EMORY, Va. - Emory & Henry football (5-3, 3-2 ODAC) fell in a tough matchup at home against the then #18 ranked Washington and Lee Generals (8-0, 5-0 ODAC). Coming in to the game, the Generals possessed the number one rush offense in the country. They did not stray away from their run game, rushing for 555 yards in the win over the Wasps. This week, the Wasps travel to Shenandoah (4-4, 1-4 ODAC) in another ODAC matchup. Last season, the Wasps forced seven turnovers in the 42-34 win over the Hornets.
Last season, quarterback Kevin Saxton threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns against Shenandoah. Saxton has been playing well for the Wasps in the recent weeks. The sophomore has thrown for 1,097 yards, accounted for nine touchdowns, and committed zero turnovers in the past four games. Isaiah Rodgers continues to lead the Wasps in rushing this season with 429 yards and five scores. However, last season in the win over the Hornets, it was Chris Thompson that had a stellar game when he rushed for 98 yards, had 47 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the Wasps eight games this season, there have been five different leading receivers. Last week's leader was sophomore Dalton Seat. Seat, who started the season as a reserve defensive back, caught four passes for 87 yards. Senior tight end Ashton Cline caught the lone touchdown pass from Saxton in the game versus W&L last Saturday, bringing his total to three on the season. Shenandoah has been putting up 32.8 points a game, so Emory & Henry's offense will need to get in the end zone early and often to outscore the Hornets.
It was not a good showing for the Wasps in last Saturday's matchup versus W&L, but the Wasps have an opportunity to bounce back at Shenandoah. Shenandoah's running back Cedrick Delaney is second in the ODAC in rush yards with 834 yards and has eight scores on the ground. Last year, Delaney rushed for an ODAC record 321 yards. In that game, Rennel Marshall registered 18 tackles and two interceptions. The Wasps will need him and the rest of the linebacker group to stop the rushing attack of the Hornets. Ryan Byrd is second in the ODAC with 87 tackles on the season. He is looking to become the first E&H player with 100 tackles since 2011. Shenandoah's quarterback has been prone to throwing interceptions this season. He currently leads the ODAC in that category with 12 on the year. That bodes well for cornerback Tre'von Lightfoot, who continues to lead the nation in passes defended and is second in the conference in interceptions. Brothers Jaylyn Johnson and Eric Johnson will look for turnover opportunities as well, as they have combined for seven passes defended and three turnovers forced.
The game at Shenandoah in Winchester, Virginia is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday November 7th.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston E&H'15