Oct 07, 2023
LEXINGTON, Va. - After a two-week road stretch, the Washington and Lee University football team's rushing attack paved the way to their fourth-straight win as the Generals knocked off Guilford College 48-25 on Saturday night at Wilson Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter | 10-6 Guilford
- W&L won the coin toss and elected to receive. Their first drive was cut short as a bad snap put the ball on the turf and the Quakers' D.J. McRae dove on it for an early turnover.
- The Quakers first drive featured two passes for a total of seven yards which set up a Burke Nettles 43-yard field goal attempt. The junior nailed a career-high kick to put Guilford up 3-0 with 12:58 left in the first quarter.
- Eli Hildebrandt returned a Nettles kickoff back to the Generals 30-yard line which set up a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive. Josh Garcia scampered into the end zone from four yards out but an Arturo Ramirez missed PAT only put the Generals up 6-3.
- The Quakers wasted no time in their second drive of the game as quarterback Bailey Baker found JuJu Rice for a 75-yard touchdown to retake the lead 10-6.
- After a Generals punt, the W&L defense stepped up to get the ball back as Jalen Todd blitzed off the edge, sacking Baker and jarring the ball loose. O'Keefe McKinney dove on the loose ball to give the Generals the ball back with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
Second Quarter | 28-10 W&L
- Washington and Lee's next drive spanned into the second quarter where junior running back Jacob Romero capped off a ten-play, 61-yard drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown. This score gave the Generals a 13-10 lead with 14:24 left in the half.
- After both defenses forced punts, the Generals marched 70-yards on seven plays to give themselves a 20-10 lead. Anthony Crawford punched it in from four yards out to cap off a two minutes drive.
- The Quakers next drive seemed promising as Baker completed a few passes to get them to midfield but his pass on 2nd and 8 soared over his receivers head and into Jack Johnson'sarms.
- The Blue and White took advantage of the mistake as they used 4:33 minutes of game clock on a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive to give themselves a 27-10 lead. Marcus Payne's three yard scamper gave the Generals their biggest lead of the night.
Third Quarter | 35-10 W&L
- The Generals defense stood tall to open the second half, forcing a Quakers punt after Todd and Will Knight shut down a Malik Woodard rush.
- Crawford found the end zone for the second time as he walked in from four yards out to give the Generals a 34-10 lead with 8:58 left in the third quarter.
- On 3rd and 3, the Quakers looked to Woodard to get them a first down but Hunter Hawkand Charlie Fleming stopped him short of the sticks, forcing yet another punt.
- Despite the turnover on downs, the Generals offense couldn't find its footing, punting the ball back to Guilford.
Fourth Quarter | 48-25 W&L
- After getting the ball back from the Generals, Guilford matched 75-yards on 11-plays for their second touchdown of the night. Their 4:11 minute drive was capped off with a 16-yard strike from Baker to Parker DeHart.
- The General's offense responded with a 73-yard drive themselves. W&L marched down the field on nine plays as Giorgio Antonacci punched it in from one yard out.
- Baker Bailey found Messiah Ramseur for an eight-yard touchdown with 6:10 left to cut the Generals lead to 16.
- Guilford's onside kick attempt was unsuccessful as W&L jumped on the ball at the 41-yard line.
- Ty Collins led the Generals on a six-play, 41-yard scoring drive as he capped off the drive with an eight yard scamper to put the Generals up 48-25.
- Guilford's last drive ended in favor of the Generals as a bad exchange between Baker and running back Jordan Moody put the ball on the turf. Zach Cruet jumped on it and secured the win for the Generals.
W&L GAME NOTES
- With the win, the Generals move to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play (ODAC).
- The Generals compiled a new season-high, 410 rushing yards in the game. It is their second game this season with over 400 yards on the ground. 21 of the 27 first downs the Generals earned were on the ground.
- The Blue and White rushed 67 times and seven touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
- The W&L offense recorded 73 plays and produced 441 yards of total offense, their second best performance this season.
- The Generals were 6 of 9 (66%) on third down while possessing the ball for 35:51 minutes of the game. W&L was 7 of 7 in the red zone, their most productive red zone performance of the season.
- After giving up ten points in the first quarter, the Generals defense shut down the Quakers offense, posting two shutout quarters while allowing only 46 rushing yards.
GUILFORD GAME NOTES
- The Quakers fall to 2-3 on the season while dropping their second-straight ODAC game of the season.
- Guilford produced 398 yards of total offense while throwing for 352 yards. The Quakers passing game had the Generals on their toes, averaging 9.5 yards per pass.
- The Quakers held the ball for 24:09 minutes while going 5 of 13 (38%) on third down. They were 1 of 4 (25%) on fourth downs while scoring on both of their red zone chances.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Baker Bailey of Guilford was 24 of 37 for 352 yards and three touchdowns while throwing one interception. He connected with JuJu Rice for a game-high 75-yard score. Stephen Murrin completed two passes on five attempts for 31 yards and a long of 23 yards.
- Romero led all rushers with 133 yards on 18 attempts and one touchdown. The junior back averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Crawford rushed 13 times for 87 yards while finding the end zone twice.
- Malik Woodard of Guilford rushed 11 times for 28 yards while averaging 2.5 yards per carry.
- Guilford's Shane Shapiro caught six passes for 105 yards while JuJu Rice hauled in three for 86 yards and one touchdown. Blair Brennan caught one pass for a team-high 23 yards.
- Adam Lacy of Guilford recorded a career-high 18 tackles, 11 solo and seven assisted while also getting a hand on a General's punt. Nick Iannone recorded ten tackles for the Quakers while Joey Strong Jr. and D.J. McRae each had eight tackles.
- Eli Davis and Bo Thompson each recorded 0.5 sacks for the Quakers.
- Hunter Hawk led the Generals with nine tackles, four solo and five assisted, while breaking up one pass. Charlie Fleming and Jalen Todd each recorded six tackles for the Generals while Todd forced a fumble on a 1st quarter sack.
UP NEXT
- The Generals welcome the Panthers of Ferrum College to Wilson Field on Saturday, October 14. Kick-off is set at 2 p.m. in Lexington.