Emory, Va. - The Wasps earned a hard-fought 42-34 victory in a wild matchup last Saturday vs. Shenandoah. E&H jumped out to an early 28-0 lead in the first half, but then had to fight off the Hornets to keep their ODAC championship hopes alive. Although the Wasps never lost the lead, the furious run attack from Shenandoah running back Cedrick Delaney kept the team close. The Wasps would have been helped with a win by Guilford last week to have a chance at winning the ODAC. However, Guilford fell to the Tigers of Hampden-Sydney in overtime. Now, the Guilford team that Wasps fans were rooting for last week now stands in the way.
Emory & Henry needs to defeat the Quakers from Guilford in the final home game of the season to have a chance at winning the ODAC for the first time since 2000. However, the team will also need some assistance from Randolph-Macon. A Randolph Macon win over Hampden Sydney and a victory at E&H would give the Wasps the outright ODAC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Emory & Henry “Spread and Shred” offense continues to wreak havoc on ODAC opponents. Last week, quarterback Kevin Saxton threw for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns while running one in for an additional score. Saxton, who is tops in the ODAC in completions, has 24 touchdowns and 2,505 yards passing. Both of those marks are Emory & Henry freshman records. His work will be cut out for him as the Quakers claim the second best pass defense in the ODAC. Guilford only allows 186 pass yards a game. Saxton will look for seniors Lucas Kirby and Josh Smith once again to make plays along the outside. Smith, who continues to lead the ODAC in catches with 65, needs only 7 more catches to claim the E&H record for catches in a season, which is currently held by Preston Jennings. Freshman Chris Thompson has a good chance of matching the 8.2 yards per rush that he amassed last week vs. Shenandoah. Guilford allows the third most rush yards per game at 191. Thompson and fellow freshman Isaiah Rodgers are 8th and 9th in rush yards in the ODAC. E&H will need a strong rushing attack to beat the Quakers.
The Wasps will have to find a way to stop the top passing game in the ODAC in order to get a win. Junior quarterback Matt Pawlowski is one of the most prolific passers in the country. Pawlowski is 2nd in the country in touchdowns with 33 and 4th in pass yards with 3,087 yards. He is leading a Guilford team that is tops in the ODAC in total offense (which is also 9th in the country) and 2nd in scoring offense. This high-powered aerial assault will be a huge challenge for the defensive backs. The defense will rely heavily on senior safety and reigning ODAC defensive player of the week, Roth Healey. Last week, Healey had 3 interceptions and a fumble recovery to go along with 9 tackles. This marks the second time Healey has won the award this season. Fellow senior safety Clint Peregoy will need to have a huge impact on the game as well. Peregoy has put together a solid season in which he has amassed 64 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 3 blocked punts on the season. Cornerbacks Ryan Byrd and Tre’von Lightfoot will have to shut down Guilford wide receivers Adam Smith and CJ Hobbs, who both rank highly in the ODAC in yards and touchdowns. This game is likely to be high-scoring and action-packed. The Wasps possess an impressive pass defense. The Wasps defense is 3rd in pass defense and 1st in pass defense efficiency. The opportunistic defense is 1st in the ODAC in interceptions and 3rd in the country in total turnovers. Lightfoot spoke on the defense’s play, “The success that we have had this season is from all the work that we have put it since the beginning of year. And the fact that it's all paying off this year is not a surprise because that's what hard work does.” With the ODAC championship on the line, the Wasps will have to be successful in all facets of the game. Peregoy spoke on stopping Guilford’s prolific offense, “It's not quite how the four of us [defensive backs] are going to stop them but how the team as a whole is going to stop them.”
The final home game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fred Selfe Stadium. This game is also Senior Day. Come out and show support for the seniors who have competed for Emory & Henry for four years.
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Photo courtesy of Dave Grace