at the line of scrimmage caused a four-yard loss and eventually the Generals were faced with a 4th & 11 with an incomplete pass to give the ball back on downs and to seal victory for the Eagles.
For the game, Wood finished 12-for-16 for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while Malcolm Anderson started the game and went 5-for-8 for 45 yards. On the ground, Albert Mensah ran 13 times for 46 yards, while Wood added 45 yards with his legs. Anderson pitched in nine yards and Ronald Robinson Jr also carried the ball six times in victory.
Maclachlan had just one catch, but one of the most important of the game as it went 42 yards for a score. Tyler Gilliam grabbed five passes for 39 yards, while eight total receivers had catches in the game.
Defensively, Samuel Adkins showcased his best game of the season finishing with 10 total tackles, including six solo, and collected 4.0 TFLs to tie the team's high for the year. The 4.0 TFLs are just 0.5 behind the team's single game record set last year. Not to be outdone, freshman linebacker Aaron Nice made nine stops with four of those solo tackles. Aaron Moore and Shawn Harris each registered seven tackles, while Jalen Cunningham had six tackles with 1.0 for loss.
Bridgewater closes out the regular season next Saturday, November 12, on the road at Guilford. Kickoff for the contest is scheduled for 1 pm.
Bridgewater Downs Generals to Remain Perfect at Home
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20221105_p48v.xml
2022
Washington and Lee
6
Bridgewater
13
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Lee (5-4) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Bridgewater (8-1) | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
Nov 05, 2022